Pragmatic Markers
What is a pragmatic marker?
Answer: A linguistic element showing the speaker’s intention or attitude.
Which prosodic feature shows whether a sentence is a question or statement?
Answer: Intonation.
What is the normal English word order?
Answer: Subject–Verb–Object.
Which author wrote A Tale of Two Cities?
Answer: Charles Dickens
Which word in “Honestly, I agree with you” is the pragmatic marker?
Answer: Honestly.
Give one example of an explicit pragmatic marker.
Answer: Honestly / frankly / actually / well.
What is prosody?
Answer: Rhythm, tone, melody, and pauses in speech.
What does stress help emphasize in speech?
Answer: Important words or contrast.
What is antithesis in literature?
Answer: The use of contrasting ideas together
Name one prosodic feature besides intonation.
Answer: Stress / tempo / rhythm / pauses / loudness.
Which phrase shows direct pragmatic expression?
Answer: “Honestly, I don’t know.”
In the sentence “I didn’t say he stole the money,” what changes the meaning?
Answer: Stress placement.
How can word order change pragmatic meaning?
Answer: It changes emphasis or focus.
What is the function of repetition in Dickens’s passage?
Answer: To create rhythm and emphasize contrast.
What does the sentence “Leave now!” express pragmatically?
Answer: Directness or anger/command.
Why are pragmatic markers important in communication?
Answer: They help listeners understand intention, emotion, and attitude.
What pragmatic meaning can rising intonation express?
Answer: A question, doubt, or uncertainty.
What does inversion mean in syntax?
Answer: Changing normal word order for emphasis.
Which syntactic structure emphasizes a specific element: “It was John who wrote the letter”?
Answer: Cleft sentence.
What pragmatic effect do short sentences often create?
Answer: Directness, tension, or anger.
Explain the difference between direct pragmatic expression and indirect speech acts.
Answer: Direct expression states intention clearly, while indirect speech acts imply meaning indirectly or politely.
Why are intonation and stress important in spoken discourse?
Answer: They reveal emotion, attitude, and communicative intent.
Give one example where word order changes emphasis.
Answer: “Men uni ko‘rdim” → “Uni men ko‘rdim.”
What pragmatic effect is created by the repeated structure “It was the…” in Dickens’s text?
Answer: Rhythm, unity, and emphasis on contradiction.
How does syntax influence politeness?
Answer: Indirect and complex structures sound more polite.