Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics

Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 14
Acknowledgements......Page 16
1.2 Defining pragmatics......Page 18
1.3 From abstract meaning to contextual meaning......Page 19
1.3.1 Assigning sense in context......Page 22
1.3.2 Assigning reference in context......Page 25
1.3.4 Interaction of sense, reference and structure......Page 29
1.3.5 Ambiguity and intentionality......Page 31
1.4.1 Importance of utterance meaning......Page 33
1.5.1 Understanding both utterance meaning and force......Page 35
1.5.3 Understanding force but not utterance meaning......Page 36
1.5.4 Understanding neither utterance meaning nor force......Page 37
1.6.1 Speaker meaning......Page 38
1.6.3 Pragmatics: meaning in interaction......Page 39
1.7 Summary......Page 40
2.1 J. L. Austin......Page 45
2.3 Logical positivism and truth conditional semantics......Page 46
2.4 The performative hypothesis......Page 49
2.4.1 Metalinguistic performatives......Page 50
2.4.2 Ritual performatives......Page 53
2.4.2.1 Felicity conditions......Page 54
2.4.3 Collaborative performatives......Page 57
2.4.4 Group performatives......Page 58
2.4.5 Overlap of categories......Page 59
2.4.6 Cross-cultural differences in use of performatives......Page 60
2.4.7.1 The grammatical distinctiveness of performatives......Page 61
2.4.7.2 Do performatives always perform actions?......Page 62
2.4.7.3 How to do things without performative verbs......Page 63
2.4.8 Explicit and implicit performatives......Page 64
2.5.1 Locution, illocution, perlocution......Page 66
2.6 Conclusion......Page 68
3.1 Introduction......Page 72
3.2 H. P. Grice......Page 73
3.3.1 Conventional implicature......Page 74
3.3.3 Implicature and inference......Page 75
3.4 The Cooperative Principle......Page 78
3.5 The four conversational maxims......Page 80
3.5.2 Non-observance of the maxims......Page 81
3.6.1 Flouts necessitated by a clash between maxims......Page 82
3.6.2.1 Flouts exploiting the maxim of Quality......Page 84
3.6.2.2 Flouts exploiting the maxim of Quantity......Page 86
3.6.2.3 Flouts exploiting the maxim of Relation......Page 87
3.6.2.4 Flouts exploiting the maxim of Manner......Page 88
3.7.1 Violating a maxim......Page 89
3.7.3 Opting out of a maxim......Page 91
3.7.4 Suspending a maxim......Page 93
3.8.1 Non-detachability and non-conventionality......Page 95
3.8.2 Implicature changes......Page 97
3.8.4 Defeasibility......Page 99
3.9 Conclusion......Page 101
4.2 Problems with Grice's theory......Page 104
4.2.1 When is non-observance intentional?......Page 105
4.2.2 Distinguishing between types of non-observance......Page 107
4.2.4 Maxims may overlap......Page 108
4.2.5 Problems of calculability......Page 109
4.4.1 Indirect speech acts......Page 110
4.4.2 Searle's conditions for speech acts......Page 111
4.4.2.1 Distinguishing speech acts......Page 113
4.4.2.2 Plugging the gaps in Searle's rules......Page 115
4.4.2.3 The speech act of apologizing: a case study......Page 116
4.4.2.4 Over-generality of rules......Page 119
4.4.2.5 The speech act of warning: a case study......Page 120
4.5 Searle's formal approach to the categorization of speech acts......Page 122
4.6 Rules versus principles......Page 124
4.6.2 Rules are exclusive, principles can co-occur......Page 125
4.6.3 Rules are constitutive, principles are regulative......Page 126
4.6.4 Rules are definite, principles are probabilistic......Page 127
4.6.5 Rules are conventional, principles are motivated......Page 128
4.7 Conclusion......Page 131
5.2 Pragmatics and indirectness......Page 136
5.2.2 Indirectness is costly and risky......Page 137
5.2.3 Assumption of rationality......Page 138
5.2.4 The principle of expressibility......Page 139
5.2.5 Indirectness — an illustration......Page 140
5.3.1 Power......Page 141
5.3.2 Social distance......Page 145
5.3.3 Size of imposition......Page 147
5.3.5 The negotiation of pragmatic parameters......Page 148
5.4 Measuring indirectness......Page 150
5.4.1 The role of context in interpreting indirectness......Page 153
5.4.2 The role of belief in interpreting indirectness......Page 154
5.4.4 The role of co-text in interpreting indirectness......Page 155
5.4.5 Goals and the interpretation of indirectness......Page 156
5.5 Why use indirectness?......Page 159
5.5.1 Interestingness......Page 160
5.5.2 Increasing the force of one's message......Page 161
5.5.3 Competing goals......Page 162
5.6 Conclusion......Page 163
6.2 Delimiting the concept of politeness......Page 166
6.2.2 Deference versus politeness......Page 167
6.2.3 Register......Page 171
6.2.4 Politeness as an utterance level phenomenon......Page 172
6.2.5 Politeness as a pragmatic phenomenon......Page 174
6.3.1 Ambivalence and politeness......Page 175
6.3.2 Pragmatic principles......Page 176
6.3.2.1 The Tact maxim......Page 177
6.3.2.3 The Approbation maxim......Page 179
6.3.2.4 The Modesty maxim......Page 180
6.3.2.5 The Agreement maxim......Page 182
6.3.2.6 The Pollyanna Principle......Page 183
6.3.3 Problems with Leech's approach......Page 184
6.4 Politeness and the management of face......Page 185
6.4.1.1 Superstrategies for performing  face-threatening acts......Page 186
6.4.1.2 Performing an FTA without any redress (bald-on-record)......Page 187
6.4.1.3 Performing an FTA with redress (positive politeness)......Page 188
6.4.1.4 Performing an FTA with redress (negative politeness)......Page 189
6.4.1.5 Performing an FTA using off-record politeness......Page 190
6.4.1.6 Do not perform FTA......Page 191
6.5 Politeness viewed as a conversational contract......Page 193
6.6 Politeness measured along pragmatic scales......Page 194
6.7 Conclusion......Page 195
7.1 Introduction......Page 200
7.2 How does pragmatics fit into linguistics?......Page 201
7.3 Pragmatics versus sociolinguistics......Page 202
7.3.1 Overlap between pragmatics and sociolinguistics......Page 203
7.4 Activity types versus speech events......Page 204
7.5.1 Pragmatic ambivalence......Page 212
7.5.2 The collaborative nature of speech acts......Page 213
7.5.3 The negotiability of force......Page 215
7.5.4 Preparing the ground for a speech act......Page 216
7.5.5 Successive utterances in situated discourse......Page 218
7.5.6 Discoursal ambivalence......Page 219
7.5.7 Dynamic pragmatics......Page 220
7.6 What counts as evidence in pragmatics?......Page 221
7.6.2 Explicit commentary by speaker......Page 222
7.6.3 Explicit commentary by others......Page 223
7.6.4 Co-text (subsequent discourse)......Page 224
7.7 Conclusion......Page 225
References......Page 228
Author Index......Page 236
General Index......Page 238