[文学]Chapter 6 Pragmatics.ppt

Chapter 6 Pragmatics  Pragmatics ---- the study of language in use or language communication; the study of the use of context to make inference about meaning. ---- the study of how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication. Some basic notions in Pragmatics Context Pragmatics vs. semantics Sentence meaning vs. utterance meaning Correctness vs. appropriateness Context Context---- a basic concept in the study of pragmatics. It is generally considered as constituted knowledge shared by the speaker and the hearer, such as cultural background, situation (time, place, manner, etc.), the relationship between the speaker and the hearer, etc.…. Pragmatics vs. semantics Semantics---- is the study of the literal meaning of a sentence (without taking context into consideration). Pragmatics---- the study of the intended meaning of a speaker (taking context into consideration), e.g. “Today is Sunday”, semantically, it means that today is the first day of the week; pragmatically, you can mean a lot by saying this, all depending on the context and the intention of the speaker, say, making a suggestion or giving an invitation… Sentence meaning vs. utterance meaning  ---- Sentence meaning: Abstract and context-independent meaning; literal meaning of a sentence; having a dyadic relation as in: What does X mean? ----utterance meaning: concrete and context-dependent meaning; intended meaning of a speaker; having a triadic relation as in: What did you mean by X? For example, “The bag is heavy” can mean a bag being heavy (sentence meaning); an indirect, polite request, asking the hearer to help him carry the bag; the speaker is declining someone’s request for help. Note: The meaning of an utterance is based on the sentence meaning; it is the realization of the abstract meaning of a sentence in a real situation of communication, or simply in a context; utterance meaning is richer than sentence meaning; it is identical with the purpose