[初二英语]PragmaticsASHA2004.ppt

Assessing Language Pragmatics: Who, What and How Peter A. de Villiers Jill G. de Villiers Smith College Pragmatics The functional use of language between speaker(s) and listener(s) for effective communication. Syntax and semantics are always intertwined with their functional use in communication so cannot be totally separated from pragmatics skills in language acquisition. Looking at the development or impairment of “communicative competence” (Hymes, 1972). We will focus on pragmatic language (not gesture or other non-verbal communication) between the ages of 3 and 9. Who needs to be assessed? Some children show differential impairment of the functional and social-interactional components of language Children with autistic spectrum disorders Children with Asperger syndrome Children with specific Pragmatic Language Impairment (Bishop, 1998) But most children with substantial language impairment will also show pragmatic problems Especially if they have both receptive and expressive language impairment (Craig Evans, 1993) What to assess? Five Components of Pragmatics Conversational skills in social interaction Speech Acts -- doing things with words and utterances Reference and Presuppositions taking into account the perspective or knowledge state of the listener Extended discourse genres: e.g., Narrative, Exposition Styles or “registers”of speaking 1. Conversational Skills Turn taking Sensitivity to non-linguistic, paralinguistic, and linguistic cues Topics Initiation Maintenance Elaboration Ending Change Grice’s Conversational Maxims - Cooperative Principles Sincerity Assumption that speaker means what she says Relevance Keeping on topic Quantity Providing enough but not too much redundant information for the listener 2. Speech Acts Doing things with words and utterances Informing or reporting Requesting information Requesting action (indirect questions) Commanding or demanding Denying statements Rejecting or prohibiting actions Greetings 3. Referenti