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1、Pragmatics英师0511 051911131 樊璐璐Introduction Pragmatics is one branch of general linguistics, and when we talk about pragmatics, we may first want to know what the definition of it. There are a lot of philosopher and linguists who have given their respective ideas about it. Charles Morris(1938:6) give
2、s his definition as “the study of the relation of signs to interpreters”, and Levinsons(2001:9) consideration of pragmatics as being “the study of those relations between language and context that is grammaticalized, or encoded in the structure of a language.”, and Meys(2001:6) definition as “pragma
3、tics studies the use of language in human communication as determined by the conditions of society.”. But there is an easier definition “It is the study of how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication.” (DAI&HE 2007:84)1. Searles classification of speech acts (Searle 1
4、969)The five speech act categories that Searle ends up establishing are: assertives, directives, commissives, expressives and declarations.(1) AssertivesThe point or purpose of this class is to commit the speaker to something being the case, to the truth of the expressed proposition. The direction o
5、f fit is words to the world. The psychological state expressed is Belief (that). The simplest test of an assertive is: can you literally characterize it as true or false? In this sense, this class equals what Austin originally called constatives.(2) DirectivesThe illocutionary point of a DIRECTIVE i
6、s to get the hearer to do something. The direction of fit is the world to words. The psychological state expressed, or the sincerity condition, is want (or Wish, Desire). And the propositional content is that the hearer H does some future action A. In Searles view, questions are a sub-class of direc
7、tives, since they are attempts by S to get H to answer, i. e. to perform a speech act. (3) CommissivesThe illocutionary point in this class is to commit the speaker to some future course of action. The direction of fit is the world to words. The sincerity condition is Intention. And the propositiona
8、l content is that the speaker S does some future action. (4) ExpressivesThe illocutionary point is simply to express the psychological state specified in the sincerity condition about a state of affairs specified in the propositional content. But there is no direction of fit between words and the wo
9、rld. In performing an EXPRESSIVE, the speaker is neither trying to get the world to match the words nor the other way round, rather is the truth of the expressed proposition presupposed. The psychological state expressed in this class is a variable, depending on the illocutionary point. The proposit
10、ional content ascribes some property (not necessarily an action) to either S or H, e. g. Ss stepping on Hs toe, Hs winning a race, or Hs good looks.(5) DeclarationsThe illocutionary point is to bring about some alteration in the status or condition of the referred to object. The successful performan
11、ce of a DECLARATION guarantees that the propositional content corresponds to the world. If somebody successfully performs the act of appointing you chairman, then you are chairman. So the direction of fit is both words to the world and the world to words. The saying of something causes something to
12、become reality. In this sense, this class corresponds to the typical performative. There is no sincerity condition, since no personal attitude is involved in declarations. The speaker is acting as a spokesman of an institution. He is not expressing any psychological state of his own. The proposition
13、al content is also a variable, depending on the illocutionary point. (Searle 1969; HU&JIANG 2002:453-455)2. Illocutionary forceThis is the speakers intention, so far as the auditors can discern it from the context. There are two major kinds of illocutionary force: implicit, below the surface and uns
14、tated, and explicit, on the surface and stated. The implicit forces are three: assertion, imperative, and question (sometimes called interrogative). Assertion is a statement about action or attitude (“He loves you,” “He does not love you”). An imperative is a command for action (“Shut up!” “Will you
15、 please shut up!”). an interrogative is a request for information (“How much is that tie?” “What time is it?”). It is important to identify these implicit forces not only theoretically, but also as they appear in their various social contexts, for frequently the apparent intention of the speaker is
16、not the same as the actual intent.Social convention and good manners usually dictate, for instance, that a speaker will not use imperatives in polite company, perhaps at a party, at dinner, or when he is courting someones favor. We are taught very early to say “please” as a way of disguising the illocutionary force of a command: “ Please pass the biscuits”; “Give me the salt, please.” It is even more polite to phrase the imperative as a quest
