Pragmatics Flashcards
Genre
The type of text.
Register
The manner in the way you write/speak- Informal or formal.
Mode
The type of communication: written or spoken or mixed.
Purpose
Why you are communicating, inform, instruct/advise, entertain, transactional, interactional.
Subject Matter
The topic of the text.
Maxim of Quantity
Don’t write too brief or too wordy.
Maxim of Quality
Write/speak truthfully/accurately.
Maxim of Relevance
Don’t go off topic or off on a tangent- stick to the topic.
Maxim of Manner
Be polite and use the appropriate register.
Pragmatics
The study of inferred meaning through contextual clues.
What did Geoffrey Leach propose?
The need for Politeness Maxims as a necessarily for conversational co-operation.
Maxim of Tact
Minimize the expression of beliefs which imply cost to other; maximize the expression of beliefs which imply benefit to other. Reduce the size of imposition by offering optionality. COULD I INTERRUPT YOU FOR A SECOND? YOU COULD COOK FISH IN HALD TIME THAN PIZZA?
Maxim of Generosity
Minimize the expression of benefit to self; maximize the expression of cost to self.
Maxim of Approbation
Minimize the expression of expression of beliefs which express dispraise of others; maximize the expression of beliefs which express approval of others. I KNOW YOU ARE A GENIUS, COULD YOU HELP ME WITH THIS MATHS QUESTION?
Maxim of Modesty
Be modest- minimize the expression of praise of self, maximize dispraise.
Maxim of Agreement
Minimize the expression of disagreement between self and other, maximize agreement.
Maxim of Sympathy
Minimize antipathy between self and other; maximize sympathy.
What is positive face? Give an example how to protect it?
The need to be desired and respected, liked, admired.
(Since you are so good at essays, would you possibly be the person to write up the review? would protect it).
What is negative face? Give an example how to protect it?
The need to not be imposed on (modal verbs- ‘could’ ‘would’ protect it).
Face threatening acts.
An act which inherently damages the face of an addressee or the speaker by acting in opposition to the words and desires of the other.
Face Threatening Acts: Positive face
Speaker/hearer doesn’t care about their interactors feelings, wants or does not want what the other wants e.g. disapproval, insults, complaints.
Face Threatening Acts: Negative face
Individual does not avoid or avoid to intend the obstruction of their interlocutor’s freedom’s of action e.g. requests, threats, advice, warnings, orders, demands, reminders.
Off-record
In conversation where no threat is made to someone’s face.
Bald on-record
Speaker doesn’t attempt to minimize the threats to a hearer’s face for the sake of being direct, clear and unambiguous e.g. an emergency, task orientated, alerting or to push authority- pragmatics/ context dependent.
