Pragmatics Flashcards
Pragmatics
The study of how language and meanings rely on contextual information, shared knowledge, implication and inference
Embodied knowledge
Knowledge we have due to memories or physically experiencing something
Schematic knowledge
Knowledge of people, places , events
Grices Maxims
Maxim of quality, relevance, quantity, manner
Maxim of quality
Do not say what you believe to be false
Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence
Maxim of relevance
Be relevant
Maxim of quantity
Make your contribution as informative as needed
Don’t make your contribution more informative than needed
Maxim of manner
Avoid obscurity of expression
Avoid ambiguity
Be brief
Be orderly
Lakoff Principles of Politeness
Do not impose
Give options
Make the hearer feel good
Overt prestige
Vocab, dialect/ accent use that reflects the culturally dominant group, usually those in authority and power (e.g. RP)
Covert prestige
Vocab, dialects/accents related to a particular regional or cultural vernacular (local way of language) or patois (dialect other than the standard or literary dialect)
Usage of covert prestige?
To distinguish a group from the culturally dominant group as an act of solitary, community or individual identity
Who founded the Communication Accommodation Theory? (CAT)
Howard Giles 1973
Benefits of CAT
Increase communication efficiency
Accommodates the differences in language, ability, culture etc
Gain social approval or desired level of social distance
Convergence
Usually a subconscious decision to mirror a persons vocabulary, accent, voice etc and to match their gestures (making yourself more similar to other person).
Often based on attraction , charisma, motive, credibility
Divergence
Usually a conscious, deliberate decision to make yourself different as possible to another to accentuate differences and discourages relationships by speaking and gesturing differently from other person
Who suggested the Face Politeness Theory?
Levinson and Brown 1975
Saving Face
To keep your reputation (outer appearance) and avoid others losing respect for you
Avoidance processes
Ways to avoid a threat to one’s face
Defensive strategies
The avoidance of particular topics and to suppress one’s emotions if deemed inappropriate in a situation
Protecting strategies
Polite behaviour towards the addressee
Preventive strategies
Announcements about potential awkward incidents that might take place in the flow of events
Ignorance of uncomfortable and unforeseen incidents
Helps to continue the desired flow of events (e.g. ignorance of stomach noises)
