Pragmatics

Question 1

What is ‘Pragmatics’?

Answer 1

Refers to the study of language through a filter of social context

Question 2

What is the difference between ‘Pragmatics’ and ‘Semantics’?

Answer 2

In Pragmatics, words have multiple meanings in different contexts. We read between the lines, decode subtext and interpret implied meanings to understand what is being said. Where Semantics, are meanings rooted in words, either through denotative or associative meaning

Question 3

What is ‘Dexis’?

Answer 3

Deictic expressions are words that require a context, often of time, place or, person to be fully understood

Question 4

What is the ‘Cooperative Principle’?

Answer 4

Grice created four Maxims that describe a listener’s assumptions about the other interlocutors during communication

Question 5

What are the four Maxims?

Answer 5

The four Maxims Include:

• Maxim of Quality
• Maxim of Quantity
• Maxim of Relation
• Maxim of Manner

Question 6

What is the ‘Maxim of Quality’?

Answer 6

Be truthful; have adequate evidence for what you say

Question 7

What is the ‘Maxim of Quantity’?

Answer 7

Be as informative as required

Question 8

What is the ‘Maxim of Relation’?

Answer 8

Be relevant

Question 9

What is ‘Maxim of Manner’?

Answer 9

Avoid being ambiguous; be brief

Question 10

What is ‘Flouting’?

Answer 10

Intentionally breaking a Maxim is called ‘Flouting’. When someone flouts a Maxim, they generate an ‘Implicature’

Question 11

What is ‘Implicature’?

Answer 11

When an utterance or piece of text has an underlying meaning not present in the surface force of words

Question 12

What are the five types of ‘Politeness’?

Answer 12

The five types of ‘Politeness’ Include:#

• Positive Politeness
• Negative Politeness
• Deferential Politeness
• Face
• Indirectness

Question 13

What is ‘Positive Politeness’?

Answer 13

A desire to be liked

Question 14

What is ‘Negative Politeness’?

Answer 14

A desire not to impose

Question 15

What is ‘Deferential Politeness’?

Answer 15

Showing respect and deference

Question 16

What is ‘Face’?

Answer 16

Someone’s conscious concept of public self-image

Question 17

What is ‘Indirectness’?

Answer 17

Avoiding threatening someone’s face

Question 18

What is a ‘Politeness Strategy’ for Positive Politeness’?

Answer 18

Show interest; seek agreement

Question 19

What is a ‘Politeness Strategy’ for ‘Negative Politeness’?

Answer 19

Apologise; hedge; pessimism

Question 20

What is a ‘Politeness Strategy’ for ‘Deferential Politeness’?

Answer 20

Show the other speaker is more powerful; terms of address

Question 21

What are ‘Face Threatening Acts’ (FTA)?

Answer 21

An FTA refers to the potential power of something we say to inflict harm on someone’s face during interaction

Question 22

What are three examples of FTA?

Answer 22

Examples of FTA Include:

• No attempt to preserve the target’s face
• Politeness marker to preserve the target’s face
• Indirectness to preserve the target’s face

Question 23

What is meant by ‘No attempt to preserve the target’s face’?

Answer 23

Speakers may not attempt to preserve the target’s face if they’re speaking to a member of a less powerful social group

Question 24

What is meant by ‘Politeness marker to preserve the target’s face’?

Answer 24

Negative Politeness is used to lessen the impact of a potentially intrusive request

Question 25

What is meant by ‘Indirectness to preserve the target’s face’?

Answer 25

Indirectness is used to give the target of the veiled request an easy way to disagree