Unspoken meaning lecture 2

Question 1

What are Jakobson’s functions of language?

Answer 1

• Referential
• Conative
• Emotive
• Phatic
• Metalingual
• Poetic

Question 2

Define referential

Answer 2

• Informative
• Declarative
• Tied to literal meaning

eg. It’s not raining today

Question 3

Define conative

Answer 3

• Directive
• Orientated towards addressee
• Vocative, imperative, interrogative and declarative

eg. Eat your peas!

Question 4

Define emotive

Answer 4

• Expressive
• Focussed on speaker
• Shows speakers attitude towards what they’re speaking about

Question 5

Define metalingual

Answer 5

• Focus on code
• To check speakers are on same wavelength

eg. Do you understand what I’m saying?
- To talk about language
eg. This is a short sentence

Question 6

Define poetic

Answer 6

• Focus on message
• Playful use of language

eg. The rose looked at me lovingly

Question 7

Define phatic

Answer 7

• Language for the sake of interaction

eg. Well, here we are

Question 8

Give an example of applying the language functions

Answer 8

Jones and Adamson 1987

• Experiment with mothers, their first born and second born toddlers
• To see if there were differences between the language functions used with either child
• To see if the older child’s presence had an affect
• Used referential, metalingual and social regulative functions

Question 9

Define social regulative language functions

Answer 9

Phatic, conative and emotive

Question 10

What were the outcomes of Jones and Adamson’s experiment?

Answer 10

• Mothers used more referential and metalingual lang with first borns
• Siblings used predominantly social regulative lang

Question 11

Define speech acts

Answer 11

An utterance considered as an action, in terms of its intention, purpose, or effect

Question 12

Define pragmatics

Answer 12

The branch of linguistics dealing with language in use and the contexts in which it is used

Question 13

What is indirect function/meaning?

Answer 13

Meaning inferred by context

Question 14

Define direct speech act

Answer 14

Where there is a direct connection between the function of a speech act and its structural form

eg. Pass me the salt please?

Question 15

Define an indirect speech act

Answer 15

When there is no direct relationship between a structure and a form

eg. Why don’t you leave?

Question 16

Why might someone be ambiguous?

Answer 16

To be polite, save someones face, imply something without actually having to say it

Question 17

Define control acts

Answer 17

An act that attempts to produce change in the action of others

Question 18

Types of control acts

Answer 18

Directives
Prohibitions
Invitations
Offers
Claims (on things or rights)

Question 19

Explain the control acts and children research

Answer 19

Ervin-Tripp et al 1990

• Looked at the use of control acts between parents and children
• Specifically those used by children and their effectiveness
• Mostly directives used by children
• Urgent or aggravated acts were responded to most eg. whiny child

Question 20

Why are children polite?

Answer 20

• It’s not effective to get what they want
• But they want to show that they can recognise statuses of addressees
• They use politeness with strangers but not immediate family