08Chapter 8_pragmatics 语言学概论 教学课件.ppt

Chapter Eight Language in Use 1. Definition of Pragmatics The study of language in use. The study of meaning in context. The study of speakers’ meaning, utterance meaning, contextual meaning. Speaker’s meaning (A father is trying to get his 3-year-old daughter to stop lifting up her dress to display her new underwear to her peers.) Father: We don’t DO that. Daughter: I KNOW, Daddy. You don’t WEAR dresses. Utterance Meaning vs. Sentence Meaning “Utterance” may be defined as a piece of actually used language. In this sense we can divide the study of meaning into two types. One is concerned with the meaning of words and sentences, as abstract units of the language system ,which is studied under the heading of Semantics; the other is concerned with the meaning of utterances, as units of language in use, which is studied under the heading of pragmatics. Pragmatics= meaning - semantics Utterance Meaning My bag is heavy. The utterance meaning of the sentence varies with the context in which it is uttered. For example, it could be uttered by a speaker as a straightforward statement, telling the hearer that his bag is heavy. It could also be intended by the speaker as an indirect, polite request, asking the hearer to help him carry the bag. Another possibility is that the speaker is declining someone’s request for help. How is it to be understood depends on the context in which it is uttered and the purpose for which the speaker utters it. “Janet! Donkeys!” (David Copperfield) Leech曾指出，“意义”在语义学中是二价的(bivalent)，而在语用学中就成了三价的(tribalent)。也就是说，语义研究的是“X的意义是Y”(X means Y)。例如：Donkey means “ass”。而语用学研究的是“说话者S通过话语X来表达Y的意思”(S means Y by X)。例如一个家庭主妇对仆人说：“Janet! donkeys!”的时候，单独从语义上看并没有明确的意思；但是从语用学角度看，女主人是想让Janet把驴子从草坪上赶走。 Sentence meaning: What does X mean? Utterance meaning: What do you mean by X? It’s cold in here. Conclusion: Semantic meaning: the more constant