COURSE SYLLABUS

Course title: Pragmatics

Number of credits: 2
Instructor: Bùi Minh Châu
email: bmchau@ctu.edu.vn

Course Description:
This course presents a discipline of Linguistics: Pragmatics. This is a perspective and set of
approaches and methods which have coalesced relatively recently within Linguistics and Applied
Linguistics. You will find that pragmatics has a great deal to contribute to the understanding of how
we make meaning in social contexts.
The nature of Pragmatics emphasizes the relevance of an understanding of specific social and
cognitive contexts to the analysis of spoken and written discourse. Particular topics include
developments in speech act theory, cooperative principles, conversational implicatures,
presupposition and mutual knowledge, and politeness and ‘face’.
Throughout this course, we hope that students will see ways of using Pragmatics to shed light on
problems and issues within their own area of interest and work.
Course Aims:
This course aims to help students:
1. to examine how language users manipulate meaning in their linguistic communication, how the
study of meaning can provide insights into our conceptualization of experiences, and why
different linguistic and cultural groups may share similar sets of communicative strategies;
2. to independently exploit the provided knowledge to study the language use both in spoken and
in written form as well as to use the language most efficiently by themselves; and
3. to skillfully apply the knowledge into the field of language teaching.
Contents:
Chapter 1: Overview of Pragmatics
Chapter 2: Speech Act Theory
Chapter 3: Pragmatics and Conversations
Assessment:
The course assessment comprises two parts:
 a mid-term exam 40%
 a final exam 60%
Course Materials:
[1] Instructor’s lecture note
[2] Discourse analysis : An introduction / Brian Paltridge., MON.033161
9781441167620.- 401.41/ P183
[3] Pragmatics / George Yule, 0194372073.- 401/ Y95
[4] Discourse analysis / Gillian Brown, George Yule MON.033161
(Cambridge textbooks in linguistics), 0521284759.- 415/
B877
[5] Discourse analysis for language teachers / Michael MON.038532
McCarthy, 0521367468.- 415/ M116 MON.051367
September 2021
 Chapter One: Overview of Pragmatics

Key words: discourse, sentences, utterances, context, pragmatics

Objectives
This chapter aims at familiarizing students with some notions of pragmatics. At the end of this chapter,
students will be able to explain some key terms in the discipline such as ‘discourse’, ‘pragmatics’, ‘context’,
‘sentences’, and ‘utterances’.

I. Discourse

1. Discourse Definitions
Originally the word ‘discourse’ comes from Latin ‘discursus’ which denoted ‘conversation,
speech’. Thus understood, discourse refers to a wide area of human life. Because of its
pervasiveness in life, discourse is studied in a number of different disciplines – sociolinguistics,
anthropology, sociology, and social psychology – and is defined as follows.
Cook (1989, p. 156) describes discourse as stretches of language perceived to be meaningful,
unified, and purposive.
In the Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, discourse is
described as a general term for language that has been produced as the result of an act of
communication (Richards et al., 1992 cited in Paltridge, 2000, p. 4). According to Richards et al.,
whereas grammar refers to the rules a language uses to form grammatical units such as
clause, phrase and sentence, discourse refers to larger units of language such as paragraphs,
conversations, and interviews.
McCarthy and Carter, in Language as Discourse: Perspectives for Language Teaching (1994,
p.1) define discourse as:
a view of language which takes into account the fact that linguistic patterns exist across
stretches of text. These patterns of language extend beyond the words, clauses and sentences,
which have been the traditional concern of much language teaching. The view of language we
take is one which focuses, where appropriate, on complete spoken and written texts and on the
social and cultural contexts in which such language operates.
Those above definitions of discourse, though stated in various ways, have much in common.
We can, therefore, understand discourse as a stretch of language consisting of several sentences,
which are related not only in terms of the ideas they share, but also in terms of the jobs they
perform within the discourse – i.e., their functions. In other words, discourse is communicative
events involving language in context.

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 We can classify discourse in terms of the function of the language within the discourse; i.e.,
the communicative job the discourse is doing.
Exercise 1.1: Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)?
1. When communicating, people produce discourse.
2. Discourse refers to language use.
3. Discourse does not contain clauses, phrases and sentences.
4. Discourse does not refer to written language.
5. Discourse should be viewed or understood in context.
6. When a person says “Hi”, he has not produced any discourse yet.
7. A piece of discourse can be produced by someone without any purposes.
8. A person can produce a meaningless and/or illogical piece of discourse.

2. Discourse Functions
In general, discourse has three functions:

1) Transactional function: when the language is used to convey ‘factual or propositional

information’, it has ‘transactional function’. Language used in such a situation is primarily
‘message oriented’. For example, “I’d like a cup of tea, please.” – “Here you are.”

2) Interpersonal function: when the language is used with the purpose of socializing; i.e.,
establishing and maintaining social relations and expressing personal attitudes, it has
‘interpersonal function’; e.g. “Good morning” – “Good morning”

3) Aesthetic function manifests when the language is used artistically; i.e., writers pay attention
not necessarily to what they want to say, but focus more on how they say it in order to create
something beautiful/artistic/memorable. Poetry is the most obvious example of aesthetic
language.

Exercise 1.2: Which function?

1. A householder puts in an insurance claim.
2. A scientist describes an experiment.
3. A teacher presents the lesson.
4. “Aye, she’s an awfy woman.”
5. “I dream of tomorrow, I dream of an end to sorrow, I dream of peace.”
6. A ‘thank you’ letter.
7. “Is this used to grab the readers’ attention?” (Rhetorical question)

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II. Context
Context refers to the situation giving rise to the discourse, and within which the discourse is
embedded.
 Features of context: addressor, addressee, audience, topic, setting, and purpose.
 In specifying the features of context which may be relevant to the identification of a type of
speech event, Hymes seizes first on the ‘persons’ participating in the event – addressor and
addressee. The addressor is the speaker or writer who produces the utterance. The addressee is
the hearer or reader who is the recipient of the utterance. Later, he adds audience, who is the
overhearer(s) or unintended addressee(s). Knowledge of the addressor in a given
communicative event makes it possible for the analyst to imagine what that particular person is
likely to say. Knowledge of his addressee constrains the analyst’s expectations even further.
 The second category is topic. If, Brown and Yule (1983) confirm, we know what is being
talked about, our expectations will be further constrained. If then we have information about
the setting, both in terms of where the event is situated in place and time, and in terms of the
physical relations of the participants with respect to posture and gesture and facial expression,
our expectations will be further limited.
 The remaining feature of context which Hymes discusses is purpose (what the participants
intended should come about as a result of the communicative event).
Exercise 1.3: Analyze features of context in the case of the cartoon below.
Addressor: ……………………………………………………………………………………………
Addressee ……………………………………………………………………………………………
Audience: ……………………………………………………………………………………………
Topic: ……………………………………………………………………………………………
Setting: ……………………………………………………………………………………………
Purpose: ……………………………………………………………………………………………

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III. Pragmatics

 Pragmatics is concerned with the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker and

interpreted by a listener. It is more interested in what people mean by what they say, than what
the words or phrases might, in their most literal sense, mean by themselves.

 Pragmatics investigates the use of language from the point of view of users, especially of the
choices they make, the constraints they encounter in using language in social interaction and
the effects their use of language has on other participants in the act of communication.
Exercise 1.4: Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)?
1. ……… Pragmatics studies how the structure of sentences is influenced by relationships
between speakers and hearers.
2. ……… Pragmatics studies how the context influences what is said.
3. ……… What a speaker actually means by his saying is semantic information (i.e.,
sentence/literal meaning).
4. ……… Hearers’ inferences of the speaker’s meaning from his saying are more relevant to
semantic information than to pragmatic information.
5. ……… Pragmatics studies language that is directly spoken.
6. ……… Pragmatics explores the unwritten maxims of conversation that speakers follow.
7. ……… Pragmatics studies how words can be interpreted in different ways based on
knowledge of the world and the situation.

IV. Sentences and Utterances

Below are the characteristics of a sentence and an utterance

Sentence Utterance

is a grammatically complete string of words is the use of any piece of language by a particular
expressing a complete thought speaker on a particular situation by specific time

can appear in both written and spoken language is spoken and can be loud or quiet, fast or slow

includes words grouped grammatically and can be in the form of a sequence of sentences, a
meaningfully to express a statement, question, single clause, a single phrase, or just a single word
exclamation, request or command

is neither a physical event nor a physical object is a unique physical event

can be either true or false

can be either grammatical or not

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 Exercise 1.7:
Categorize the following pieces of discourse according to the job they appear to be doing (i.e.,
transactional, interpersonal, or aesthetic).
1. M: Sorry, I wonder if you would mind moving your car. You’re blocking the emergency
exit for the theater.
W: I’m sorry. I must have missed the sign. Could you suggest a place to park?
M: The sign is here, just behind the tree. If you go around the corner, there’s lots of parking
by the side of the building.
W: Thanks, I’ll move my car right away but you really should cut back those branches.

2. Love is patient. Love is kind.

3. A teacher introduces us to a new vision of life, to make us as sharp as a knife.

4. Attention all passengers waiting for the 3:55 bus to the town of Darby. We have just been
informed that due to road on the Evanston Bridge, this service to Darby has been
cancelled.

5. W: How is your brother doing?

M: He’s great. He’s been training hard for a 42 kilometer race in June.
W: That’s fantastic. What’s he doing to prepare?
M: He runs about 10 kilometers every other day and he watches his diet carefully.

6. About five miles outside of North Myrtle Beach, the flashing lights of a car parked
precariously along the road had caught his attention first, and then Will had seen her
standing there, tears streaming down her face, looking frustrated and helpless. He gave a
momentary chuckle; the irony of seeing her after six years had played across his lips.
Will knew he should drive on and permit someone else to assist her, but he also knew he
couldn’t do so. He had sworn years ago always to protect her even when she had refused
to have anything to do with him.

7. A: Hello!
B: Hi!
A: It’s cold outside, isn’t it?
B: It is. A glass of beer, please.
A: Yes.

8. A: Do you do any sport in your free time?

B: Yes, I go to the gym and I do a bit of jogging, but only to keep fit. How about you?

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9. A: Hello!
B: Hello! How are you?
A: Fine. Finished all assignments?
B: Yes. You?
A: Uhh, guess so. Any suggestions for somewhere to buy cosmetics?
B: An outlet carries good cosmetics at reasonable prizes.
A: That’s a good idea!
B: I’ve always had good luck at outlets.
A: Thank you for the suggestion.
B: Hope this helps!

10. A: The weather’s so nice.

B: It is. I think I should take a day off to hang out.
A: In such beautiful weather, you should not stay inside!
B: Yep sure. A double hamburger?
A: No, a Summer Double Bucket sounds better!
B: OK. We’ve a discount for it today.

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 Chapter Two: Speech Act Theory

Key words: presupposition, locution, illocution, perlocution, direct speech act, indirect speech act,
performative, constative, felicity conditions
Objectives
Chapter Two presents the concepts of speech act theory. At the end of this chapter, students will be able to
recognize presuppositions, locution, illocution, and to identify as well as classify speech acts.

I. Presupposition
1. Definition
A presupposition is an implicit assumption about the world or background belief relating to an
utterance whose truth is taken for granted in discourse.
A presupposition must be mutually known or assumed by the speaker and addressee for the
utterance to be considered appropriate in context. It will generally remain a necessary assumption
whether the utterance is placed in the form of an assertion, denial, or question, and can be
associated with a specific lexical item or grammatical feature (presupposition trigger) in the
utterance.
Examples:
Presupposition Utterance
- Jane once wrote fiction.  Jane no longer writes fiction.
- You had once eaten meat.  Have you stopped eating meat?
- Hans exists and “you” know Hans.  Have you talked to Hans?
Exercise 2.1:
For each of the following utterances decide whether the presupposition seems valid.
Presupposition Utterance
a) This wine is awful.  “Did you buy this awful wine?”
b) Annie has a sofa.  “Sit on Annie’s sofa.”
c) You are smoking.  “Stop smoking.”
d) George is a cook.  “Lucy knows that George is a cook.”
e) Tom has looked for the key.  “Where has Tom looked for the key?”

Exercise 2.2: Change the structure of each sentence in Exercise 2.1 (from Affirmative to
Negative). Then reexamine the presuppositions. Are they still valid? Your
conclusion?

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 2. Types of Presupposition
a. Existential Presupposition
Exercise 2.3:
Each of the following utterances mentions chocolate cake. Decide which ones contain the
presupposition that ‘there was a chocolate cake’ at the time the utterance was made. What do those
utterances have in common?
Utterances
1. a) Mike might find the chocolate cake in the kitchen.
b) Mike might find a chocolate cake in the kitchen.
2. a) Is Mike giving Annie that chocolate cake?
b) Is Mike giving Annie a chocolate cake?
3. a) Did Mike hide Annie’s chocolate cake?
b) Did Mike hide a chocolate cake?

b. Structural Presupposition
Exercise 2.4:
For each of the following utterances, decide which ones contain the presupposition that ‘Mike
smashed the television’. In other words, which ones indicate that the speaker has assumed that this
proposition is true but has not directly asserted it. What do those utterances have in common?
Utterances
1. Did Mike smash the television?
2. When did Mike smash the television?
3. I was eating popcorn when Mike smashed the television.
4. Why did Mike smash the television?
5. I don’t understand why Mike smashed the television.
6. I wonder if Mike smashed the television.
7. I wonder how Mike smashed the television.

c. Factive Presupposition
Exercise 2.5:
Read each utterance below, then decide which presupposition (a or b) is valid.

1. Steve regrets buying a dog.

a. Steve bought a dog.
b. The dog is not obedient.

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 2. Tracy realized Pat ate a sandwich.
a. Pat liked sandwiches.
b. Pad had eaten a sandwich.
3. I was aware of the gloomy atmosphere in the room.
a. I was gloomy about the atmosphere.
b. The atmosphere in the room caused depression.
4. They announced the winner of the contest.
a. There was the winner of the contest.
b. They made an announcement.
5. I’m glad it’s over.
a. It’s over.
b. I’m happy because it’s finished.
6. She didn’t realize that she was ill.
a. She thought she was still well.
b. She was ill.

d. Non-factive Presupposition
Exercise 2.6:
Read each utterance below, then decide which presupposition (a or b) is valid.
1. Mary pretends she’s a rock star.
a. Mary is a rock star. b. Mary is not a rock star.
2. I dreamed that I was rich.
a. I was rich. b. I was not rich.
3. We imagined that we were in London.
a. We were in London. b. We were not in London.

e. Lexical Presuppostion
Exercise 2.7:
Read the presupposition contained in each utterance below and decide what has triggered it.
Presupposition Utterances
1. Ed eats raw oysters.  Ed should stop eating raw oysters.
2. You were late before.  You are late again.
3. You were a bad driver.  Are you still such a bad driver?
4. Pat ate the sandwich.  Tracy reprimanded Pat for eating the sandwich.
5. X is bad and Susan did X.  Susan was criticized for X.

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II. Locution, Illocution, Perlocution

In the 1950s and 1960s two philosophers of language, John Austin and John Searle, developed
speech act theory from their observation that language is used to do things other than just refer to
the truth or falseness of particular statements. They argued in the same way that we perform
physical acts, such as having a meal or closing the door, we can also perform acts by using
language. We can use language, for example, to give orders, to make requests, to give warnings,
or to give advice. The actions performed in saying something are called speech acts.
Speech act theory suggests that the action performed when an utterance is produced can be
analyzed on three different levels: locution, illocution, and perlocution.
 The locution (or LOCUTIONANY FORCE) is the actual form of words used by the speaker
and their semantic meaning.
 The illocution (or ILLOCUTIONARY FORCE) is what the speaker is doing by uttering
those words (i.e. the act through the speech or the specific purpose the speaker has in mind):
commanding, offering, promising, threatening, thanking, etc.

 The perlocution (or PERLOCUTIONARY FORCE) is the consequent effect on the hearer
which the speaker intends should follow from his utterance.
Example:
Woman: Snake! Snake! Kill it!
Man: Okay.
 Locution: the words themselves.
 Illocution: what the speakers are doing with their words: the woman is ‘ordering’ or
‘requesting action on the part of the hearer’, and the man is expressing the intention
about his own action.
 Perlocution: the result of the words: the man probably tries to kill the snake.

It is necessary to distinguish between the illocution and the locution because different
locutions can have the same illocutionary force. Similarly, the same locution can have different
illocutionary forces depending on the context. For example, “It’s cold in here” could either be a
request to close the window or an offer to close the window.

Exercise 2.8. What illocution might be performed by these utterances?

1. Can you set the table?
2. Where do you live?
3. I’ve heard you are unemployed again.
4. The street was covered with mud after the flood.

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 5. I promise I’ll come tonight.
6. I name this ship the Sunshine.
7. Don’t smoke.
8. You can go out if you like.
9. Shut up!
10. Why don’t we take a taxi?

III. Direct Speech Acts and Indirect Speech Acts

 Table 1. BASIC STRUCTURES and THEIR USE:
Sentence Structure Use
1. I am not a student. Declarative to convey information
2. She’s at work now.
3. Are you a student? Interrogative to elicit information
4. Where are you living?
5. Please take out the garbage! Imperative to tell someone to do or not to do
6. Don’t sit there doing nothing! something

 DIRECT SPEECH ACTS: there is a direct relationship between the linguistic structures
and the work they are doing. That means when we speak we do mean exactly what we say.
For example, an interrogative structure might be used to elicit information, a declarative
might be used to convey information, and an imperative might be used to tell someone to do
something. As such, the six sentences in Table 1 above can be classified as Direct Speech
Acts.

 INDIRECT SPEECH ACTS: the speech act is performed indirectly through the
performance of another speech act. That is, we often intend something which is quite
different from the literal meaning of what we say. For instance, when a person said to his
friend: “There’s food in the fridge”, the speaker did not mean to perform the act of
‘describing’ or ‘informing’, but clearly this is the act of ‘offering’, which means “You can
have some food if you feel hungry.”

Example:
Utterance Speech act Direct/ Indirect
Please take out the garbage. Request Direct
I request to take out the garbage. Request Direct
The garbage isn’t out yet. Request Indirect

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Could you take out the garbage? Request Indirect
Would you mind taking out the garbage? Request Indirect
Are you in charge of the garbage? Request Indirect

Exercise 2.9:
Classify each of the following utterances according to their structures (i.e., interrogative, imperative
and declarative). Then decide which utterances can be considered indirect speech acts.
1. Open the window!
2. Can you shut the door when you leave?
3. It’s raining again. (said with rising intonation)
4. Why don’t we go to the nice Italian restaurant near the museum?
5. Once again, we respectfully request that you return your book by September 22.
6. I hereby apologize sincerely for my rude behaviour last night.
7. So, you’re telling me you quit your job again. Are you joking?
8. (At a fitness club): Please shower before entering the pool. Please observe pool rules located
at poolside. You are advised against swimming alone.
9. ~ “Mom, can I play outside?” ~ “Put on your jacket.”
10. I can’t stand the noise you all are making. (a lecturer to students)

IV. Performative utterances

Performatives are utterances that are used to do things or perform acts. For example, ‘I bet
you five dollars our team will win today’: the speaker’s intention ‘betting’ is directly conveyed in
the utterance. That means the utterance simultaneously perform the act “betting” and describe it
through the verb ‘bet’.
Examples:
a. I name this ship the Princess Elizabeth.
b. I command you to surrender immediately.
c. I promise to come to your talk tomorrow afternoon.

Performatives can further be divided into two types: explicit and implicit. Explicit
performative utterances contain a performative verb that makes explicit what kind of act is being
performed. Implicit performatives are performative utterances in which there is no such a verb.
With such utterances, the hearer is left to infer the speaker’s intention.

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 Explicit Performative Implicit Performative

I promise I’ll be there. I’ll be there.

I admit I was foolish. I was foolish.
I apologize. I’m sorry.
I thank you. I’m very grateful.
I order you to sit down. Sit down.
We suggest eating out. How about eating out?

Some common performative verbs:

accept, acknowledge, admit, advise, affirm, agree to, announce, answer, apologize, ask,
assert, assume, baptize, beg, bet, bid, charge, claim, classify, command, compliment, congratulate,
declare, demand, deny, describe, diagnose, disagree, donate, excuse, fire, forbid, grant, guarantee,
hire, hypothesize, identify, inform, instruct, name, offer, order, permit, predict, prohibit, promise,
question, rank, recommend, refuse, reject, report, request, require, resign, say, sentence, state,
submit, suggest, suppose, swear, tell, thank, urge, volunteer, warn, withdraw.
Exercise 2.10:
In each of the groups below only the (a) utterances would be performative in Austin’s view.
Think about why the other utterances would not be classed as perfomative.
1. a) I admit I was wrong.
b) I think I was wrong.
c) I know I was wrong.

2. a) I apologize to you.
b) I amuse you.
c) I flatter you.

3. a) We promise to leave.
b) He admits he was silly.
c) I warned you to stop.

4. a) Passengers are requested not to stand near the door.

b) I am requested to leave at once.

5. a) I apologize to you.
b) Should I apologize?

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 Exercise 2.11:

Of the following performatives, which are explicit and which are implicit?

1. Don’t give the child any candy!

2. You are hereby forbidden to leave this room.
3. How about going to the British Museum this afternoon?
4. Keep all medicines out of reach of children.
5. I apologize for my impoliteness.
6. I object, your honour.
7. I declare this bridge open.
8. We refuse to fight for that man!
Exercise 2.12:
In the following, which performative verbs are used performatively, and which are used non-
performatively?
1. We thanked them for their hospitality.
2. I hereby declare Tony Benn the duly elected member for this constituency.
3. I swear that I was not there that day.
4. John withdraws his application.
5. All passengers on flight number thirty-six to Paris are requested to proceed to gate number
nine.
6. Should we recommend this book to them?

V. General Categories of Speech Acts

John Searle proposed that speech acts could be grouped into general categories based on the
relationship between ‘the words’ and ‘the world’ and on who is responsible for making that
relationship work. Within each category there can be a variety of different illocutions, but the
members of each group share a familiar relationship of ‘fit’ between the words and the world.
Six categories of speech acts:
1. Representatives
These are acts in which the words state what the speaker believes to be the case such as
stating, describing, claiming, hypothesizing, insisting, predicting, affirming. Accordingly, speakers
represent external reality by making their words fit the world as they believe it to be.
2. Expressives
Speakers express their feelings by making their words fit their internal psychological world.
Expressives can refer to the hearer or to some other aspect of the world, but their focus is the

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speaker's feeling about it (thanking, apologizing, congratulating, condoling, praising, regretting,
deploring…) For example ‘You're very kind’ or ‘This wine is awful’ would be classified as
expressives.
3. Commissives
This includes acts in which the words commit the speaker to some future action which will
make the world fit the words such as promising, vowing, threatening, offering, refusing,
volunteering ....
4. Directives
This category covers acts in which the words are aimed at making the hearer do something,
which will make the world fit the speaker’s words (e.g., commanding, ordering, requesting,
warning, suggesting).
5. Rogatives
Speakers request information from hearers. In rogatives the hearer rather than the speaker will
make the words fit the world (asking, querying, questioning). Apart from the idea that requesting
information from hearers is rather different from requesting that they perform an action, some
questions are much more directive than others. Compare: ‘Have they appointed a new director?’ to
‘Can you hand me the pen?’.
6. Declarations
Speakers utter words that change the world by their very utterance, such as ‘I bet’, ‘I declare’,
‘I resign’ (e.g., naming, pronouncing, sentencing). These kinds of speech acts are quite special in
that they can only be effective if the speaker has the appropriate authority to perform these acts.

Exercise 2.13:
Look at each of these pairs of utterances. Assume that utterance b has the same act (i.e. the
illocution) as utterance a. First, classify the act of each (a). Then, classify utterance (b) in these
pairs according to the structure and then the speech act, using Searle’s general categories.
1.a. Get back to your room.
b. Don’t you need to prepare your report?
2.a. Turn off the light in the kitchen.
b. The light in the kitchen’s not been turned off yet.
3.a. I’ll make you some coffee to wake you up.
b. Some coffee is probably good for you now.
4.a. The Minister will visit our school next week.
b. Have you heard that the Minister will visit our school next week?

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 5.a. Have you been offered the job?
b. Susan told me that you’ve got the job.
6.a. Be more polite!
b. I’m so frustrated with your rude behavior.
Exercise 2.14:

Decide the possible illocutionary act of each utterance below. Then classify them according to
Searle’s categories of speech act.

Dialogue Illocutionary act General category

1. I’ll make her an offer she can’t refuse.

2. The fact that girls have been

outstripping boys academically has
been acknowledged for the past 12
years or so.

3. Boys, change it back to normal!

Can you clean your room?

4. If I’d known I was gonna live this

long, I’d have taken better care of
myself.

5. So, where did you go yesterday?

6. - I hereby pronounce you husband and

wife.
- I baptize this boy ‘John Smith’.
- This court sentences you to 5 years’
imprisonment.

VI. Felicity Conditions

 There are certain conditions for a speech act to be appropriately and successfully performed.
These are called felicity conditions. In other words, felicity conditions are rules that need to be
followed for the utterance to work.
 Felicity conditions can be divided into: (a). general conditions; (b). preparatory conditions;
(c). content conditions; and (d). sincerity conditions
a. General conditions
The hearer must be able to understand what the speaker has said. These are called GENERAL
CONDITIONS because they apply to all types of illocutions.
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 b. Preparatory conditions
Preparatory conditions include factors such as the status or authority of the speaker to perform
the speech act, and the situation of other parties. The situation of the utterance is important.

c. Content conditions
The procedure must be carried out correctly and completely.

d. Sincerity Conditions
The speaker actually intends what s/he says. Like in the case for apologizing or promising, it
is often impossible for others to determine whether or not sincerity conditions are fulfilled.
Exercise 2.15:
What might make each of these ‘promises’ infelicitous?
1. Ti prometto di pulire la cucina. [‘I promise you that I’ll clean up the kitchen’ spoken to
someone who the speaker knows does not understand Italian.]
2. I promise that I’ll punch you in the nose.
3. I promise that the sun will come up tomorrow.
4. I promise that I started the dishwasher.
5. I promise that you’ll make a wonderful dessert.
6. I promise that I’ll jump over that skyscraper if I pass my exam.

Exercise 2.16:
Are the illocutions in the following utterances felicitous or infelicitous in normal
circumstances?
1. Boss to employee, “You’re fired.”
2. Teacher to class, “I don’t want to hear noise at the back of the class.”
3. Hostess to guest, “Clean the floor, will you?”
4. A very poor man to his lover, “I’ll buy you a diamond ring tomorrow.”

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 Chapter Three: Pragmatics and Conversation

Key words: cooperative principle, conversational maxims, conversational implicature, politeness,

politeness maxims, positive face, negative face
Objectives
Chapter Three presents the cooperative principle, the concept of conversational implicatures, and
politeness and face. At the end of this chapter, students will be able to recognize how speakers co-
operate in a conversation to achieve a shared meaning for utterances, to analyze different types of
implicatures, to be aware of the importance of politeness in determining how we structure and
interpret utterances, and to examine politeness and speech strategies.

I. The Cooperative Principle

Pragmatics explores the relationships between meaning, context, and communication. There
are two key concepts in this area of investigation. These are speaker meaning and the cooperative
principle. As we saw in the previous chapter, speakers often mean more than what they literally say.
What they say also has an illocutionary or speaker meaning. The key question is how speaker
meaning arises. The philosopher Paul Grice proposes that in order for a person to interpret what we
say there are some rules for interaction, which he terms the cooperative principle, that direct us to a
particular interpretation of what a person is saying, unless we receive some indication to the
contrary.

Grice argues that this principle is based on four sub-principles, or conversational maxims.
These are:

1. QUALITY: Say what you believe to be true and what we have evidence for.

2. QUANTITY: Make your contribution sufficiently informative for the current

purposes of the conversation. Do not make your contribution more
informative than is necessary.

3. RELATION: Make sure that whatever you say is relevant to the conversation at
hand.

4. CLARITY: Do not make your contribution obscure, ambiguous or difficult to

understand.

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 Exercise 3.1:

Which maxim might be flouted (i.e. intentionally broken) in each of the following
conversations?
1. Mother: John’s in his room studying?
John’s brother: Yes, mom. (He knows for sure that John’s watching a football match.)

2. This is not the book that you should not try not to read it

3. Policeman at the front door: ‘Is your father or your mother at home?’
Small boy (who knows that his father is at home): ‘Either my mother’s gone out shopping or
she hasn’t’.

4. Whether the weather be good, whether the weather be bad, whatever the weather, we must
weather the weather, whether we like it or not.

5. Father: Did you pass your math exam?

Son: Well, it’s so hot now. Would you like something to drink?

6. I married a rat.

7. Tom: Hey, Kenny! What are you reading?

Kenny: A book. [abrupt silence]

8. Judge: What did you do on Friday?

Witness: I woke up at seven forty. I made some toast and a cup of tea. I listened to
the news. And I left for work about eight thirty.

II. Conversational Implicatures

 A key notion in the cooperative principle is the concept of conversational implicature.
Conversational implicature is something the speaker implies with an utterance, even though it
is not literally expressed. Conversational implicature is kind of pragmatic inference: it’s based
on stereotyped expectations of what would, more often than not, be the case.

 Grice argues that to make an implicature hearers draw on:

 the conventional meanings of the words
 the cooperative principle and its maxims
 the linguistic and nonlinguistic context of the utterance
 items of background knowledge
 the fact that all of the above are available to both participants and they both assume this to
be the case.

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 Exercise 3.2:
What might the second speaker ‘mean’ in each of the following dialogues?
(1). Virginia: Do you like my new hat?
Mary: It’s pink!

(2). Helen: Coffee?

James: It would keep me awake all night.

(3). Annie: Was the dessert any good?

Mike: Annie, cherry pie is cherry pie.

Exercise 3.3:
Return to the original dialogues, (1), (2), and (3) in Exercise 3.2. How do you think the first
speaker would interpret the second speaker’s response if you have the following extra information?
1. Pink is Mary’s favourite colour and Virginia knows this.
2. James has to stay up all night to study for an exam and Helen knows this.
3. Mike loves cherry pie. As far as he’s concerned, no one can ruin a cherry pie, and Annie
knows this.

Exercise 3.4:
Look at the three dialogues below. What might the second speaker mean in this case?

(1) Virginia: Try the roast pork.

Mary: It’s pink!

(2) Helen: We watched Final Destination last night but it wasn’t very scary.
James: It would keep me awake all night.

(3) Annie: I thought the pie would cheer you up.

Mike: Annie, cherry pie is cherry pie.
 Grice also draws a distinction between generalized and particularized conversational
implicatures.

1. Generalized implicatures
In generalized conversational implicatures, no particular context is required in order to infer
meaning.

Exercise 3.5:
For each dialogue, answer the accompanying question based on the implicature that you can draw
from the second speaker’s response. Think about why you drew those implicatures.

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 (1) Carmen: Did you get the milk and eggs?
Dave: I got the milk.
Did Dave buy the eggs?

(2) Carmen: Did you manage to fix that leak?

Dave: I tried to.
Did Dave fix the leak?

(3) Mary: I hear you’ve invited Mat and Chris.

Ed: I didn't invite Mat.
Did Ed invite Chris?

(4) Steve: What happened to your flowers?

Jane: A dog got into the garden.
Did the dog belong to Jane?

(5) Jane: Who used all the printer paper?

Steve: I used some of it.
Did Steve use all the printer paper?

(6) Jane: I hear you’re always late with the rent.

Steve: Well, sometimes I am.
Is Steve always late with the rent?

(7) Jane: Mike and Annie should be here by now. Was their plane late?
Steve: Possibly.
Did Steve know for certain that the plane was late?

 Have you noticed that while the implicatures we have been looking at require a previous
utterance, they are so ‘strong’ that they do not seem to require any extra knowledge to extract
the meaning? These types of implicatures are sometimes called GENERALIZED
CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURES.

2. Particularized implicatures
With particularized conversational implicatures speaker meaning is derived from the use of an
utterance within a particular context rather than from the utterance alone. These result from the
maxim of relation. That is, the hearer will search for the relevance of what is being said in a
particular situation. This type of implicature requires the shared knowledge between the speaker and
hearer.

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 Exercise 3.6:
Are the following implicatures generalized (G) or particularized (P)?
1. ‘His wife is often complaining.’
Implicature: His wife is not always complaining. G / P

2. ‘Most of John’s friends believe in marriage.’

Implicature: Not all of John’s friends believe in marriage. G / P

3. ‘Will Sally be at the meeting this afternoon?’

~ ‘Her car broke down.’
Implicature: Sally won’t be at the meeting. G / P

4. ‘Where’s my book?’
~ ‘Your younger sister is drawing something.’
Implicature: Your younger sister probably took it. G / P

5. ‘Fred thinks there’s a meeting tonight.’

Implicature: Fred doesn’t know for sure that there’s a meeting
G / P
tonight.

6. ‘John is meeting a woman this afternoon.’

Implicature: The woman is not John’s mother, sister or cousin. G / P

Exercise 3.7:
Which maxim is flouted in each conversation?
1. Tom: Hurry up, Melanie! We’ll be late for the bus.
Melanie: The One-stop store hasn’t opened yet.
2. Sandra: Susan can be such a cow sometimes!
Mary: Oh, it’s going to rain!

3. Mom: Did you finish your homework?

Son: I finished my English.

4. Bill: How did you like the guest speaker?

Nick: Well, I’m sure he was speaking English.

5. Sally: Where’s John living?

Dan: In London. (They’re on the way to John’s house in London.)

6. Husband: How much did that new dress cost, darling?

Wife: Less than the last one.

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7. Interviewer (to a candidate for the position at the college):
‘I think you would be happier in a larger – or a smaller – college.’

8. Tom: Who’s that man over there?

Jack: That’s my mother’s husband.

III. Politeness and Face

1. Politeness
Lakoff (1973) proposes three maxims of politeness. These are:
 Don’t impose
 Give options
 Make your receiver feel good
Example: Do the two speakers follow the above three maxims?
A: Uh if you’d care to come and visit a little while this morning I’ll give you a cup of coffee.
B: Hehh. Well, that’s awfully sweet of you. I don’t think I can make it this morning. Hhuhm
I’m running an ad in the paper and – and uh I have to stay near the phone.

Politeness principles and cooperative principles are often in conflict with each other. For
example, if A asks B: ‘Do you like my new haircut?’ and B doesn’t, B might not follow the maxim
of quality (be true) in order to avoid hurting A’s feelings.

Leech (1983) has proposed a politeness principle which, like the cooperative principle, is
described as a set of maxims that speakers assume others are following. These are the:
 tact maxim
 generosity maxim
 approbation maxim
 modesty maxim
 agreement maxim
 sympathy maxim

 The tact maxim: we minimize cost and correspondingly maximize the benefit to others.

 The generosity maxim: we typically minimize the benefit of an action to ourselves at the
same time as maximizing the cost to ourselves.

 The approbation maxim: we typically minimize criticism of others while at the same
time maximizing our praise of them.

 The modesty maxim: we should minimize praising ourselves and maximize criticizing
ourselves.
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  The agreement maxim: we exaggerate our agreement with other people at the same time
as we mitigate disagreement by expressing regret or partial agreement.

 The sympathy maxim suggests that congratulations and condolences be expressed as

courteous speech acts, as in ‘I’m sorry to hear…’, etc.

Exercise 3.8:
Below are five utterances with an imperative structure. Assume that each one would be spoken by
the host to a guest. Rearrange them in order of politeness, starting with the least polite. Think
about what made some of these utterances seem more polite than others.
1. Take a look at this.
2. Clean up the kitchen floor.
3. Pass the salt.
4. Have some more cake.
5. Peel these potatoes.

Exercise 3.9:

Here are three possible requests for the same action. Again, assume that each one would be
spoken by the host to a guest and rearrange them in order of politeness, starting with the least polite.
Think about what made some of these utterances seem more polite than others.
1. Could I possibly ask you to set the table?
2. Set the table.
3. Can you set the table?
Exercise 3.10:
In each of the following dialogues, there are three alternative responses for the second speaker.
Put them in increasing order of politeness.

1. Mary: Well, I’ve done it. I’ve dyed my hair blonde.

Ed: a. You look beautiful.
b. You look awful.
c. You look amazing.

2. Tom: Do you like the wine I picked out?

Helen: a. It’s Italian, isn’t it?
b. Yes, I do.
c. Not really.

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 3. Susan: What did the students say about my teaching?
Sally: a. Let’s hope none of them are lawyers.
b. Some students were very positive.
c. Pretty bad.
2. Positive and Negative Face
A framework to deal with these kinds of issues was developed by Brown and Levinson (1987).
In their analysis, politeness involves us showing an awareness of other people’s FACE WANTS.
As used by these authors, FACE refers to our public self-image. There are two aspects to this self-
image.

 POSITIVE FACE refers to our need to be accepted, or liked by others, and to be treated as
a member of a group knowing that our social group shares common goals. POSITIVE
POLITENESS orients to preserving the positive face of other people. When we use positive
politeness we use speech strategies that emphasize our solidarity with the hearer, such as
informal pronunciation, shared dialect or slang expressions, nicknames, more frequent
reference to speaker and hearer as ‘we’, and requests which are less indirect.

 NEGATIVE FACE refers to our right to be independent and not be imposed on by others.
(Negative does not mean bad here, simply an opposite term to positive). NEGATIVE
POLITENESS orients to preserving the negative face of other people. This is much more
likely if there is a social distance between the speaker and hearer. When we use negative
politeness, we use speech strategies that emphasize our respect for the hearer. Nicknames,
slang and informal pronunciation tend to be avoided and requests tend to be more indirect
and impersonal, often involving ‘Could you…?’ or ‘Could I ask you to…?’ or even referring
to the hearer in the third person: ‘Students are asked not to put their essays in the staff
room.’ Negative politeness also involves more frequent use of other MITIGATING
DEVICES, expressions that “soften the blow”, like please, possibly, might, I’m sorry
but…etc.

Exercise 3.11:

1. If you and a close friend were having lunch, would you prefer to say ‘Pass the salt.’ or
‘Would you mind passing me the salt?’? Which one would you use to a stranger at another
table in a restaurant?

2. If you wanted to ask your bank manager for a loan, would you prefer ‘I’d like to ask for a
loan of 10 million VND.’ or ‘Lend me 10 million VND.’?

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 3. If you had to evacuate a burning building, would you say ‘Fire! Get out!’ or ‘Fire! Might I
possibly ask you to leave the building?’?

4. Is an army sergeant being rude when he says ‘Sit down.’? Suppose you have arrived for a job
interview and the interviewer stands up when you enter, would you consider it rude to say to
her ‘Sit down’? Would it be okay to say this to good friends when they drop by?

The table on the next page summarizes the positive and negative politeness strategies Brown
and Levinson suggest we use when interacting with people to maintain each other’s face.

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 Positive politeness strategies Negative politeness strategies

(showing closeness, intimacy, rapport and (giving the other person choices, allowing them
solidarity) to maintain their freedom)

Notice or attend to the other person’s wants, Be indirect: e.g. by using indirect speech acts
needs, or possessions

Intensify your interest, approval, or sympathy Don’t presume or assume: e.g. by asking
for the other person questions such as ‘Could you do this for me?’

Use in-group identity markers: e.g. in-group Be pessimistic about things: e.g. by saying ‘This
address forms, jargon and slang probably won’t be necessary but …’

Seek agreement with the other person: e.g. Minimize imposition on the other person: e.g. by
choose topics you’ll both agree on saying ‘I just wanted to ask if you could …’

Avoid disagreement with the other person: e.g. Give deference: e.g. by the use of certain
by hedging, telling white lies address forms

Presuppose or assert common ground between Apologize to the other person: e.g. by indicating
each other: e.g. through gossip, small talk reluctance or begging forgiveness

Joke about things Impersonalize things: e.g. by the use of the

plural ‘you’ vs ‘I’

Assert or presuppose knowledge of or concern State the imposition as a general social rule or
for, the other person’s wants obligation by using ‘request’ as a noun rather
than ‘want’ as a verb

Make offers Go ‘on record’ as incurring a debt, or not

Make promises ‘indebting’ the other person

Be optimistic about things

Assume or assert reciprocity

Give (or look for) reasons for things

Include each other in an activity: e.g. by using

‘we’ rather than ‘you’ or ‘me’

Give gifts, express sympathy, understanding, or

cooperation to the other person

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