Pragmatics(语用学)

Chapter one Introduction

Pragmatics ,as a topic in linguistics, is the study of the use of context to make inferences about meaning. The term “pragmatics”was first introduced in― Foundations of the Theory of Signs”by Charles W, Morris (1938). who contrasts it with semantics and syntax.

（1）Syntax is the study of the grammatical relations of linguistic units to one another

（2）Semantics is the study of the relation of linguistic units to the world

（3）Pragmatics is the study of the relation of linguistic units to the their users.

1.Pragmatics is a study of language comprehension and application

Pragmatics deals with the way of how to use language tactfully and understand it appropriately. Two types of meaning have to be distinguished in the study of pragmatics: meaning of information and meaning of communication. If A says：

（1）A: 奖金！B:何时发？/C:jiang jin

When we use English to talk to native speakers of English, we are always betrayed, without our knowing it, by our culture. Knowledge of pragmatics would help us a lot in successful cross-cultural communication.

（2）A:（A Chinese sees off a foreign friend who should rush home at once ）Walk slowly！

B:(confused)…

Pragmatics is not only significant of how to use a language, but also how to understand it .Utterance understanding depends mainly on common knowledge. In the dialogue:

（3）A: 你喜欢喝功夫茶吗? B:我是Gagi nang。

Besides common knowledge, contextual assumption is even more important in utterance understanding.（电影《无极》正热播）

（4）A: 《无极》好看吗?

B: 不看《无极》终生遗憾！

C:看了《无极》遗憾终生！

D:《无极》即无聊之极的简称！

（5）King Kong —Kong is King！

2. Pragmatics is a study of language appropriateness and tactfulness

Linguistic correctness alone does not help much in successful interaction. What is more important is appropriateness and tactfulness.

（6）某人的儿子满月抱出来给大家看。有人说这小孩将来会发财，有人说这小孩将来会当官。这两人都得到主人的感谢。但有个人说这小孩将来会死，他被打了一顿。

（7）A:有空请到我家作客！

B: 谢谢！现在如何?

C:我现在就有空。

D: 谢谢！

E:干嘛这么客气！

3.The development of pragmatics

3.1Micropragmatics and macropragmatics

Micropragmatics—the dynamic description of language

According to Leech, semantic meaning is dyadic/stative, and pragmatic –triadic./dynamic

macropragmatics—which is made up of cross-cultural, interlanguage, societal, cognitive～. cross-cultural pragmatics—studies the use of L2 in communication

（8）请不要吸烟！—? No smoking, please！

interlanguage pragmatics—the study of nonnative speakers` use and acquisition of linguistic action patterns in a L2

（9）一个正在学粤语的外国人在学校饭堂对服务员说：五纹鸡餸, 五毫鸡饭！(服务员不知所云)

societal pragmatics

（10）有痔无恐；无胃不治；骑乐无穷；咳不容缓；一明惊人；百衣百顺

(11)one-sex underwear/Big Long Come /Gung Hey Fat Choy/Money God arrives

Chapter Two What is pragmatics?

Pragmatics studies the utterances in terms of users and context.

https://www.wendangku.net/doc/4811243758.html,parison between semantics and pragmatics

1)the semantic representation (or logical form) of a sentence is distinct from its pragmatic

interpretation.

2)Semantics is rule-governed (=grammatical).pragmatics is principle-controlled(rhetorical)

3)The rules of grammar are fundamentally conventional; the principles of pragmatics are

fundamentally non-conventional. i.e. motivated in terms of conversational goals.

4)Pragmatics relates the sense (or grammatical meaning)of an utterance to its pragmatic (or

illocutionary)force. This relationship may be relatively direct or indirect.

5)Grammatical correspondences are defined by mappings; pragmatic correspondences are

defined by problems and their solutions.

6)Grammatical explanations are primarily formal; pragmatic explanations are primarily

functional.

7)?grammar is ideational; pragmatics is interpersonal and textual

8)In general, grammar is describable in terms of discrete and determinate categories;

pragmatics is describable in terms of continuous and indeterminate values.

2.The scope of study

1)Deixis; 2)conversational implicature; 3)linguistic politeness 4)Presupposition; 5)speech act

theory 6)Relevance theory 7)Neo-Gricean principles 8)Language use and social culture

3.Context

“语境”最初指的是指某个词句的上下文，后被扩展成语言使用的环境。

3.1互文性(intertexutality )与语境

所谓互文,(intertext ),指的是存在于其他语篇之间的语篇(a text between other texts)；所谓互文性，讲的就是不同语篇之间的相互联系。

3.1.1互文性的表现形式

根据Fairclough的观点，互文形式可分为两大类：(1)boundary marked(有界限标记的)；

(2)boundary unmarked(没有界限标记

的)

有界限标记的表现形式：(1)直接引语；(2)间接引语；(3)个别词语的引用

例如，(1)He said, ―That is rikiculous.‖

(2)He said that it was ridiculous.

(3)I don`t care if you think it is ―ridiculous‖, it`s what I am going to do.

没有界限标记的表现形式：(1)预设(presupposition)；(2)否定(negation)；(3)元话语(metadiscourse)；(4)反语(irony)

(4)In spite of your ridicule, I am going to do it.( presupposition)

(5)My idea is not ridiculous. (negation)

(6)That idea is sort of ridiculous. (metadiscourse)

(7)I am going to go ahead with this ridiculous idea of mine. (irony)

Chapter 3 Deixis

1.Deixis—this word is from a Greek word meaning ―indicating or pointing‖, which directly concerns the relationship between the structure of language and the context in which it is used. Deictic information is important for the interpretation of utterances in communication.

For example:

1)Meet me here a week from now with a stick about this big.

2)My wife is not my wife./John hit his wife.

2.Classification

Five classes of deixis are presently recognized by most linguists.

2.1 Person deixis

The basic person deixis are expressions which necessarily refer to participant roles in the speech event; person deictic information is mainly provided by the system of the first , second and third person pronouns.

Eg,1) A: Come to dinner tonight, John.

B: What should I bring?

A: Just bring yourself.

2)我们/你们大学生应该good good study, day day up!

3)Mary`s husband hit her./herself.

4)广州是我家,清洁靠大家./齐参加.

5)You are my student./You can`t lose what you never had.

2.2 Place(or spatial) deixis

Place deixis encodes information about the relative locations of speaker, listener, object referred to. And setting in the speech event.

Eg.1)Take/Bring the belongings with you and go/come out.

2)请到天涯海角来！/你要找的东西远在天边,近在眼前！

2.3 Time (or Temporal)deixis

Temporal deictic reference appears in various distinct ways in grammar. Firstly, in temporal adverbs. There are in English now , then soon, recently today ,yesterday and so on.. Secondly, languages generally make deictic time distinctions in the verbal category of tense, for example,“He is dying./He died.”Thirdly,there are complex time deixis which consists of deictic modifiers

together with expressions of time unit , such as “this week, last month, next year ect.”“在很久很久以前,山里有座庙,庙里有个和尚……”

2.4Discourse (or textual )deixes

It has to do with the use of expressions in some utterances in reference to certain portion of the on-going discourse.

Eg.1)A: That is King Kong! B: How to spell ‘it’?

2)He was very angry .Nevertheless, he fell asleep.

3)遥远的东方有一条龙,它的名字就叫中国……

2.5 Social Deixis

By social deixis we mean that aspect of language which reflects certain realities of the social situation in which the speech act occurs. For example, “你/您好吗?”；“老张/张老/老不死”

Chapter 4 Conversational Implicature

1.Meaning and intention

Meaning plays a very important role in pragmatics , and conversational implicature developed by Grice is based on the analysis of meaning . Thus we must discuss meaning before we proceed to the theory of conversational implicature.

1.1 View of meaning

The referential theory—It claims that every sentence is a combination of words , and each word stands for an object. The meaning of the word is the object the word is referred to. So language , at this point, has its contact with the real world.

For example:

A:本山爱本田,丰毅爱丰田.。那谁爱农田？

B:山田爱农田！对吗？

A:也许大概可能对。

B:肯定必然没商量！

Having concluded that the referential theory is inadequate, linguists try to study the meaning problem in other ways. They claim the analysis of meaning in use, context and intention. Stevenson(1963) proposes that there are two kinds of meanings :Descriptive or Conventional meaning and Psychological or Pragmatic meaning.The former does not carry the individual will and attitude while the latter is dependent of the intention and feeling of the speaker and hearer. The sentence “Boys are boys and girls are girls”may be meaningless in logical form, but when it is said between Chinese grandparents on certain occasions, it is very meaningful. Could you guess the subtle implicature？

This philosophical argument over meaning finally leads us to Grice`s analysis of meaning and intention.

1.2 Analysis of meaning and intention

Grice proposes his analysis of meaning in more or less the following way:

‘A meant something by X= A intended the utterance of X to produce some effect in an audience by means of the recognition of this intention’

The following sentences all use the word ‘mean’,but the word functions quite differently in each sentence.

(1)a.The black clouds mean that rain is coming.

b.Those spots mean measles.

(2)a.The rings on the bell mean that rain is coming.

b.His cough means that he is seriously ill.

(3)a.色即是空, 空即是色

b.美国外交的逻辑：敌人的朋友即是敌人；

中国外交的逻辑：敌人的敌人即是好朋友;敌人的朋友也是朋友。

We need to make a distinction between sentence meaning and utterance meaning .The former is in its own logical form and ‘an abstract theoretical entity defined within a theory of grammar’,while the latter carries the intention of the speaker and the recognition of it by the hearer and is ‘the issuance of a sentence , a sentence-analogue, or sentence-fragment, in an actual context.’

2.The notion of conversational implicature

Grice put forward the theory in the William James Lectures at Harward University in 1967.This notion is ‘one of the single most important ideas in pragmatics’(Levinson,1983).It is noticeable for its two contributions: the first is that it can help us understand and get some satisfactory explanations concerning some difficult linguistic phenomena. Secondly , the general conversational principles have some effects on the English language, i.e. the formation of certain grammatical structures depends on context and intention.

For example:

A: 祝你狗年旺旺—叫！

B: 也祝你狗年走狗运！鸡犬升天！！

The important point made by Grice regarding the theory of implicature is the distinction between what is said and what is implicated.

2.1 Cooperative principle

Grice (1975) defines this principle as follows: Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged

For example:

A：做名人难, 做名女人更难，做老名女人难上加难！(06春晚赵本山的小品台词)

B：没什么大不了的，做女人挺好！！(引自一丰胸产品广告)

2.2Conversational maxims

According to Grice, the content of each maxim is as follows：

Quantity Maxim:

1)Make your contribution as informative as is required (for the current purpose of the

exchange )

2)Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

Quality Maxim：

Try to make your contribution one that is true：

1)Do not say what you believe to be false

2)Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

Relation Maxim：Be relevant.

Manner Maxim：

1)Avoid obscurity of expression

2)Avoid ambiguity.

3)Be brief(avoid unnecessary prolixity)

4)Be orderly.

The first three maxims are about “what to say”and the last “how to say it”。By observing these maxims, people could interact in the most direct and efficient way. However ,as Grice pointed out, these maxims are not always observed, but flouted in conversation.

What leads to implicatures, in Grice`s opinion, is a situation where the speaker flouts a maxim. For example:

(1)A: How are you?

B: I am dead.

(2) A: 听过《东风破》这首歌吗?

B:听过。周杰伦把歌词背得不错！

3.Generalized and particularized implicatures

Generally ,conversational implicatures can be divided into two kinds: Generalized and particularized.

3.1 Generalized implicature (conventional)

Generalized implicature is obtained by assuming that the speaker is observing the conversational maxims and his uttering of the prior sentence will generally carry some implicatures.Thus .in regard to the quality maxim, the following sentences will carry implicatures:

1)An elephant is bigger than an ant.(I believe and have adequate evidence that an elephant is

bigger than an ant)

2)Does he have any children?(I don`t know whether he has and I want to know)

According to Levinson, this kind of implicature is defined as the‘non-truth conditional inference that is not derived from superordinate pragmatic principle like the maxims but is simply attached by convention to particular lexical items or expressions. Suppose I say:

(1)‘I walk into a/the house and found a tortoise behind the door.’

(2)‘she is poor and/but honest.’

3.2 Particularized implicature

These implicatures are generated in a conversation by overtly and deliberately violating some submaxims for communicative purposes. They are inferences dependent on particular time, place, and people. The speaker in this situation follows the general cooperative principle, but he violates some submaxims.

For example:

A:那个宣传部长对精神文明的理解非常深刻。

B:是吗?据我所知，他白天文明但不精神, 晚上精神却不文明！

The following is a set of factors which have to be analyzed if we want to work out the implicature:

1)The conventional meaning of the utterance

2)The cooperative principle and submaxims

3)The context

4)The mutual understanding of the participants, what has been said and what is expected to

follow

5)All these things must be accessible to the participants in the conversation.

4.Features of implicatures

4.1 cancellability—If an utterance is added to the original one, the original conversational implicature may disappear as the context has been changed.

For example:

(1)你真行！

(2)你真行！干这种事也不脸红！

4.2 Non-detachability——conversational implicature is inferred from the whole utterance instead of a particular expression or construction. So if a certain expression or construction is changed, the inplicature won`t be changed, as shown in the following :

(1)A: Did your treatment for stammering work?

B: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper./She sells seashells on the seashore.

4.3 Calculability——It means that implicature can be worked out through inference

4.4 Non-conventionality——It means that the literal meaning remains the same in all contexts, but conversational implicatures will vary or be lost as the context changes .‘It is cold here！’

4.5 Indeterminacy——This refers to the fact that an expression with a single meaning can produce different implicatues as the contexts and participants vary.‘He is an ox.’

Chapter 5 Linguistic politeness

1.Politeness as a linguistic universal

we view politeness as one of the major social constraints on human interaction which regulates participants` communicative behaviour by constantly reminding them to take into consideration the feelings of the others .

We maintain that politeness is a linguistic universal by which we mean:

1)Linguistic politeness exists in all languages

2)Politeness considerations regulate every human speaker`s verbal behaviour in social

interaction.

2.Face and politeness

2.1 Face

Brown an Levinson(1978)put forward an important theory on politeness which is known as the Face theory .‘Face ’is defined as an individual`s self-esteem, and there are two kinds of face: Negative face—people`s desire that they be free to do things, and that others` will be not imposed on them;

Positive face—people`s desire that their wants be considered desirable and appreciated. Everyone has a physiological face ‘lian’(脸).We, particularly ladies, take a great care of it.In some areas of China, mian(面),is also used occasionally in place of lian. (脸).

Lexical comparison:

1)The child put on a face when told to go to bed.(鬼脸)

2)Excuse me while I go to the powder room to put on my face.(化妆)

3)To have the face to ask such a rude question.(粗鲁)

4)These are just old problems with new faces(外表)

5)Though shamed beyond words, he managed to show a bold face.(装相)

6)They hushed up the family scandal to preserve face.(名誉)

7)On the face of it, there was no hope for a comeback.(表面)

8)My parents have set their face against my becoming an actress.(板着脸反对)

9)Tell him to his face that he is a liar！(当面)

10)He refused to face up to his problems.(面对)

This translation exercise shows:

1)the two languages both make an extensive use of face to generate new expressions;

2)that the English word face has the values that are shared by three Chinese words lian, mian ,

and xiang respectively;

3)the two languages are very similar in the face metaphors.

One`s mianzi is particularly threatened:

1)when an inferior challenges the superior in public

2)when an inferior disagrees with the superior in public

3)when the superior criticizes the inferior in public

4)when the authority admits mistakes to his inferiors

5)when the authority is not given his /her due prominence in a social gathering

Mianzi can be salvaged by:

1)praising first, criticizing later

2)criticizing through a mediator

3)creating an opportunity for the mianzi-loser to make a big show in public

2.2Politeness

2.2.1Chinese politeness maxims

1)贬己尊人准则(the maxim of self-denigration and other-elevation)

2)称呼准则(the maxim of using address terms )

3)文雅准则(the maxim of refinement)

4)求同准则(the maxim of agreement)

5)德,言,行准则(the maxim of virtue, words and deeds)

德,言,行准则是指在行为动机上，尽量增大对他人的益处,尽量减小他人付出的代价；在言辞上,尽量夸大别人給自己的好处,尽量说小自己付出的代价。

A:上大课时我帮你占位子。

B:那太麻烦你啦！

A:顺便。举手之劳。

B:那谢谢你啦！

2.2.2English politeness maxims

Leech in his book ?Principles of pragmatics‘ (1983),introduces the English politeness principle as follows:

Minimize (all things being equal )the expression of impolite beliefs;

Maximize(all things being equal) the expression of polite beliefs.

This is a general principle. In order to uphold it, people are expected to abide by six maxims:

1)The Tact Maxim: Minimize the expression of beliefs which imply cost to other ; maximize the expression of beliefs which imply benefit to other.

For example: “请你帮我带个大/小包，很/一点点大。”

2)The Generosity Maxim:Minimize the expression of benefit to self; maximize the expression of cost to self.

例如：:这是我们家祖传秘方所酿成的米酒,你们一定要不醉无归！

3)The Approbation Maxim: Minimize the expression of beliefs which express dispraise of other; maximize the expression of beliefs which express approval of other. This maxim is easy to be understood. To put it plainly，if you approve other.，exaggerate your approval; if you disapprove other, keep silent if you can.

例子：…秦王汉武，略输文采。

4)The Modesty Maxim: Minimize the expression of praise of self; maximize the expression of

dispraise of self. 例子：晚生的拙作难登大雅之堂！

5)The Agreement Maxim: Minimize the expression of disagreement between self and

other ；.maximize the expression of agreement between self and other.

6)The Sympathy Maxim :Minimize antipathy between self and other ；Maximize sympathy

between self and other. 例子：禽流感暴发，你们家养的家禽处理了吗？/还好吗/死光了吗？

2.2.3 Pragmatic scales of politeness(P63)

Politeness is always a mater of degree, which is heavily influenced by social and cultural factors.

1)The cost and benefit scale, on which is measured the cost or benefit of the proposed action to the speaker or the hearer . For example,

(1)Peel these potatoes.

(2)Hand me the newspaper.

(3)Sit down.

(4)Look at that

(5)Enjoy your holiday

(6)Have another sandwich

From (1) to (6), these sentences change gradually from cost to the hearer to benefit to the hearer

and hence become less polite to more polite to the hearer.

2)The optionality scale, on which speech acts are ordered according to the amount of choice the speaker allows to the hearer. The following sentences show the gradual change from comparatively less polite to more polite due to the change of optionality.

(1)Would you like another sandwich?

(2)Have another sandwich

(3)Do have another sandwich

(4)You must have another sandwich

(5)You must finish your work tomorrow

(6)Finish your work tomorrow

(7)Will you finish your work tomorrow?

(8)Would you finish your work tomorrow?

(9)Could you possibly finish your work tomorrow?

3)The indirectness scale, on which, from the speaker`s point of view, speech acts are ordered with respect to the length of the path connecting the speech act to its‘force’,or from the hearer`s point of view, speech acts are ordered in terms of the length of the inferential path, by which the ‘force ’is derived from the speech act. The following sentences become gradually more indirect as to their ‘force’manifestation and hence become more polite since the proposed action is a cost to the hearer.

(1)I order you to answer the phone.

(2)Answer the phone.

(3)I want you to answer the phone.

(4)Will you answer the phone?

(5)Can you answer the phone?

(6)Would you answer the phone?

(7)Would you mind answering the phone?

4)The social-distance scale, which is based on a distinction between power and solidarity. For example,‘我们晚上到小满家吃饺子！’/“小赖不赖！”

3.Social variables involved in politeness decision(P68)

Politeness is a relative concept and ‘how polite’is polite and appropriate in a given context depends of a number of factors. Among these factors Relative status, Social distance between Speaker and Hearer and Ranking of imposition are the social variables that directly contribute to politeness decision. For example,

(1)Can I borrow your pen for a minute?

(2)Can I use your car for a while?

(3)Excuse me, would you by any chance have the time?

(4)Got the time, mate?

(5)Excuse me, sir, would you be all right if I smoke?

(6)Mind if I smoke?

(7)Mr.X., could I, by any chance, beg you to set your interesting book aside for a while and

condescend to have a cup of tea with me?(if a wife says to her husband)

Chaper 6. Speech Act Theory

6.1 Introduction

In this unit we examine things we commonly do with language. There is a special theory called Speech Act Theory that accounts for the things we do with language. It was first put forward by the British philosopher J.L.Austin in his book ‘How to Do Things with Words’.According to Austin, any speech act comprises at least two and typically three, sub-acts. These are what he calls the Locutionary, the illocutionary, and the Perlocutionary acts involved in a total speech act.

A locutionary act —which is the act of saying something in the full sense of ‘say’(说话行为) An illocutionary act—which is an act performed in saying something (施事行为)

A perlocutionary act—the act performed by or as a result of saying(取效行为)

For example:

1)‘Hello, I am John！’—A locutionary act

2) John was introducing himself to Wing Ling —An illocutionary act

3) John intended to be polite.—A perlocutionary act

Austin`s idea was just like playing a football game: kicking →goal—winning

6.2 Classification of illocutionary acts

Searle classified illocutionary acts as follows:

1)Assertives(断言)—the illocutionary point of the assertives is to commit the speaker in varying

degrees to something`s being the case , to the truth of the expressed proposition.(说话人担保某事是如此,所说的命题是真的)。English assertive verbs may include: assert ,claim , affirm , state, deny, inform ,notify, remind, etc.“香港明天会更好！”

2)Directives(指令类)—the illocutionary point of directives consists in the fact that they are

attempts of varying degrees by the speaker to get the hearer to do something .(要听话人做某事). English directives verbs may include: request , ask, urge, tell, demand, command , order, advise, beseech, etc.“Camera！”“Action！”“点灯！”“一拜天堂,……夫妻对拜！”

3)Commissives (承诺类)—the illocutionary point of this type is to commit the speaker in

varying degrees to some future course of action.(说话人承诺他将做某事).English commissives are: commit , promise, threaten , pledge, consent, refuse, offer., guarantee, etc.

“爱你一万年！”

4)Expressives (表达类)—the illocutionary point is to express the psychological state specified

in the sincerity condition about something indicated in the propositional content.( 表达说话人对命题内容涉及的事态所抱的态度,也就是说话人的心理状态).English expressives are: apologize, thank, congratulate, deplore, boast, welcome, greet, etc.“但无事于心,无心于事,则空而灵,虚而妙。你慌什么？”

5)Declarations(宣告类)—the illocutionary point is to bring about the correspondence between

the propositional content and reality.(其行事要点是要改变所提到的实体的现状。如果某人成功地任命你为主席,那你就成了主席)English declarations are: resign, appoint , nominate, bless, name, etc.‘领导说你行,你不行也会行; 领导说你不行,你行也不能行’。

Chapter 7 Presupposition

Conversation implicature is a special kind of pragmatic inference. There is another kind of pragmatic inference, namely PRESUPPOSITION, which s based closely on the actual linguistic structure of sentences.

7.1 Distinction between the ordinary senses of presupposition and the technical usage

The following examples illustrate some ordinary senses of the term：

(1)Effects presuppose causes.

(2)John wrote Harry a letter, presupposing he could read.

(3)Harry asked Bill to close the door , presupposing that Bill had left it open.

In contrast , the technical sense of presupposition is restricted to certain pragmatic inferences or assumptions that to be built into linguistic expressions .Let us start taking the relatively simple sentence in(4)

(4)John managed to stop in time.

From this we can infer:

(5)John stopped in time.

(6)John tried to stop in time.

Now take the negation of (4)：

(7)John did not manage to stop in time.

From this we cannot infer(5),yet the inference to (6) is preserved and thus shared by both (4)and (7). On the basis of the negation test, we identify that the presupposition of both (4)and (7) is (6),but not (5). Clearly, (4)entails (5),but (7)does not entail (5);and negation alters a sentence`s entailments, but it leaves the presuppositions untouched.

7.2Philosophical background

Philosophers have been concerned for some time with the status of sentences such as:

(8)The King of France is bald.

The question is whether there is a King of France. If there is, in fact. no King of France, such a sentence can be said to be false. Russell(1905) held the view that this sentence ‘asserts ’that there is a King of France and that he is bald, and , therefore, if there is no King of France, the sentence must be false.

7.3 Entailment vs.presupposition

suppose (8) above and (9) mark as (S1),and (10),(11)as (S2):

(8)The King of France is bald.(S1)

(9)That person is a bachelor.(S1)

(10)T here is a King of France.(S2)

(11)T hat person is a man.(S2)

The difference between entailment and presupposition is summarized in the following table ENTAILMENT PRESUPPOSITION

S1 S2 S1 S2

T﹍﹍﹍﹍＞T T ＞T

F＜ F －(Tv F) ＜ F

F ＞Tv F F ＞T

(Tv F=either true or false; －(Tv F)=neither true nor false)

7.4Presupposition vs.assertion

Different focus of assertion may result in different presupposition:

(12)J OHN seduced Mary.

Presupposition:

(13)T here is a man called John.

(14)S omeone called Mary was seduced.

Assertion:

(15)I t was John who did it.

If we have:

(16)J ohn SEDUCED Mary.

(17)J ohn seduced MARY.

We will have different presupposition.

The difference between assertion and presupposition can be seen in the following:

(18)J ack continues to act foolishly.

There might be two assertions in (18):

(19)J ack has acted foolishly in the past.

(20)J ack is acting foolishly in the present.

Now if we negate(20):

(21)J ack does not continue to act foolishly.

The (19)is still true, but(20)is false.Now , if we raise a question :

(22)D oes /Doesn`t Jack continue to act foolishly?

Then it is possible for (20)to be false, but (19)is still true.

Thus , we may say that (19)is the presupposition, whereas (20)is the assertion.

7.5Notions of presupposition

They can be seen or analyzed from the angles of logic, semantics and pragmatics. From pragmatics, words and expressions for an utterance have been chosen with the consideration of presupposition which should be accepted by both sides of the participants to guarantee a successful verbal exchange .For example, the choice of the word 又in (23)implies the presupposition(24)

(23)他又来了！

(24)他以前来过。

7.6 Presupposition –triggers(p78)

presuppositions can come from some words and expressions ,which we call presupposition –triggers.There are various kinds of such triggers:

1)Definite descriptions:

eg, John did not see THE MAN WITH TWO HEADS.》there exists a man with two heads.

2) Factive verbs:

eg, John REALIZED that he was in debt.》John was in debt.

3)Implicative verbs:

eg, John MANAGED to open the door.》John tried to open the door.

4)Transitional verbs:

eg. John stopped beating his child.》John had been beating his child.

5)Verbs of judging

eg, she CRITICIZED him for running away.》(she thinks)he ran away.

6)Temporal clause

eg, Before he was born , his father was missing.》He was born.

7)Cleft sentences:

eg, IT was Tom THAT ate the rice.》Someone ate the rice.

8)Comparisons:

eg, she is a BETTER LINGUIST THAN HE.》He is a linguist.

9)Non-restrictive relative clauses;

eg, My boss, who is very stingy, says ?No money , no talk‘》My boss is very stingy.

10)Questions

eg, WHO is the Money God in your family?》Someone is the Money God in your family.

7.7Pragmatic analysis of presupposition

Presupposition is based more closely on the actual linguistic structure, it is very sentitive to contextual factors.

7.7.1Presuppositions are defeasible in certain discourse contexts.

(1)John does`t know that Bill came.

The factive verb KNOW is presupposition-trigger. In sentences, where KNOW has second or third person subjects, the complement is presupposed to be true, as in (1).However, where the subject is first person and the verb is negated , the presupposition clearly fails; thus (2) does not presuppose(3)

(2)I don`t know that Bill came.

(3)Bill came.

Similarly, BEFORE –clauses are presupposition-triggers. Thus ,(4)presupposes (5):

(4)Sue cried before she finished her thesis.

(5)Sue finished her thesis.

In other contexts, like in (6),the presupposition (5) is canceled:

(6)Sue died before she finished her thesis.

Here, (6)rather conveys that Sue never finished her thesis.

7.8 Pragmatic properties of presupposition(p82)

They refer to appropriateness or felicity, mutual knowledge or common ground of presupposition.

7.8.1 appropriateness or felicity

It refers to the conditions of presupposition for a sentence. For example:

(7)Please shut the door.

The conditions for this request are: the relationship between the speaker and hearer; the hearer`s ability to shut the door ; the fact that the door is open; the fact that the speaker wants it closed. The felicity conditions vary according to contexts. A sentence is appropriate if and only it is uttered under the condition of a felicitous presupposition:

(8)Mary didn`t clean the room.

Here, (8)is an appropriate utterance if one of the following presuppositions holds:

(9)Someone has cleaned the room, but not Mary.

(10)Mary has done something, but not cleaned the room

(11)Mary has cleaned something, but not the room.

(12)Mary has done something to the room. But not cleaned it.

(13)Mary has been cleaning the room. But it did not get clean.

(14)The room was not dirty at all; she need not clean it.

7.8.2Mutual knowledge or common ground

From above , we have a conclusion: an utterance pragmatically presupposes a proposition if and only if this proposition is appropriate. To this we should add: this proposition is appropriate only if it is mutually known by participants. For example;

(15)I am sorry I`m late. I`m afraid my car broke down.

It is quite natural to say that (16) below is the presupposition of (15):

(16) The speaker has a car.

However , it would be inappropriate to take (17) as the presupposition of (18), because it is too unusual for someone to possess fire-engine:

(17)The speaker has a fire-engine.

(18)I am sorry I am late, my fire-engine broke down.

预设是使用一个句子的先决条件。从逻辑角度说, 预设可以被定义为这样一种句间关系：当一个句子预设另一句子时,第二个句子必真,不论第一个句子是真还是假。例如,

(1)John does not have /has three cows.

(2)There is a man called John.

Sentence (1) presupposes S2.

Chapter 8 Language use and social culture

language in use is meant to refer to language production and interpretation.

8.1 Language use and interpretation(p144)

People do not always say what they mean, In most cases what they express cannot be understood literally. Their intended meaning can only be inferred in context.

For example. “这里好热！”

So, how can we decide the exact meaning intended by the interlocutor? The answer is context. 8.1.1 Context has to do with whether the speaker and the hearer know each other .

A:去看《断背山》吗?

B:听说是讲同志故事的。

8.1.2Context can refer to common knowledge of both speaker and hearer.

A: 你能吃辣吗?

B: 我是湖南人。

8.1.3 Context is the presupposition of the implied meaning of the utterance

(红卫兵)A: 你能吃辣吗?

(红卫兵)B: 毛主席说“不辣不革命”！

8.1.4The same utterance may have different pragmatic force according to different context.

(1)A: 去跑步吗?

B: 我脚疼。

(2)A:着火了！快逃！

B: 我脚疼。

(3)A: 你哪不舒服？

B: 我脚疼。

8.2 Language tact and appropriateness

Language in use is not necessarily grammatical and logical. Given a suitable context, ungrammatical sentences or illogical utterances may be tactful and appropriate:

(4)有人说，张艺谋拍电影很感性, 冯小刚很商业, 而陈凯歌较无聊。

(5)大山很中国, 李汶很美国。

8.3The use of language in society

Type 1: Newly-invented words and expressions

(1)不少“白骨精”来应聘当“男阿姨”。

(2)护嫂、空嫂，羊城打工新一族！芭嫂、秧嫂，上海健身成时尚！

Type-2:Four-character phrases invented with sarcastic or ironical effects:

(3)攻官小姐进行频繁的色交活动，而勤捞致富的人民供仆则可财色兼收, 白收起家。

(4)那个贪官狱中还可大摆宴席,看来待有关人员检查宴收后,提钱释放的可能性很大。

(5)有礼走遍天下，无礼寸步难行。横批：办事之道

Type-3:Half-foreignized and half-sinicized expressions

(1)酒吧、网吧、茶吧、氧吧，尽情地泡吧！(bar)

(2)面的、马的、残的、人的，随意地打的！(Taxi)

(3)四星级公墓，五星级公厕，六星级豪宅！星星之火，可以燎原！！(Star)

Type-4:vulgar names, strange names

(4)“塔玛帝”俱乐部就在“胡适论赏”脑白金开发中心旁。

Type-5:Chinese –English code-mixing expressions

(5)Ok, Ok,我店黄金确实Ok！

(6)TMD,他说他是MBA！(married but available)

(7)3Q得Orz

(8)A:你是MBA吗?

B:是。有跨国公司请我去当UFO(CEO)，我都不愿意。我以前做过市场总监，能把梳子卖给和尚。业余爱好是血拚(shopping).

Type-6:Errors in translation

(9)海蟹方便面(*toad meat instant noodles)—sea-crab instant noodles

(10)高级异型威化饼(*Senior wafers difference)—specially-shaped wafers with high quality

(11)冰糖燕窝(*Bird`s nest)—？

8.4Language and Culture(P155)

8.4.1The intercultural use of language

According to pragmatic theory of relevance proposed by Sperber and Wilson(1995). Doing translation is a process of cognition, it is a combination of three dimensions.These dimensions of translation are the writer of the original , the translator , and the reader of the translation.The task of the translator is to render the writer`s intended meaning of the original , but at the same time the translator must see to it that the reader can also comprehend the intended meaning . the original should be translated literally or metaphorically, whether there is a need to change the original images-all this depends on whether the original intended meaning is exactly rendered. We call this equivalent effect of pragmatics in translation or pragmatic translation. Let us look at the following examples:

(12)I think he was married and had a lioness at home.

(13)巧妇难为无米之炊。

(14)I t is as significant as a game of cricket.

8.4.2 The use of interlanguage(P156)

Interlanguage pragmatics has been defined as the study of nonnative speaker`s use and acquisition of linguistic patterns in a second-language.

(15)T he wind and rain of 10 years at school can not help him find an iron bowl, though he had got

“peaches and plums all over Guangdong”.

(16)《断背山》不能在中国大陆公映，一美籍中国通说“革命尚未成功，同志仍须努力！”

(17)中文老师：Be rich, but not sexy 在汉语何解？

外籍学生：富贵不能淫！

(18)大山和师傅在表演相声节目，大山扮演纪晓岚，师傅演和珅。

纪晓岚：从前有个太监……

和珅：下面呢？

纪晓岚：没有啦！

和珅：Go you！

纪晓岚：Oh,my Mum, 你还懂英语？

和珅：Smiss 港！我还会讲white words！你识吾识？

纪晓岚：shit！

8.5 Cultural differences and pragmatics in translation

8.5.1 Cultural load of language(P159)

Eg. A)高高兴兴上班去，平平安安回家来。

B)That guy is a Midas touch.

C)You are a lucky dog！

D)江山易改，本性难移。他出狱后还是跟一些酒肉朋友混在一起。

A leopard can`t change its spots./fine weather friends

E)他们好得能穿一条裤子。

They are hand in glove.

F)This time , he shot himself in the foot.搬起石头砸自己的脚

G)He is always shooting off his mouth！信口开河

H)It has not got to the first base！八字没一撇

8.5.2 The pragmatic approach to translation

1)Render the expression literally, if it is possible to feel or recognize in the context the same

intended meaning or force of the message in the SL.

①Chen Shuibian is good at fishing in troubled waters.

②Everyone will go west some day in the future.

③易如反掌—？as easy as turning over one`s hand

④跑了和尚跑不了庙—？the monk may run away, but the temple can`t run with him

2)Render the culture-specific expression into a synonymous one accepted by the reader of the

TL to retain an equivalent effect of the message in both the SL and the TL:

⑤the early bird catches the worm—？

⑥there were several straws in the wind—？

⑦说曹操, 曹操就到。—？

⑧骑驴找马还是破釜沉舟—这是找工作的方法论问题。

3)Translate a culture-specific expression into an expression of general adaptation in the TL,

giving up the specific description of the SL, and retaining only the pragmatic equivalent effect of the message:

⑨carry coals to Newcastle —？

⑩every Tom, Dick or Harry—？

⑾外甥打灯笼, 照旧—？

⑿情人眼里出西施—？

4)Translate a culture-specific expression literally, but replenish it with brief interpretations, to

reveal the intended meaning:

⒀a bull in a china shop—？

⒁a skeleton in the cupboard—？

⒂井水不犯河水—

well water and river water leave each other —stay out of things that don`t concern you

5)Render the intended meaning or pragmatic implicit force of the message in the SL regardless

of the functions of its surface form:

⒃Can you pass me the salt?（request or ability？）

⒄I`d be very much obliged if you would pay me the money back now.（request or wish？）⒅Aren`t you going to eat the banana？（request or intention？）

⒆I intend to do it for you.（offer or intention？）

Translate the following sentences:

?他老爱吹牛（blowing the bull？），常给老板骂得狗血淋头（be poured the blood of dogs ？）。对他我心理有数。(have numbers in my heart？)

?她老是为一些鸡毛蒜皮（chicken and garlic skin？）的小事跟人吵架，但是个软心肠（soft-heart？），不算是个坏蛋（bad egg？）。

?一粒老鼠屎，坏了一锅汤！

（The mouse waste spoils the whole pot of soup？）

—是吗？真是五十步笑百步！

（Don`t laugh at those who have covered 100 steps when you have covered 50？）

?—一日不见,如隔三秋！

（It seems 3 autumns if they fail to see each other within 24 hours？）

—有情人终成眷属！

（Lovers shall become couples in the end？）

reference translation:

?Always talking big, so he is often given both barrels by his boss. I feel in my bones that what he is really like.

?She is always quarrelling with others over nickel and dime. However , she is a pushover, not a rascal at heart.

?—The rotten apple injures its neighbors.

—Really? The pot calls the kettle black！

?—Absence sharpens love.

—All shall be well, and Jack shall have Jill.

8.6 Word meaning and culture

I. word with basically the same cultural meanings

English and Chinese are the two languages belonging to two totally different language families.Yet, there are words that bear the same cultural meanings in both of them .That is to say, a certain English word bears the same meaning as its Chinese counterpart due to the same or similar cultural influences, In the following part that we are going to discuss, the conceptual meanings and associative meanings of words in both English and Chinese are the same.

(1)rose (rose-coloured)—love, romantic and comfortable

玫瑰，玫瑰，我爱你！

你是我的玫瑰，

你是我的花！…

(2) dove—peace. ，peace-loving

和平鸽，※红烧乳鸽，十元一只！

(3)swan—elegant, good wish

癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉。

(4)bee—diligent/

(5)像蜜蜂般勤劳，似老牛般无私。

(6)cock—pride, aggressive/你想斗鸡还是斗牛？

(7)wolf—fiendish, cruel, insidious, starving, greedy/

(8)男人爱唱“我是一匹披着羊皮的狼，不为别的，只为那网上的MM…”；女人爱哼“我

是一只披着狼皮的羊，不为别的，只为那传说中的WH-Prince……”；

(9)heart—black-hearted, heart and soul, lose heart/

(10)黑心棉，热心人，心心相印！

II.Words with partially equivalent cultural meanings

(11)S pring —“春”

The two words of the two languages are basically matched for each other-both of them refer to the first season of a year, or rather the very season between winter and summer. In Chinese, “春”also has the conceptual meaning of merriment , happiness and harmony, such as “春光满脸”、“春风得意”“春意盎然”，etc., while in English it carries the same meaning.

However, they differ from each other when expressing the meaning of age and“sex”：

①虚度年华二十春

②MM春光乍泄。

③春宫图/小日本在珠海集体买春引起外交风波。

④a winter-spring romance

(老牛吃嫩草)—八十二娶二十八或六十八嫁二十八，故这牛可真牛！(The bull or cow is really NB！)

⑤a lad of 18 summers/a man of 70 winters

(9)鸡（chicken）—公鸡（cock）；母鸡（hen）；小鸡（chick）

(10)鸭（duck）；公鸭（drake）；母鸭（duck）；小鸭（duckling）

(11)鹅（goose）；公鹅（gander）；母鹅（goose）；小鹅（gosling）

(12)马（horse）；公马（stallion）；母马（mare）；小马（foal）

(13)牛（cattle）；公牛（bull）；母牛（cow）；小牛（calf）

(14)猪（pig）；公猪（boar）；母猪（sow）；小猪（shoat）

(15)羊（sheep）；公羊（ram）；母羊（ewe）；小羊（lamb）

(16)狗（dog）；公狗（dog）；母狗（bitch）；小狗（puppy）

(17)猫（cat）；公猫（tomcat）；母猫（cat）；小猫（kitten）

(18)鹿（deer）；公鹿（stag）；母鹿（doe）；小鹿（fawn）

(19)副：①vice-chairman, vice-president；②associate-professor, associate-director；③deputy

director；④leutenant governor/general；⑤undersecretary

II. Words with greatly different cultural meanings

(1)East wind （东风）—West wind（西风）

a.东风牌汽车奔驰在社会主义的康庄大道上。

b.古道西风瘦马,夕阳西下，断肠人在天涯。

c.It is a warm wind, the west wind ,full of bird`s cries.

(2)fish

a.鱼目混珠（regard eyeball of a fish as a pearl）

b.年年有鱼（having savings each year）

c. a big fish—大亨

d. a dull fish—迟钝汉

e. a cool fish—无耻之徒

f. a cold fish—冷淡的人

h. a loose fish—放荡鬼

i. a queer fish—古怪的人

III. Superficially resembling words with different actual meanings

1.tea shop—小吃店/茶馆

2.senior citizen—老年人

3.sporting house—妓院

4. a busy body —爱管闲事的人

5.eat one`s words —收回前言

6.greenhouse —温室

7.housewarming —乔迁喜宴

8.lowboy —矮脚抽屉柜

9.disinterested—公正的;不偏不倚

10.cooker —炊具

11.Westerner—西风

12.American Beauty —红蔷薇

13.blackbird—画眉

14.blue movie—黄色电影

15.black tea —红茶

16.busboy—餐馆服务员

17.bookkeeper—记帐人

18.country-house—别墅

19.drawing-room —客厅

20.face the music—敢于面对困难

21.a fish story —完全不可能之事