Language in Culture and Cognition

Question 1

Whats the aim of pragmatics?

Accepted Answer

Answering: Why does language exist? What is it good for? Why do people use language? Why do we bother to talk and write?

Question 2

Mircrolinguistic perspective

Accepted Answer

focuses on language (as system: grammatical perspective): Abstract networf of signs and relations

Question 3

Macrolinguistic perspective

Accepted Answer

Focus on language users: Language as behaviour: social perspective (external) Language as knowledge: individual perspective (internal)

Question 4

What is pragmatics?

Accepted Answer

Pragmatics is the study of action (Greek pragma = "action") Pragmatics can also be definde as the study of (verbal) communication

Question 5

What is verbal communication?

Accepted Answer

behaviour: intentional (action); unintentional intentional (action): partner-oriented (interaction); not-partner-oriented partner-oriented (interaction): symbolic (communication); not symbolic symbolic (communication): verbal (verbal communication); non-verbal Every kind of behaviour can be classified as one of the above.

Question 6

Action and Communication

Accepted Answer

Action = intentional behaviour Communication = symbolic partner-oriented intentional behaviour which may be verbal or non-verbal

Question 7

Speech act theory (basic insights)

Accepted Answer

Speaking is doing Speech is action, i.e. intentional behaviour People do thins with words (performing speech acts) When people speak, they have an intention, an aim ... Speec acts are the basic unit of communication

Question 8

Functions of meta-pragmatic terms

Accepted Answer

Reporting speech acts: "..." complained Tim Performing speech acts: "I'd like to invite you to our dinner reception" Commenting on speech acts: "I'm not offering you marriage" Problematizing speech acts: "Is that an order?"

Question 9

Felicity conditions

Accepted Answer

make utterances count as a particular speech act Conditions: Requests: Propositional content Future act A of H Preparatory 1. S believes H can do A 2. Not obvious that H would do A w/o asked Sincerity S wants H to do A Essential Counts asa an Attempt to get H to do A

Question 10

First- and second-order concepts

Accepted Answer

First order conceptualisation: Everyday understanding by laypersonsE.g.: request, apology, greeting, insultEveryday vocabulary Second-order conceptualisation: Abstract definition by scientistsE.g.: DIRECTIVES, felicity conditions, propositional contentTechnical terms

Question 11

Speech acts (Austin)

Accepted Answer

Locutionary act (e.g. uttering "I'm terribly sorry.) Phonetic act (producing sound waves) Phatic act (constructing a sentence) Rhetic act (referring to the world) Illocutionary act (e.g. performing an APOLOGY) Perlocutionary act (e.g. achieving forgiveness)

Question 12

Comparison Austin & Sealre speech acts

Accepted Answer

Austin: Locutionary (Phonetic, Phatic, Rhetic) Illocutionary Perlocutionary Searle: Utterance act Propostional act (reference act, predication act) illocutionary act perlocutionary act

Question 13

Proposition (Searle)

Accepted Answer

Propositional act = reference act + predication act Results in proposition ("what an utterance is about") Sue will buy a new car. Will Sue buy a new car? Sue, buy a new car! = same proposition in utterances 1,2 and 3: Referent = "Sue"; Predication: "Buyuing a new car" But different illocutions (speech acts)

Question 14

Speech act recognition

Accepted Answer

How do hearers recognize the speaker's intention? How do they know which speech act is performed? IFIDs: "illocutionary force indicating devices" E.g., performative verbs E.g., sorry as an IFID for an apology E.g., imperative as an IFID of a request (or command)

Question 15

request strategies

Accepted Answer

Mood derivable: Clean up the kitchen! Performative: I'm asking you to clean the kitchen. Obligation statement: You have to clean the kitchen right now. Want statement: I wish you'd clean the kitchen. Suggestory formula: How about cleaning the kitchen? Query preparatory: Could you clean the kitchen, please? Hint: What a mess!

Question 16

Indirectness vs politeness

Accepted Answer

Indirectness often percieved as politness (but not the same) Directness: How a speech act is phrased; can be determined without context Politeness: Whether a speech act is appropriate to a social siutation; can only be determinded in context Example: Tymothy: "Would you mind passing me the salt?" His wife: "What's wrong with you?"

Question 17

Speech act modification: two functions

Accepted Answer

Downgrading (mitigating, softening)Close the door, please.Could you perhaps answer the phone? Upgrading (aggravating, intensifying)Close that door right now!I'm dreadfully sorry.

Question 18

Speech act modification: two types

Accepted Answer

Internal modification:Inside the speech act properCould you perhaps answer the phone? External modification:Outside the head actWould you answer the phone? I'm busy.

Question 19

First generation politeness theory

Accepted Answer

Examination of politeness Focused on individual utterances Lakoff, Leech, Brown & Levinson

Question 20

Second generation

Accepted Answer

Examination of politeness, impoliteness and related phenomena focused on utterances in context Culpeper, Bousfield, Watts, Locher

Question 21

Face

Accepted Answer

"Face is an image of self", "the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself" Face as a folk notion: to lose face to save face

Question 22

Negative and positive face

Accepted Answer

Negative face: the desire to be left alone Positive face: the desire to be liked

Question 23

FTAs

Accepted Answer

Anything we say may threaten face Any speech act has the potential of threatening face any speech act is a face-threatening act (FTA) Intrinsic FTAs:"acts that by their nature run contraty to the fac ewants of the addressee and/or the speaker"e.g. orders, requests, threats, remindings

Question 24

What does threaten which face?

Accepted Answer

threatening the negative face of H:orders, requests, advice, remindings, threats, warnings threatening the positive face of H:criticism, complaints, accusations, insults, disagreement threatening the positive face of S:apologies, confessions, self-humiliation, self-contradicting threatening the negative face of S:thanking, accepting thanks, apologies, offers

Question 25

Politeness strategies

Accepted Answer

FTA-Strategies: Do the FTA; Don't do the FTA Do the FTA (on record; off record) on record (without redressive action; with redressive action) with redressive action (positive politeness; negative politeness)

Question 26

Payoffs of five politness strategies

Accepted Answer

Bald on record: efficiency Positive politeness: satisfying H's positive face Negative politeness: satisfying H's negative face Off record: avodiding responsibility Don't do the FTA: avoiding offence altogether

Question 27

3 features of women's speech

Accepted Answer

Frequent use of question tags: "Thats okay, isn't it?" Question intonation in statements: Using rising instead of falling intonation Indirect requests: "Would you mind shutting the window?" as opposed to "Shut the window"

Question 28

Lakoff's interpretation of Women's speech

Accepted Answer

Question tags diminish the force of a statement Question intonation turns statements in to questionable rather than definitive assertions indirect requests are less authoritative than direct ones

Question 29

What is a compliment?

Accepted Answer

“A compliment is a speech act which explicitly or implicitlyattributes credit to someone other than the speaker, usuallythe person addressed, for some ‘good’ (possession,characteristic, skill, etc.) which is positively valued by thespeaker and the hearer.”

Question 30

functions of compliments

Accepted Answer

"social lubricants" singalising affection and solidarity attending to the addressee's positive face wants Face-supportive act (FSA)

Question 31

"Dark side" of compliments

Accepted Answer

A: Cute shirt!B: What do you want? Means to an end Flattery (upward interaction) ASserting dominance (downward interaction) Cliaming inappropriate intimacy (verbal harrassment)

Question 32

Cooperative Principle (CP)

Accepted Answer

‘Make your contribution such as is required,at the stage at which it occurs,by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchangein which you are engaged.’

Question 33

Conversational maxims

Accepted Answer

Quantity: Make your contribution as informative as required Quality: Do not say what you believe to be false Relation: Make your contribution relevant Manner: Avoid obsurity; avoid ambiguity; be brief, be orderly

Question 34

Conversational implicature

Accepted Answer

Implicature = what is implied Conventional implicature: "but" can mean "contrary to expectations" depending on context Conversational implicature:A: Have you done your homework?B: Nice day, isn't it?B fails to observe Maxim of Relation --> by intentionally violating a maxim S forces H to search for an alternative interpretation of S's utterance

Question 35

Implicature and inferring

Accepted Answer

I vs I Speakers implicate, hearers infer Inferring what is meant (implied meaning) from what is said (expressed meaning)

Question 36

Uncooperative behaviour

Accepted Answer

If a conversational maxim is (obviously) violated and H assumes that S is not cooperative, then H may criticize S for violating the mxim H may say "Liar" (violation of Quality) H may say "What are you trying to say?" (violation of Manner) In cases of conflict, H does not search for an implicature

Question 37

Grice's Theory

Accepted Answer

Theory of implicature tries to explain how people interpret indirectness in conversation that is, how hearers infer what is meant from what is said Focus on S and also on H

Question 38

Lakoff's rule of politeness

Accepted Answer

Don't impose Give options Be friendly

Question 39

Leech's Politness Principle (PP)

Accepted Answer

"Minimize (other things being equal) the expression of impolite beliefs." "Maximize (other thins being equal) the expression of polite beliefs."

Question 40

CP & PP

Accepted Answer

both deal with indirectness PP is necessary complement to the CPA: We'll all miss Bill and Agatha, won't we?B: Well, we'll all miss Bill. B fails to observe the Maxim of Quantity Conversational implicature: "We won't miss Agatha" Impolite belief is suppressed (PP)

Question 41

Politeness maxims

Accepted Answer

Tact (Minimize cost to other/Maximize benefit to other) Generosity (Minimize benefit to self/Maximize cost to self) Approbation (Minimize dispraise of other/Maximize praise of other) Modesty (Minimize praise of self/Maximize dispraise of self) Agreement (Minimize disagreement(/Maximize agreement) btw self and other Sympathy (Minimze antipathy (Maximize sympathy) between self and other

Question 42

Searle's illocutionary types

Accepted Answer

Assertives/RepresentativesAsserting, concluding, remarking DirectivesRequesting, Questioning, Commanding CommisivesPromising, Offering, Threatening ExpressivesThanking, Apologising, Congratulating DeclarationsBaptizing, Firing from Employment, Declaring War

Question 43

Impoliteness maxims

Accepted Answer

Tactlessness: Maximize cost to other [Minimize benefit to other] Meanness: Maximize benefit to self [Minimize cost to self] Disapproval: • Maximize dispraise of other [Minimize praise of other] Immodesty:• Maximize praise of self [Minimize dispraise of self] Disagreement: • Maximize disagreement [Minimize agreement] between self and other Antipathy: • Maximize antipathy [Minimize sympathy] between self and other

Question 44

Conversation analysis (CA) as an alternative to speech act theory

Accepted Answer

utterances considered in context participants studied as they adopt the roles of S and H in turns Focus on talk in interaction; not on action alone only field data, no intuitive or experimental data specific focus on the co-ordination of action

Question 45

What is CA?

Accepted Answer

An analytical approach or method, rather than a theory detailed examination of how poeple use language in everyday life how is conversation organized local, bottom-up approach exclusively naturally-occuring talk in interaction

Question 46

Aims of CA

Accepted Answer

Maiking seen the unseen identifying the practices all of us use every day and take for granted spelling out what we do and what we know but are not aware of how people behave in conversation

Question 47

What is conversation?

Accepted Answer

Conversation = the unmarked type of discourse Marked types = interview, debate, lecture, sales talk, etc.

Question 48

conversation and other discourse types

Accepted Answer

Discourse (spoken; written) Spoken (unmarked; marked) Marked (debate, lecture, interview, etc.) Unmarked (conversation) conversation (face-to-face; telephone)

Question 49

How does conversation work?

Accepted Answer

Unmarked type of discourse no fixed participant roles no rules explicitly governing the distribution of the floor no predetermined topics no restrictions regarding duration Turn-taking; turn allocation

Question 50

Turn-taking in conversation

Accepted Answer

participants take turns-at-talk turn may consist of sentence, clause, phrase or words syntactic units = turn-constructional units (TCUs) completion of a TCU is signaled by intonation completion of a TCU is a "transition-relevance place" (TRP) at each TRP --> speaker switch

Englisch (Subject) / Language in Culture and Cognition (Lesson)