Week 5 pragmatics
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The document discusses the key concepts of pragmatics. It defines pragmatics as how context affects meaning. It notes pragmatics examines implied meaning, cultural values expressed, and potential hidden purposes in text. Examples show how grammatical differences and word choices impact implied meaning. Key terms are defined, including tenor, presupposition, cultural allusion, and intertextual reference. Types of cultural allusions and examples of intertextuality are provided. The document also discusses ideology, synthetic personalization, and gender representation. It concludes with an explanation of how pragmatics instruction benefits second language learners.
Week 5 pragmatics
- 1. LIN101 Week 5 Pragmatics DR. RUSSELL RODRIGO
- 2. What is pragmatics? Pragmatics is all about the way context affects meaning. What is the underlying or implied meaning of the text, as opposed to its semantic meaning? What shared cultural values are expressed in the text? What might the text reveal about power or attitudes to gender/ethnicities, class? Is the text designed to have hidden purpose?
- 3. 1. Wayne Rooney smoked a cigarette. 2. Wayne Rooney was seen smoking a cigarette. 3. Wayne Rooney, role model to millions of youngsters, was seen smoking a cigarette. Grammatical differences can impact on the implied meaning. Making implications (implicature) can be done in many different ways. That is why pragmatics will always link in some way to other levels/frameworks!
- 4. 1. We acknowledge that we made mistakes. 2. We must acknowledge that mistakes were made.
- 5. 1. We acknowledge that we made mistakes. 2. We must acknowledge that mistakes were made. Active voice implies the politician takes responsibility. Passive voice implies less responsibility. Vocabulary choices are also significant.
- 6. What about lexis/vocabulary/word class? Why the collective pronoun “we”? Why not the first person “I”? Why the noun ‘mistakes’? Why verb ‘acknowledge’? Why the modal auxiliary ‘must’? Pragmatic meaning is influenced by all the levels of English!
- 7. Key Terms 1. Tenor The relationship between producer and receiver. The course of thought or meaning that runs through something written or spoken; purport; drift. 2. Presupposition Knowledge or views the writer/text assumes you already have. 3. Cultural Allusion A reference only certain people will get. 4. Intertextual Reference A type of cultural allusion to a book, film, or TV programme.
- 8. Key Terms Cont. 5. Ideology The general “world-view” of the writer. This could be a conservative ideology, or a patriarchal one, or even an optimistic one. 6. Synthetic personalization When the text creates a fake personal relationship wit the receiver. This can involve select cultural allusions, 2nd person pronouns, etc. 7. Gender representation The way in which a text represents masculinity and feminity ( less a term, and more a point of discussion!)
- 9. Tenor is key when exploring pragmatics. Here the tenor is sensationalist. The writer expects us to be shocked. The text does not demand much thought or reflection. 1. Tenor Make up free Anna Kendrick is anything but glamorous as she goes wild in the aisles in Los Angeles supermarket. The relationship between producer and receiver. The course of thought or meaning that runs through something written or spoken; purport; drift.
- 10. Here the tenor is comic, ironic and satirical. The writer expects us to share certain values. It’s only funny if we get the cultural allusions and intertextual references to the style of tabloid journalism. An ironic tenor often demands much more from the receiver. 1. Tenor Cont. Woman buys groceries, remains 5-time academy award nominee.
- 11. 2. Presupposition "Tom's car is new." In the branch of linguistics known as pragmatics, a presupposition (or PSP) is an implicit assumption about the world or background belief relating to an utterance whose truth is taken for granted in discourse. Tom exists and that he has a car.
- 12. 2. Presupposition 1. Jane no longer writes fiction. • Presupposition: Jane once wrote fiction. 2. Have you stopped eating meat? • Presupposition: you had once eaten meat. 3. Have you talked to Hans? • Presupposition: Hans exists.
- 13. 3. Cultural Allusion An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to a place, person, or event. This can be real or imaginary and may refer to anything, including fiction, folklore, historical events, or religious manuscripts.
- 14. 3. Cultural Allusion (Cont.) Irony
- 16. Types of Cultural Allusion 1. Biblical Allusion A statement that refers to the bible without directly mentioning it. He was a good Samaritan yesterday when he helped the old lady cross the street. It’s been raining so long that pretty soon we’re going to need an arc. 2. Literary Allusion A statement that indirectly refers to well-known literary works. Are you sure you didn’t eat the last cookie? Your nose is growing. I went to bed with my hair wet and I wake up looking like Medusa.
- 17. Types of Cultural Allusion Cont. 3. Historical Allusion A statement that refers to history. There is a civil war going on in my family. Millions of innocent lives were lost due to prejudice views of a ruthless German ruler. 4. Pop Culture Allusion An association of a person, place, or event within a specific community or culture. She acts like that because haters gonna hate hate hate hate. Something weird is going on – my spidey sense is tingling.
- 18. 4. Intertextual Reference The word is said to be derived from the Latin word intertexto, which means to intermingle while weaving. Intertextuality is the way that one text influences another. This can be a direct parody, pastiche, allusion, or translation. It is defined where a text alludes to, or references another text. E.g. image, film, web content, music, etc. The function and effectiveness of intertextuality can often depend quite a bit on the reader’s prior knowledge and understanding before reading the secondary text; parodies and allusions depend on the reader knowing what is being parodied or alluded to.
- 19. Intertextuality Examples 1. He was lying so obviously, you could almost see his nose growing. 2. He’s asking her to the prom. It’s like a happy version of Romeo and Juliet. 3. It’s hard being an adult! Peter Pan had the right idea
- 20. The simpsons have done a similar scene but have used a music video from the beatles.
- 21. Puss in Boots as the character Zoro. Disney princesses- Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White and a Ugly Sister.
- 23. 5. Ideology Political parties embody a range of ideals covering government, economics, education, healthcare, foreign policy, and more The general “world-view” of the writer. This could be a conservative ideology, or a patriarchal one, or even an optimistic one.
- 24. E.g. Language Ideologies American English VS British English African American English Indian English While most readers will recognize these commonsense assumptions about English as a global language, it is also easy to see that they are nothing more than beliefs and feelings and that they are impossible to confirm or refute. This is most obvious in the case of value judgments about accents: Whether you think that Indian English is funny or not depends on who you are and what your experiences with Indian English are.
- 25. 6. Synthetic personalization This is an excellent term to use when analyzing adverts as almost any advert uses this technique. But what does it mean? Synthetic – meaning something is artificial/fake. Personalization – an illusion of a connection with an audience. Therefore this refers to the method of attempting to mimic a personal relationship between the product/model representing the product and the audience.
- 28. How do the following adverts create synthetic relationships?
- 31. Be careful with your written style… The writer uses pragmatics is not quite right. In terms of pragmatic meaning, the writer uses… is better! You are not finding pragmatics: You’re analyzing.
- 32. Review 1. Tenor The relationship between producer and receiver. The course of thought or meaning that runs through something written or spoken; purport; drift. 2. Presupposition Knowledge or views the writer/text assumes you already have. 3. Cultural Allusion A reference only certain people will get. 4. Intertextual Reference A type of cultural allusion to a book, film, or TV programme.
- 33. Review 5. Ideology The general “world-view” of the writer. This could be a conservative ideology, or a patriarchal one, or even an optimistic one. 6. Synthetic personalization When the text creates a fake personal relationship wit the receiver. This can involve select cultural allusions, 2nd person pronouns, etc. 7. Gender representation The way in which a text represents masculinity and feminity ( less a term, and more a point of discussion!)
- 34. Week 5 Assignment: Short Presentation (Group) Select FOUR types of Pragmatics below. Find ONE example in each. Short presentation next meeting. Prepare PPT slides. 1. Tenor 2. Presupposition 3. Cultural Allusion 4. Intertextual Reference 5. Ideology 6. Synthetic personalization 7. Gender representation
- 35. Why learn Pragmatics? SECOND-LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE pragmatic and cultural differences can result in negative transfer and inappropriate behavior and speech for L2 learners. In addition, students’ pragmatic competence may lag behind their other skills and language knowledge; it may also suffer from insufficient input and lack of coverage in English language textbooks. As pragmatic competence is critical for communication in any language, lessons targeting the instruction of pragmatics through various speech acts should be incorporated into the L2 curriculum.