Step 5 – Pragmatics

Henry Lenis

Maria Paula Peña Camacho

518017_89

Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia UNAD

Escuela de Ciencias de la Educación
Licenciatura en lenguas extranjeras con énfasis en inglés
Curso: Introduction to linguistics
Acacias (meta)
Mayo del 2020
1. Read the document "Introduction", Chapter 1, pages 1-20, in 'Huang Y.
Pragmatics. Oxford: OUP Oxford; 2007.; found in the course content, UNIT 2, in the
knowledge environment; Once you have studied and deliberated on the concepts,
respond to the following discussion:

2. What are the differences, if any, between sentence and utterance?

According with Huang Yang (2007). In section 1.3.1. Phrase, word, proposition: A
sentence is a well-formed string of words put together according to the grammatical rules of
a language. By the contrast, an utterance is the use of a particular language (it can be word,
a sentence, a phrase, or a sequence of sentences) by a particular speaker on a particular
occasion. It means, according with Admin (2015). Who says that the difference between a
sentence and utterance is that while a sentence conveys a complete meaning through a
combination of clauses, an utterance conveys a meaning through a few words that may not
even compile a clause.
3. What is context? Why is it so important for pragmatics?
According to Huang Yang (2007), the context as one of the many notions widely used in
linguistic literature doesn’t have its own definition, however, he defines it as any relevant
characteristic in which a linguistic activity is used. Furthermore, context can be seen as
composed of three different sources (Ariel 1990):
 The physical context: it refers to the physical setting of the utterance. For example, the
interpretation of (1.26) depends on the knowledge computable from the physical
context of the utterance, that is, the spatio-temporal location of the utterance.

(1.26) He’s not the chief executive; he is. He’s the managing director.

 The linguistic context: it refers to the surrounding utterances in the same discourse.
For example, it plays a crucial role in understanding the elliptical construction used by
Mary in (1.27).

(1.27) John: Who gave the waiter a large tip?

Mary: Helen.

 The general knowledge context: The information derivable from this type of context
explains why (1.28a) is pragmatically well-formed but (1.28b) is pragmatically
anomalous. This is because, given our real-world knowledge, we know that whereas
there is a Forbidden City in Beijing, there is no such a tourist attraction in Paris.

(1.28) a. I went to Beijing last month. The Forbidden City was magnificent.
 b. ? I went to Paris last month. The Forbidden City was magnificent.

But why is context important in pragmatics?

Is because, according to Timothy F. (2009). Context affects meaning, as this author said:
“On the traditional scheme, syntax studies sentences, semantics studies propositions, and
pragmatics studies utterances and their contexts. One of the major problems seen to belong
to the domain of pragmatics is the determination of the proposition expressed by a
sentence, or put another way, the disambiguation of the proposition expressed. An
expression such as, for example:
―Racing cars can be dangerous ― has two obvious meanings, and it was held to be a job
for pragmatics to determine in which sense it was being used. But recently there have been
attempts to formalize pragmatics,18 based upon possible world semantics and truth-
functional semantics, a move that appears to blur the traditional tripartite division.”
Timothy F. (2009).
Is important to use context for language comprehension and expression. Children use
context as soon as they start to communicate. According with (Milosky 1992, Bishop
1997.) Children first comprehend utterances by relying heavily on the physical context in
which the communication takes place, and their first communicative attempts are thus
closely connected with the physical “here and now”, often based on routine
communications with others. When interpreting utterances young children rely strongly on
knowledge of their world rather than the meaning given by the linguistic expression and
(Strohner & Nelson 1974, Hudson & Nelson 1983, Marinac & Ozanne 1999) Shatz (1977)
has shown that during a play session even 2-year-old children are able to respond by
performing an appropriate action to indirect requests.
4. Imagine the following situation: a lady friend comes from a beauty parlor; she has a
new haircut. Once you see her you say: “you just had your hair cut!”. Cleary, you are
not saying anything unknown, you friend knows perfectly that she just had her hair
cut… then, what is the function and purpose of your utterance? Explain (Taken from:
Escandell.2011)
According with Huang Yang (2007). The function that the utterance fulfills, it can be
reflected within the environment or context, it influences positively or negatively according
to the phrase, word or statement. According with this specific situation, it can be inferred
that the friend used to wear long hair up to her waist, also that she performed this action for
some new look, on the other hand I present a sentimental or sad situation in her life that led
her to make the decision of to cut her hair, according to how she normally wore her hair, it
can be said that she did not usually cut it and when she saw that she had it shorter it was
really a surprising and amazing fact for those who watched her.
5. The concept ‘Linguistic underdeterminacy’ it is explained as “a huge gap between
the meaning of a sentence and the messages actually conveyed by the uttering of that
sentence. In other words, the linguistically encoded meaning of a sentence radically
underdetermines the proposition the speaker expresses when he or she utters that
sentence” Huang (2017:5), this concept is pivotal at understanding how pragmatics
meaning work; how do you understand it, give one example.
According with Huang Yang (2007) in chapter 1.2.1. linguistic underdeterminacy, there is a
gap between the meaning of a sentence and the messages that are actually transmitted when
you say that sentence. otherwise the linguistically encoded meaning of a sentence comes to
underestimate the proposition that the speaker expresses when he pronounces that sentence.
It’s relative to the practice or performance of actions and not theory. It’s a discipline that
studies the language in relation to the context where the idea is developed, that is, the
sentences produced a semantic acceptance but its meaning and interpretation depends on
the content and the linguistic context since the same sentence can have several senses in
different contexts in the pragmatic analysis, several variables are studied, such as the
situation, the socio-cultural context, the people, the issuer, among others.
For example, imagine this situation: you are in line at a store to pay for your purchases. The
cashier asks, 'How are you today?' Do you immediately go into an in-depth account of your
health issues, varying mood, relationship status, and everything else going on in your life?
Of course not! Usually, you respond with something similar to, 'Fine, how are you?' with
the same expectation that the cashier will not go into full detail of how she truly is. This
interaction perfectly shows pragmatics at work.
6. At a daily basis, in teaching and translating areas, linguistics is used even without
being realized; do an inquiry and explain how this disciplined is implemented in any
task at teaching or translating. Your writing will emphasize in any of the classical
linguistic levels: grammar, speech sounds, semantic or pragmatic level. In your
explanation be clear and concise, avoid fuzzy ideas.
Linguistics understood is the scientific study of the origin, evolution and structure of
language, in order to deduce the laws that govern languages. Thus, Linguistics studies the
fundamental structures of human language, their variations across all language families and
the conditions that make understanding and communication possible through natural
language. We can approach the study of language at its different levels, on the one hand, as
a system, taking into account the rules that configure it as a linguistic code, that is, what is
traditionally known as grammar and, on the other hand, as an instrument to communicative
interaction, from disciplines such as pragmatics and textual linguistics. The grammar refers
to the compendium of the norms, regularities and exceptions that govern a specific
language. Its importance in the face of education lies in the fact that it serves as a query text
in case of doubt regarding the use of language, to establish correct ways of expressing
oneself or to analyze this language.
This discipline is implemented in teaching precisely on many occasions because as I said
before, linguistics is formed by study the origin and evolution of language. Then it will
always be implementing some epistemology, synonym, anonymity, references, among
many. So when it comes to expressions or writings, linguistics is always incorporated
because there will always be some cases of clarifications either of terms, phrases, words,
grammar etc. Then language will always be an object of study that will traverse cultures,
languages, customs, accents and dialects
The importance of incorporating pragmatics in the teaching / learning process of English as
a foreign language. Many studies have shown that in general second language students are
not adequately developing their pragmatic ability. This is why, despite having a broad
knowledge of grammar, syntax, vocabulary and phonetics, most students still have
problems understanding the language used in certain contexts and also when
communicating with native speakers of the language goal. If the conversations between
natives, are not exempt from certain misunderstandings caused by any of these elements,
imagine how much more can occur in intercultural conversations, between people
accustomed to handle different behavioral codes. Logically, by learning a different
language, we tend to apply with it the behavior patterns that govern ours: when both
systems are different, we can fall into misunderstanding. That is why it is essential to
recognize these elements in the discourse of our interlocutors and know how to put them
into practice on our own.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Huang, Y. (2007). Pragmatics. Oxford: OUP Oxford. Recovered from:
http://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct
=true&db=nlebk&AN=1640096&lang=es&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Zimmermann, T. E., & Sternefeld, W. (2013). Introduction to Semantics : An Essential
Guide to the Composition of Meaning. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. Recovered from:
http://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct
=true&db=nlebk&AN=604253&lang=es&site=eds-live
Doyle, T. F. (2007). The role of context in meaning and understanding. Recovered from:
https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/files/2297/doyle_diss.pdf