Meaning In Interaction: an Introduction to Pragmatics Learning About Language General Editors: Geoffrey Leech & Mick Short, Lancaster University Already published: Analysing Sentences Noel Burton-Roberts Patterns of Spoken English Gerald Knowles Words and Their Meaning Howard Jackson An Introduction to Phonology Francis Katamba Grammar and Meaning Howard Jackson An Introduction to Sociolinguistics Janet Holmes Realms of Meaning: An Introduction to Semantics Th. R. Hofmann An Introduction to Psycholinguistics Danny D. Steinberg An Introduction to Spoken Interaction Anna-Brita Stenstrom Watching English Change Laurie Bauer Meaning in Interaction: an Introduction to Pragmatics Jenny Thomas First published 1995 by Pearson Education Limited Published 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 1995, Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereaf- ter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, profession- al practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowl- edge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a pro- fessional responsibility. To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein. ISBN 13: 978-0-582-29151-5 (pbk) British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thomas, jenny, 1948- Meaning in interaction: an introduction to pragmatics / Jenny Thomas. p. cm. - (Learning about language) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-582-29151-8 (ppr) 1. Pragmatics. I. Tide. II. Series. P99.4.P72T45 1995 302.2'24 dc20 95-16351 CIP This book is dedicated with love and gratitude to my mother, Audrey, and to the memory of my father, Maurice. Page Intentionally Left Blank Contents Preface xiii Acknowledgements xiv 1 What is pragmatics? 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Defining pragmatics 1 1.3 From abstract meaning to contextual meaning 2 1.3.1 Assigning sense in context 5 1.3.2 Assigning reference in context 8 1.3.3 Structural ambiguity 12 1.3.4 Interaction of sense, reference and structure 12 1.3.5 Ambiguity and intentionality 14 1.4 Utterance meaning: first level of speaker meaning 16 1.4.1 Importance of utterance meaning 16 1.5 Force: the second level of speaker meaning 18 1.5.1 Understanding both utterance meaning and force 18 1.5.2 Understanding utterance meaning but not force 19 1.5.3 Understanding force but not utterance meaning 19 1.5.4 Understanding neither utterance meaning nor force 20 1.5.5 Interrelationship of utterance meaning and force 21 1.6 Definitions of pragmatics (revisited) 21 1.6.1 Speaker meaning 21 1.6.2 Utterance interpretation 22 1.6.3 Pragmatics: meaning in interaction 22 1.7 Summary 23 viii Contents 2 Speech acts 28 2.1 J. L.Austin 28 2.2 Ordinary language philosophy 29 2.3 Logical positivism and truth conditional semantics 29 2.4 The performative hypothesis 32 2.4.1 Metalinguistic performatives 33 2.4.2 Ritual performatives 36 2.4.2.1 Felicity conditions 37 2.4.2.2 Explicit reference to felicity conditions 39 2.4.3 Collaborative performatives 40 2.4.4 Group performatives 41 2.4.5 Overlap of categories 42 2.4.6 Cross-cultural differences in use of performatives 42 2.4.7 Collapse of Austin's performative hypothesis 43 2.4.7.1 The grammatical distinctiveness of performatives 44 2.4.7.2 Do performatives always perform actions? 45 2.4.7.3 How to do things without performative verbs 45 2.4.8 Explicit and implicit performatives 47 2.5 Utterances as actions 49 2.5.1 Locution, illocution, perlocution 49 2.5.2 Speech acts 50 2.6 Conclusion 51 3 Conversational implicature 55 3.1 Introduction 55 3.2 H. P. Grice 56 3.3 Implicature 57 3.3.1 Conventional implicature 57 3.3.2 Conversational implicature 58 3.3.3 Implicature and inference 58 3.4 The Cooperative Principle 61 3.5 The four conversational maxims 63 3.5.1 Observing the maxims 64 3.5.2 Non-observance of the maxims 64 Contents ix 3.6 Flouting a maxim 65 3.6.1 Flouts necessitated by a clash between maxims 65 3.6.2 Flouts which exploit a maxim 67 3.6.2.1 Flouts exploiting the maxim of Quality 67 3.6.2.2 Flouts exploiting the maxim of Quantity 69 3.6.2.3 Flouts exploiting the maxim of Relation 70 3.6.2.4 Flouts exploiting the maxim of Manner 71 3.7 Other categories of non-observance of the conversational maxims 72 3.7.1 Violating a maxim 72 3.7.2 Infringing a maxim 74 3.7.3 Opting out of a maxim 74 3.7.4 Suspending a maxim 76 3.8 Testing for implicature 78 3.8.1 Non-detachability and non-conventionality 78 3.8.2 Implicature changes 80 3.8.3 Calculability 82 3.8.4 Defeasibility 82 3.9 Conclusion 84 4 Approaches to pragmatics 87 4.1 Introduction 87 4.2 Problems with Grice's theory 87 4.2.1 When is non-observance intentional? 88 4.2.2 Distinguishing between types of non-observance 90 4.2.3 Different nature of maxims 91 4.2.4 Maxims may overlap 91 4.2.5 Problems of calculability 92 4.3 Grice's informal approach 93 4.4 J. R. Searle 93 4.4.1 Indirect speech acts 93 4.4.2 Searle's conditions for speech acts 94 4.4.2.1 Distinguishing speech acts 96 4.4.2.2 Plugging the gaps in Searle's rules 98 4.4.2.3 The speech act of apologizing: a case study 99 4.4.2.4 Over-generality of rules 102 4.4.2.5 The speech act of warning: a case study 103