Linguistics 001 -- Lecture 13 -- Pragmatics

Direct Speech Acts ; Assertion, Declarative. conveys information; is true or false, "Jenny got an A on the test" "Les filles ont pris des photos."('The girls ...   Linguistics001    Lecture13    Pragmatics Pragmaticsisthestudyof"howtodothingswithwords"(thename ofawellknownbookbythephilosopherJ.L.Austin),orperhaps"how peopledothingswithwords"(tobemoredescriptiveaboutit). We'llconsiderfouraspectsofpragmaticsinthislecture:speech acts;rhetoricalstructure;conversational implicature;andthemanagementofreference indiscourse. 1.Speechacts Peopleuselanguagetoaccomplishcertainkindsofacts,broadlyknown asspeechacts,anddistinctfromphysicalactslikedrinking aglassofwater,ormentalactslikethinkingaboutdrinkinga glassofwater.Speechactsincludeaskingforaglassofwater, promisingtodrinkaglassofwater,threateningtodrink aglassofwater,orderingsomeonetodrinkaglassofwater,and soon. Mostoftheseoughtreallytobecalled"communicativeacts", sincespeechandevenlanguagearenotstrictlyrequired.Thussomeone canaskforaglassofwaterbypointingtoapitcherandmimingtheact ofdrinking. It'scommontodividespeechactsintotwocategories:directandindirect. DirectSpeechActs Therearethreebasictypesofdirectspeechacts,andtheycorrespond tothreespecialsyntactictypesthatseemtooccurinmostoftheworld's languages.ExamplesaregiveninEnglish,FrenchandBuang(aMalayo-Polynesian languageofPapuaNewGuinea SpeechAct Sentence Type Function Examples Assertion Declarative. conveysinformation;istrueorfalse "JennygotanAonthetest""Lesfillesontpris desphotos."('Thegirlstookphotos')"Biakekonos." ('Biaktookthefood') Question Interrogative elicitsinformation "DidJennygetanAonthetest?""Lesfilles ont-ellesprisdesphotos?"('Didthegirlstakephotos') "Biakekonosme?"('DidBiaktakethefood') OrdersandRequests Imperative causesotherstobehaveincertainways "GetanAonthetest!""Prenezdesphotos!"('Take somephotos!')"Gokonos!"('Takethefood!') Althoughassertions,questionsandordersarefairlyuniversal,and mostoftheworld'slanguageshaveseparatesyntacticconstructionsthat distinguishthem,otherspeechactsdonothaveasyntacticconstruction thatisspecifictothem.ConsidertheEnglishsentence, (a)Ifyoucrossthatline,I'llshootyou! MostEnglishspeakerswouldhavenotroubleidentifyingsuchanutterance asathreat.However,Englishhasnospecialsentenceformfor threats.Theif-constructionusedin(a)isnotspecifictothespeech actofthreatening.Suchaconstructionmightalsoexpressapromise, asin: (b)IfyougetallA's,I'llbuyyouacar! orsimplyacauseandeffectrelationshipbetweenphysicalevents: (c)Ifyouheatwaterto212degreesFahrenheit,itwillboil. Aconsiderationofthesyntacticmeansavailableforexpressingthe variousspeechactsleadsustoseethatevenforthethreebasicspeech actslaidoutinthetableabove,speakersmaychoosemeansofexpression otherthanthebasicsyntactictypeassociatedwiththespeechactin question. Tosomeextent,thisjustreflectstheexistenceofadiversityofmeans ofexpression,butamorepervasivereasonisthatspeakersmayuseindirect ratherthandirectspeechacts. IndirectSpeechActs Returningtothespeechactofquestioning,wecaneasilycomeupwitha numberofalternatewaystoaskthesamequestionbyusingsentencetypes otherthaninterrogative.Let'slookagainattheinterrogativesentence: (d1)DidJennygetanAonthetest? Apositiveanswer("yes")tothatquestionwouldgivethequestioner theactualanswershewanted,butnowconsider(d2) (d2)DoyouknowifJennygotanAonthetest? Thisisstillintheformofaquestion,butitprobablyisnotaninquiry aboutwhatyouknow.Mostofthetime,theanswer"yes,Ido" wouldbeostentatiouslyuncooperative.Thenormalanswerwewouldexpect inreallifewouldbe"Yes,shedid",or"No,sheonlygotaB",orsomething ofthesort.Herethereplyisdirectedtothespeechactmeaning, nottheliteralmeaning.Asimple"yes"answerthatresponds totheliteralmeaningwouldusuallybetakenforanuncooperativeanswer inactualsociallife(forexample"Yes,Ido")wouldbeheardas"Yes, Ido,butI'mnotnecessarilygoingtotellyou". Otherindirectwaysofaskingthesamequestion,using thedeclarativeform,arelistedin(d3)and(d4). (d3)I'dliketoknowifJennygotanAonthetest. (d4)IwonderwhetherJennygotanAonthetest. Inthecaseofthespeechactofrequestingorordering, speakerscanbeevenmoreindirect.Asinthecaseofquestions,conventional indirectrequestsmay,takenliterally,bequestionsabouttheaddressee's knowledgeorability.Hereisadirectrequest: (e1)(Please)closethewindow. Conventionalindirectrequestsmaybeexpressedasquestionsasin(e2) and(e3),orasassertions(e4).Incontext,(e5)and(e6)mayalsobe immediatelyunderstoodasacomplaints,meantasanindirect requestforaction. (e2)Couldyouclosethewindow? (e3)Wouldyoumindclosingthewindow? (e4)Iwouldlikeyoutoclosethewindow. (e5)Thewindowisstillopen! (e6)Imusthaveaskedyouahundredtimestokeepthatwindowclosed! Performatives OnesubtypeofdirectspeechactsexistsinEnglishandinmanyother languages,andallowsustoexpandthekindsofdirectspeechactswe canmakebeyondthethreebasictypesthathavetheirownspecialsyntax. Thesearethedirectspeechactsthatuseperformativeverbs toaccomplishtheirends.Performativeverbscanalsobeusedwiththe threebasicspeechacttypesasexemplifiedin(f)-(h),associatedwith makingstatements,requestsandcommandsrespectively: (f)IassertthatJennygotanAonthetest. (g)Iaskyouwhotookthephotos. (h)Iorderyoutoclosethewindow. Tothesecanbeaddedperformativeverbsthatallowustodirectlyconvey promises,threats,warnings,etc. (i)Iadviseyoutokeepupthepaymentsonyourcar. (j)Iwarnyounottostepacrossthisline. (k)IpromiseyouthatIwillpaythemoneybackbytheendofthe month. (l)Ibetyouadollarthatit'llrainontheparade. Inthelastsentence,theutteranceofthesentenceactuallyaccomplishes theactofbetting(possiblyalongwithsettingasidethemoneyforthe bet),andassuch,itbelongstotheclassofceremonialutterancesthat accomplishotherkindsofchangesintheworld: (m)Inowpronounceyouhusbandandwife. (n)InamethisshipSojourner. (o)IdubtheeSirGalahad. Itisclearthatnotallusesofverbsthatcanbeperformativeare actuallyperformativeinparticularutterances.Forexample,ifwechange thepersonorthetenseinanyofthelastsevensentences,theyareno longerperformative: (i2)Headvisesyoutokeepupthepaymentsonyourcar. (n2)InamedthisshipSojourner. Inboththesecases,theutterancesimplyreports,anddoesnotaccomplish theactofadvisingorofnaming. Theherebytest. Atestofwhetherornotaparticularsentenceisaperformativeutterance iswhetherornotyoucaninsertherebybeforetheverb.Ifthe resultingsentencedoesn'tmakesense,itisnotaperformative: (m3)IherebynamethisshipSojourner;but (m4)*IherebynamedthisshipSojourner. Howmanykindsofspeechactsarethere? Someresearchershaveextendedtheclassicallistsof"speechacts" toincludemanyactionsthatarefelttobehelpfulinanalyzingtask-oriented dialogs,thingslike"answer","accept","reject" andsoforth.Oneinfluentialsetofideasaboutthisisexpressedin theso-calledDAMSL ("DialogActMark-upinSeveralLayers")proposal. Foranother,funniertakeonanextendedsetofspeechacts,listento thisscene(transcripthere)fromChicago'sNeo-Futurist group.Asimilarideaappliedtoweblogpostsishere.There'salsoSpamalot's"ASongLikeThis",DaVinci'sNotebook's"TitleoftheSong",newsreportsfromTheWeeklyWipeandTheOnion,andtheTrailerforeveryOscar-winningmovieever. Thetraditionofdouble-talkcomedydependsonourabilitytoinfertherhetoricalstructureofapresentationwithoutanylexicalinformationatall--here'sJohnCleese'sdoubletalkversionofaneurosciencelecture:   2.Conversationalimplicature TheworkofH.P. Gricetakespragmaticsfartherthanthestudyofspeechacts.Grice's aimwastounderstandhow"speaker'smeaning"--whatsomeone usesanutterancetomean--arisesfrom"sentencemeaning" --theliteral(formand)meaningofanutterance.Griceproposedthat manyaspectsof"speaker'smeaning"resultfromtheassumption thattheparticipantsinaconversationarecooperatinginanattempt toreachmutualgoals--oratleastarepretendingtodoso! HecalledthistheCooperativePrinciple.Ithasfoursub-parts ormaximsthatcooperativeconversationalistsoughtinprinciple torespect: (1)Themaximofquality.Speakers'contributionsoughttobe true. (2)Themaximofquantity.Speakers'contributionsshouldbe asinformativeasrequired;notsayingeithertoolittleortoomuch. (3)Themaximofrelevance.Contributionsshouldrelatetothe purposesoftheexchange. (4)Themaximofmanner.Contributionsshouldbeperspicuous --inparticular,theyshouldbeorderlyandbrief,avoidingobscurity andambiguity. Gricewasnotactingasaprescriptivistwhenheenunciatedthesemaxims, eventhoughtheysoundlikeprescriptionsforhowtocommunicate.Rather, hewasusingobservationsofthedifferencebetween"whatissaid"and "whatismeant"toshowthatpeopleactuallydofollowthesemaximsin conversation.Wecanseehowthisworksinconsideringthemaximofquantity atworkinthefollowingmade-upexchangebetweenparentandchild: Parent: Didyoufinishyourhomework? Child: Ifinishedmyalgebra. Parent: Well,getbusyandfinishyourEnglish,too! ThechilddidnotsaythatherEnglishhomeworkisnotdone,nordid sheimplyitinalegalisticsense.Neverthelesstheparentislikely todrawthisconclusion.Theimplicitlineofargumentissomethinglike this:thechildwouldhavesimplysaid'yes',withoutmentioningany particularsubjects,ifthatanswerweretrue;thefactthatshereferred toalgebra,anddidnotmentionothersubjects,suggests("implicates") thattheunmentionedsubjectsarenotdone. Veryoften,particularnon-literalmeaningsareconveyedbyappearing to"violate"or"flout"thesemaxims.Ifyouweretohearsomeonedescribed ashaving"onegoodleg",youwouldbejustifiedinassumingtheperson's otherlegwasbad,eventhoughnothinghadbeensaidaboutitatall. Amoreelaboratetaxonomyoftypesofconversationalimplicature,with illustrativeexamples,canbefoundhere.Ifyou'reinterested,youcanreadGrice'soriginalwork"LogicandConversation". [Exerciseforthereader:thelastsentenceimplicates thatyoushouldgoreadthereferencedsite.Whatkindofimplicature isthat?] RecentworkinRelevanceTheorybuildsonGrice'sinsightaboutthenatureofcommunication: "RelevancetheorymaybeseenasanattempttoworkoutindetailoneofGrice’scentralclaims:thatanessentialfeatureofmosthumancommunication,bothverbalandnon-verbal,istheexpressionandrecognitionofintentions.Indevelopingthisclaim,Gricelaidthefoundationsforaninferentialmodelofcommunication,analternativetotheclassicalcodemodel.Accordingtothecodemodel,acommunicatorencodesherintendedmessageintoasignal,whichisdecodedbytheaudienceusinganidenticalcopyofthecode.Accordingtotheinferentialmodel,acommunicatorprovidesevidenceofherintentiontoconveyacertainmeaning,whichisinferredbytheaudienceonthebasisoftheevidenceprovided.Anutteranceis,ofcourse,alinguisticallycodedpieceofevidence,sothatverbalcomprehensioninvolvesanelementofdecoding.However,thelinguisticmeaningrecoveredbydecodingisjustoneoftheinputstoanon-demonstrativeinferenceprocesswhichyieldsaninterpretationofthespeaker'smeaning." MoreonthistopiccanbefoundinWilson&Sperber'schapterfortheOxfordHandbookofPragmatics. 3.RhetoricalStructure Considerthefollowingparagraphfromtheintroductiontoa2003magazine article: Hereistheproblemwiththecollege-admissions system.Itisavastandintricatebureaucracydesignedtodoonething, anditdoesthatverywell;butitisunderintensesocialandeconomic pressuretodosomethingdifferent—somethingmoreorlessdirectly atoddswithitssupposedgoal.Theresultingtensionsaffecteveryone involved:Thehighschoolguidancecounselorswhotrytosteerstudents towardtherightschool.Thecollegeadmissionsofficerswhosortthrough evermountingpilesofapplicationstochooseanenteringclass.The collegeadministratorswhowonderhowmanyofthoseacceptedwillenroll—and howmanyofthemwillneedfinancialaid.Theparentswhocontemplate whatwillbe(afterhousing)thesecondlargestfinancialoutlayof theirlives.And,ofcourse,thestudentsthemselves.         -TheAtlantic Monthly,11/2003. Justasaphraseisastructuredcombinationofwords,thisparagraph isastructuredcombinationofphrases.Let'sreviewhowthispassage usesthekindsofsyntacticandmorphologicalstructurethatwe'vepreviously studiedtoexpresssemanticrelationslikemodification andpredicate-argumentstructure("whodidwhat towhom"). Intheparagraphabove,"vastandintricate"modifies "bureaucracy",and"intense"modifies "socialandeconomicpressure."Thismodification relationisexpressedbyastructurethatwemightwritedownsomething likethis: (NounPhrase   (Adjective (Adjectivevast)(Conjunction and)(Adjectiveintricate)))     (Nounbureaucracy))) [Exerciseforthereader:howwouldyoudrawthisstructureasatree?] STEERisapredicatewhoseargumentsmayincludeanagent(theperson orthingsteering),atheme(thepersonorthingthatgetssteered), andagoal(thepathorendpointofthesteering).Inthepassageabove, thereisaverb"steer"whoseagentis"highschoolguidance counselors",whosethemeis"students",andwhosegoal is"towardtherightschool".Thispredicate-argumentrelation isexpressedbythefactthat"steer"isaactiveverbwhose subjectistheagent,whoseobjectisthetheme,etc.Inthiscase, thesubjectturnsouttobe"highschoolguidancecounselors", afterweuntangleandinterpretthesyntacticstructure(...counselors whotrytosteer...).Thesamesemanticrelationmighthave beenexpressedbysyntacticpatternssuchas"studentsbeingsteered byguidancecounselors","thesteeringofstudentsbyguidance counselors",andsoon. Whenyoureadandunderstandthispassage,you'reparsingthestructure ofitsphrases,andusingtheresultstohelpyouinterpretlocalaspects ofthemeaning,suchasmodificationandpredicate-argumentstructure. However,itshouldbecleartoyouthatthereisalsoalarger-scale structurerelatingthe11clausesofthisparagraph.Wecouldindicate thisstructureasfollows(I'veusedlinebreaks,indentationandsquare bracketsforthestructuralrelations,simplifiedthelanguagetomake itfitmoreeasilyonthepage,andnumberedtheclausesforfuture reference): [A (1)Hereistheproblemwiththecollege-admissions system.   [A1     [A1.1(2) Itisabureaucracydesignedtodoonething;A1.1]     [A1.2     [A.1.2.1(3) butitisunderpressuretodosomethingdifferent—A.1.2.1]     [A.1.2.2(4) somethingatoddswithitssupposedgoal.A.1.2.2]     A1.2]   A1] A] [B   [B.1(5)Theresulting tensionsaffecteveryoneinvolved:B.1]     [B.2(6) Counselorswhosteerstudentstowardtherightschool.B.2]     [B.3(7) Admissionsofficerswhosortthroughpilesofapplications.B.3]   [B.4     [B.4.1(8)Administrators whowonderhowmanywillenroll—B.4.1]     [B.4.2(9) andhowmanyofthemwillneedfinancialaid.B.4.2]   B.4]   [B.5(10) Parentswhocontemplatetheirsecondlargestoutlay.B.5]   [B.6(11) And,ofcourse,thestudentsthemselves.B6] B] Atthehighestlevel,therearetwounits:A,thereisaproblem withcollegeadmissions;B,theresultsaffecteveryoneinvolved.The firstunitexplainssomethingaboutwhattheproblemis;thesecondunits liststhekindsofpeopleaffectedandsomethingabouttheirrolesin theprocess. Someofthisrhetoricalstructureinvolvestherelationshipsofphrases insidesentences,andsomeofitinvolvesrelationshipsamongsentences orgroupsofsentences.Likesyntacticstructures,theserhetoricalstructures usuallyseemtobe"trees"--thatis,successivesubdivisions oflargerunitsintosmallerones. Onedifferencebetweensyntaxandrhetoricisscale--syntaxtypically operatesonasmallerscale,amongwordsorsmallgroupsofwordsinside sentences,whilerhetoricworksonalargerscale,typicallyrelating clauses,sentencesandwholesectionsofadiscourse. Anotherdifferenceisfunction.Syntacticstructuremainlyexpresses semanticrelationslikemodification,predication,quantification andsoon.Thesearekeypartsofabasicaccountof"sentencemeaning". Rhetoricalstructuretypicallyexpressespragmaticrelationslikeexemplification, concession,justification,summaryandsoon, thingsthatarepartof"speakermeaning",thewaythatpeople uselanguagetoinformorentertainorpersuade. Forthepastcenturyortwo,linguistshavebeenmuchmoreinterested insyntacticstructurethaninrhetoricalstructure.Asaresult,theories ofsyntaxaremuchbetterdevelopedandmorewidelyknown.However,there aresomeinterestingaccountsofrhetoricalstructure,includingabody ofworkknownasRST(for "rhetoricalstructuretheory").RSTpostulatesatreestructureofrhetoricalrelationships,analogoustothetreestructuresofsyntacticrelationships;RSThasbeenusedinpracticalapplications,especiallyinsystemsforgeneratingtext,andthere'sasetof380RST-annotatedWSJstoriespublishedastheRSTTreebank.(Foraninterestingdebateaboutwhetherrhetoricalrelationshipsareindeedtree-like,seethisweblogpost"Discourse:BranchorTangle?",andthevariouspaperslinkedtherein....andthenthere'sSirHector,hurrying"wildasthetorrent,allthroughsentencessixatatime,unsuspectingofsyntax"...) AdifferentapproachistakeninthePennDiscourseTreebank,whichannotatesamillionwordsofWSJstorieswithpairwisediscourserelationsmarkedbyexplicitconnectivessuchasaccordingly,because,bycomparison,however,etc.;andalsoimplicitrelationshipslikethese: Severalleveragedfundsdon'twanttocuttheamounttheyborrowbecauseitwouldslashthe incometheypayshareholders,fundofficialssaid.Butafewfundshavetakenotherdefensive steps.Somehaveraisedtheircashpositionstorecordlevels.Implicit=becauseHigh cashpositionshelpbufferafundwhenthemarketfalls. TheprojectsalreadyunderconstructionwillincreaseLasVegas'ssupplyofhotelroomsby 11,795,ornearly20%,to75,500.Implicit=soByaruleofthumbof1.5newjobs foreachnewhotelroom,ClarkCountywillhavenearly18,000newjobs. Somelinguistsareskepticalthatrhetoricalstructureisevenawell-defined kindofmentalrepresentationthatisintrinsictolanguage,ofthekind thatsyntaxseemstobe.Thusrhetoricalstructuresmightsimplybeuseful patternsthatspeakersandwriterssometimeschoosetocreateorborrow, justasarchitectsandpaintersmaychoosecertainstereotypicalways ofarrangingtheirmaterials. Onthisview,itmightnotturnouttobe possibletolistallthepossiblerhetoricalstructures,ortouniquely andaccuratelyclassifyeverypassageintermsofsuchstructures,any morethanwecanlistallpossiblehandtools,ornecessarilyclassify allthetoolsthatwefindintoafixedtaxonomy.Afterall,someonecan alwaysinventanewtool,oratoolthatcombinesaspectsofseveralold ones.However,itisstillusefultohaveaninventoryofthetoolsincommonuseatagiventime,and(eveniftheseskepticsareright)aninventoryofcommonrhetoricalstructureshasasimilarsortofvalue. 4.Managingtheflowofreferenceindiscourse. Inconveyingamessage,wehavetoconsidermorethanjust"who didwhattowhom."Wealsohavetokeepinmindwhatourlisteners know,andhowtolaythemessageoutfortheminanorderlyandunderstandable way. Wehavetobecarefulnottoassumeknowledgelistenersdon'thave.If astrangercomesuptousonthestreetandsays,outofnowhere,"what isthefrequency?"wearelikelytoassumethatheiscrazy,orperhaps mistakingusforsomeoneelse.Youngchildrenmakethissortofcommunicative mistakeallthetime,becausetheirabilitytomodelotherpeople'sknowledge andbeliefisnotwelldeveloped. Similarly,wehavetobecarefulnottointroducefamiliarthingsas iftheywerenew.Asidefrombeinginsulting,thiscanbeconfusing,since ourlistenersmaytrytofindanewinterpretationtomatchourimplication ofnovelty.Ifyourroommatesays"there'saletterforyouonthe table",andit'sthesameoldletterthatbothofyouknowwellhas beenthereforseveraldays,youmaywastesometimelookingforanother one. Therearemanyaspectsoflanguagethathelptoindicatewhetheraparticular pieceofinformationis"old"or"new",andtomanage theamountofdetailthatweuseintalkingaboutit,andtomakeitmore orlesssalientforourlistenersorreaders.Forexample,"oldinformation" (partoftheearliercontentofadiscourse,forinstance)isreferred tousingapronoun,andoccursearlyinasentence.Whatis"new"typically occursasanoun,andoccurslaterinthesentence: "WhenJohnappearedattheparty,hewasintroducedtoPearl. ShehadarrivedwithherfriendJulie." Inthistextfragment,Johnturnsinto'he'whenJohnis"known",and thispronounoccursatthebeginningoftheclausethatintroducesPearl asnew.WhenPearlbecomesknown,shealsogetsconvertedtothepronoun 'she'inthenextsentence,occupyingaslotatthebeginningofthenext sentence,whichinturnintroducesthenewcharacter,Julie,inthetypical sentence-finalposition. Here'samorerealisticexample,takenfromatranscriptofconversation aboutfashionsthattookplacein1991(sw4746): B.72:[Sniffing]OnethingI'venoticedis[sic]comebackhereareclogs. A.73:Really? B.74:Yeah.They'restartingtomakeacomeback. YouseetheminthestoresmoreandmoreandIsaidIdidn'tthink I'deverseethoseagain.[laughter] Thenewinformation"clogs"isputattheendofthephrase thatintroducesit,andthenreferredtowithapronounatthestartof thenextfullsentencethatdiscussesit.Considerhowodditwouldbe todotheopposite,switchingthestructuresofthefirstandsecondof B'ssentences:: B.72:[Sniffing]Clogs'restartingtomakeacomeback.. A.73: Really? B.74: Yeah.OnethingI'venoticediscomebackherearethem. YouseetheminthestoresmoreandmoreandIsaidIdidn'tthink I'deverseethoseagain.[laughter] Somethingsimilaroftenhappenswithindefiniteanddefinitenounphrases ("aman"or"somepeople"vs."theman" or"thosepeople").Here'sarealexamplefromanothertranscribed conversation(sw4787),thisoneaboutfamilyreunions(overlappingspeech ismarkingwith#...#): B.52: Andwelltheyelectofficerseveryyearand#theyhavea# A.53: #You'rekidding.#Ihaveneverheardofthis.[laughter] B.54: Yeah,theyhavea,-theyhavea-apresident.Usuallytheytry toelectafamilyandinsidethatfamily,there'llbethepresident and-orthechairmanorwhateverandtheneachpersonhasanassignment to-toyouknow,carryoutonepartofthething. HerespeakerBstartsoutbysaying"theyhavea president",andthen,inaddingmoreinformation,switches to"thepresident".Thesamesort ofswitchfromindefinitetodefiniteoccursinsaying"usuallythey trytoelectafamilyandinsidethat family,there'llbe..."Asthisswitchoccurs,nothingis changedaboutthenatureoftheconceptsthatthephrasesarenaming-- theonlythingthatchangesisthelistener'sfamiliaritywiththem. Anotherwaytostudyhowweorganizeandpackageinformationaccording tothecommunicativecontextistolookattheusageofdifferentsentence formswithverysimilarmeaning. (o)Ineedanickel. (p)It'smethatneedsanickel. (q)WhatIneedisanickel. (r)AnickeliswhatIneed. Now,imagineyourselfstandingnexttoaphoneboothfishingforchange. Someonetryingtobehelpfulmightsay: (s)Whatareyoulookingfor? (t)Here'sadime. Whichof(o)-(r)areappropriateresponsestoeachofthese? Studyingsuchpotentialquestionandanswerpairsshowsusthatsentences canexpressthesamesemanticcontentandstillhavedifferentpragmatic circumstancesofappropriateusage.Thisisbecauselanguagehasmany devicesforindicatingwhatisgivenandwhatisnew,andquestions(explicit orimplicit)setupexpectationsthatarerespectedintheanswers. Somereflectionsoftheseissuesinphilosophyoflaw: LawrenceSolan,"PrivateLanguage,PublicLaws",GeorgetownLawReview,2004(preprinthere). AntoninScalia,ReviewofLaw'sQuandarybyStevenSmith,FirstThings,November2005 MarkLiberman,"Aresultthatnosensiblepersoncouldhaveintended",LanguageLog,December2005.   home   schedule   homework     [coursehomepage]    [lectureschedule]    [homework]