Pragmatics

The exercise was created 2025-11-29 by hannaherondale. Question count: 51.




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  • Illocutionary force indicating device An expression indicating the communicative force of the utterance
  • IFID I declare the championship open
  • indirect speech act Speech act where the form does not agree with the function
  • indirect speech act It feels a bit stuffy here / Wearing a face covering is obligatory. (directive)

  • direct speech act A speech act where form and function match
  • direct speech act Please sign on the other side of the document.
  • commissive A speech act committing a speaker to a future action
  • commissive I will serve this country to the best of my ability.
  • declaration A speech act bringing a change by being uttered
  • declaration I resign with immediate effect.
  • expressive A speech act expressing the speaker’s emotions
  • expressive Yay, we did it!
  • directive A speech act intended to make addresses do something
  • directive Close the door, you cannot go in there, I suggest that you…
  • representative a speech act that mean what the speaker believe to be the case
  • representative I think that ..., The exam will be easy, Today is Tuesday
  • personal deixis Forms used to point to people
  • personal deixis Sara hasn’t seen him.
  • spatial deixis Forms used to point to a location in space
  • spatial deixis The concert hall is on your left.
  • temporal deixis Forms used to point to location in time
  • temporal deixis My brother called me yesterday.
  • quantity Maxims: Give the appropriate amount of information
  • quality Maxims: Be sincere, do not intentionally lie.
  • relation Maxims: Make what you say relevant to the ongoing conversation.
  • manner Maxims: avoid obscurity or ambiguity, be brief, be orderly.
  • the cooperative principle a basic assumption in conversation that each participant will attempt to contribute appropriately, at the required time, to the current exchange of talk.
  • conversational implicature an additional unstated meaning that has to be assumed in order to maintain the cooperative principle.
  • hedges cautious notes expressed about how an utterance is to be taken, e.g. as far as I know used when giving some information.
  • face threatening act Give me that book!
  • face saving act Would you mind handing me that book?
  • positive face the need to be connected, to belong to a group
  • negative face the need to be independent, not to be imposed on by others
  • positive politeness showing solidarity with another (mate, darling, friend)
  • negative politeness awareness of another’s right not to be imposed on
  • flouting the maxim of relation/relevance Saying something seemingly irrelevant
  • flouting the maxim of relation/relevance Pim: Sue’s party was a big flop. Pam: Have you spoken to David recently?
  • negative politeness Attending to the hearer’s need for independence
  • negative politeness Would you mind if I sit here?

  • flouting the maxim of quantity Saying something without providing sufficient information
  • flouting the maxim of quantity Pim: Do you know how old Daniel is? Pam: He looks his age.
  • mitigating device expression used to soften an imposition
  • mitigating device tickets, please.
  • positive politeness Attending to the hearer’s need for solidarity
  • positive politeness C’mon, buddy – we should go for it!
  • flouting the maxim of manner Saying something ambiguously
  • flouting the maxim of manner Tim: Where are you taking your dog? Pim: To the V-E-T (spells out the word ‘vet’).
  • face threatening act Utterance or action which threatens a person’s public self-image
  • face threatening act Stop picking your nose!
  • flouting the maxim of quality He has a heart of gold. / My heart froze for a moment.
  • flouting the maxim of quality Saying something and intentionally lying.

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