Pragmatics

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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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