1010
2013
Discourse analysis
Linguistics
Unit II
Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
Unit II
Introduction
REFLECTION
1. What do you understand by the
functional approach to second language
teaching?
2. What are language functions?
3. Are they taught in the English
classroom?
Read the following text on these issues.
There are two main approaches to the study of grammar: the functional approach,
based on language functions, and the traditional approach which is based on grammar forms.
The functional approach starts from a system of meaning (functions) and relates how these
functions are expressed through the language's grammar. Put it in other terms, the functional
approach starts with meaning and works towards grammatical form for expressing this meaning
rather than starting with the grammatical form and working towards meaning.
On the other hand, the traditional formal approach to language focuses mainly on
grammatical form or structure and then comments on the meaning these forms express.
The functional approach has interesting implications for second language teaching,
specifically by highlighting the distinction between form and function, a distinction not always
clearly made in other approaches.
By identifying language functions and the many grammatical ways of expressing these
functions, it becomes clear that the relationship between form and meaning is not one-to-one.
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
If we make our students aware of the functions of language they will find it possible to
focus on the meaning that they wish to get and then to choose the proper grammatical forms
best suited for the context rather than focusing exclusively on grammar.
We should like to bring into prominence the influence of the functional approach in second
language acquisition, which often for historical reasons, has been neglected.
The following material was taken from chapter 3 of Guy Cook’s book : ‘Language TeachingDiscourse’ and it sheds some light on this approach
F u n c t i on s o f l an gu a g e
We must point out that although formal links reinforce the unity of discourse, they cannot, on
their own create it. Look at the following examples given by Cook:
A.
It’s a mystery to me, how the conjuror sawed that woman in half.
B.
Well, Jane was the woman he did it to. So presumably she must know.
It would be a mistake to suppose that formal links, and nothing else, create the unity
between these sentences. We can see this clearly if we replace the third sentence with another,
so that the sequence reads:
A.
It’s a mystery to me, how the conjuror sawed that woman in half.
B.
Well, Jane was the woman he did it to. So presumably she must be Japanese.
Here, there are also formal links (so, she, etc.) but it is not clear how the sequence makes
sense. Of course, they might form part of a discourse, and if we stretch our imaginations we
could come up with a situation in which they do ; but this will not be by virtue of the words “so”
and “she”, but of some other information about the context.
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
As we can see from the above examples, formal links between sentences are not enough to
account for our feeling that a stretch of language is discourse. They are neither necessary nor
sufficient, and in brief spoken exchanges, it is quite common to come across sentences that are
almost entirely bare of them.
N o w d o t he a c t i v i t y s u g g e s t ed b y
t h e a u t h o r : F o r e a c h ex c h a n g e , s up p l y a
c o n te x t i n w h i c h i t m a ke s s e n s e . N o t i ce
t h a t t h e r e a re n o f o r m a l l i n k s i n a n y o f
t h e s e ex c h a n g e s , b ut t h e y a r e
n e v e r t he l e s s e a s y t o u n de r s t a n d . E a c h
o n e c o u ld f o r m a c o mp l e te d i s c ou r s e .
The speaker A says: “the window is open.”
A second speaker may answer with a different response depending on the situational
context, here we have the ones provided by Cook as examples:
1. Go back to sleep, will you?
2. Don’t worry.
3. My job’s staking boxes, mate.
4. By Jove, Holmes! It was the gardener!
Let´s work on the first one together:
A- The window is open.
B- Go back to sleep, will you?
Context: It’s three in the morning, there’s a couple in bed. The wife wakes up out of cold.
She says to her husband “the window is open” but he, half asleep, answers: “go back to sleep,
will you?
Please, notice that we didn´t have the need to add more utterances to create the context.
Only the two exchanges with no help of cohesive devices are enough to contextualize the
situation. Work on the other three, be creative, think who can be saying “the window is open”,
who is answering “don´t worry”, why that person is giving that response. It will also help to have
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a clear context if you imagine and state where they are, how they are related, when this is
happening, why, etc. And remember, don´t add more speech! Good luck!
--------------------------------------
These examples above are invented; but one does not have to look far to find such
exchanges in real life. Clearly, if we need to explain some interpretations we will need more
than our list of cohesive devices.
Thus, knowledge of the functional approach to language is necessary. As learners and
future teachers of English we assume you are already familiar with functionalism.
In this subject you will, surely enlarge your knowledge about the functional approach.
Reading about such concepts as speech acts, illocutionary acts, semantic roles and other
concepts will probably contribute to this.
(Adapted from: Language Teaching- Discourse, Guy Cook ;OUP, 1996, pages 22-23)
H o w m e a n i ng i s c r e a t e d a n d u n d e r s t o o d ?
Pragmatics, the science concerned with the study of meaning looks behind the literal,
formal meaning of what is said or written, and considers what the sender of a message intends
to achieve with it, that is to say it tries to understand its function.
It has, consequently, more to do with the analysis of what people mean by their
utterances than with what those words or phrases might mean by themselves.
Stop for a moment and try to answer this question:
What kinds of rules enable people to infer the function of what is
s a i d f r o m i t s l i t e r a l , f o r m a l m e a n i ng ?
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
In order to discover how such inferences are made, we will need firstly to examine the
range of possible functions of language, and secondly to try to understand how people correctly
interpret them. Understanding this connection between the form and the function of the
language, will help us to explain how stretches of language, can be coherent without being
cohesive; it will also help us as language teachers to provide students with a better sense of
contextual meaning. We cannot assume that these interpretations will be made in the same way
in all the cultures and in all languages, so understanding how interpretation proceeds in the
culture of the language we are teaching is crucial if we are to help learners to make their words
functions in the way that they intend.
(Adapted from Language Teaching- Discourse, Guy Cook ;OUP, 1996, page 24)
Research work: find out the difference
between what an utterance is and what a
sentence is. You may use whatever source is at
your hand.
Let us now read some further concepts about functions.
If you were asked off hand what the function of language is what would you reply? Look
at the answers below and see which one you agree with most:
to send information
to tell other people your thoughts
to convey your feelings
others
Cook says that people are not as simplistic as this; even a moment of reflection leads to
the conclusion that language has many more functions. Nevertheless it is true, in the adult and
public world at least, that this function that language has of transmitting information, its
referential function, is considered the most important. To abuse it, by sending false information,
is usually regarded as wrong, and can, in certain circumstances, incur the punishment or
imprisonment or a fine. Yet, it is by no means the only, or the first, function of language in
human life. In the world of the infant and parent the referential function of language often takes
a subordinate role to others. There is little the four-year-old child can tell his or her parents that
they do not know already, for they share the child’s world almost entirely. The same is true in
other intimate relationships. Some conversations of couples have scant informational content.
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And even in the wider social world of adult intercourse, language clearly has many more
functions than simply sending information.
(Taken from: Language Teaching- Discourse, Guy Cook ;OUP, 1996, pages 25-26)
You hear one side of a telephone call in a
foreign language. The speaker says:
‘ t a k . . . t a k . . . t a k . . . p r a v d a ? . .. t a k . . . ’ what do you
think the function of these words is and what are their
English equivalents?
Is it easy to classify language functions?
There have been many, sometimes conflicting attempts to do so. One of the clearest
and most influential was formulated by the linguist Roman Jakobson (1960), and further
developed by Hymes (1962). The scheme proceeds by first identifying the elements of
communication, as follows:
T h e a d d r e s s e r : T h e per s o n wh o o r ig i na t e s t h e me s s a ge . Th i s i s u s u a l l y
t h e s a me a s t h e p e r s on w ho i s s e nd i n g th e m e s s ag e , b u t no t a l w a y s , a s
i n t h e ca s e o f me s s en ge r s , s po k e s p eo p le , a nd t o w n cr i er s .
T h e a d d r e s s e e : T h e per s o n to w ho m t he m e s s ag e i s ad dr e s s ed . Th i s i s
u s u a l l y t he pe r so n wh o r e c e i ve s t h e m e s s ag e , b u t no t ne c e s s ar i l y s o , a s
i n t h e ca s e o f i n te r ce p t ed l e t t er s , bu gg ed te l e ph one c a l l s , a nd ea v e s
d r o pp i ng .
T h e c h a n n el : T he me d i um t hr ou gh w h i c h th e me s s ag e t r a v e l s : s ou nd
w a v e s , m ar k s on pa pe r , te l ep ho ne w i r e s , wo r d pr o ce s s o r s c r e en s .
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
T h e m e s s a g e f o r m : T he pa r t i c u la r g r a m mat i c a l a n d le x i c a l c h o i c e s o f t h e
m e s s ag e .
T h e t o p i c : T he i n fo r m a t i on c ar r ie d i n th e m e s s ag e . Ba s i c a l l y , w h a t t he
m e s s ag e i s ab ou t .
T h e c o d e : T he l a ng uag e o r d i a l e c t , f or e xam p l e , S we d i s h , Yor k s h i r e ,
E n g l i s h , Se ma ph or e , Br i t i s h S i gn La ng ua ge, J a p an e se .
T h e s e t t i n g : Th e s o c ia l o r ph y s i c a l c o n t e x t.
L e t ´ s f i n d th e e l em en t s o f c o m mun i c a t i o n in t h e fo l l o w i ng d i a lo gu e :
A: Dr. Peterson's office. How may I help you?
B: I'd like to make an appointment to see the doctor.
A: Certainly, are you ill at the moment?
B: Yes, I'm not feeling very well.
A: Do you have a fever, or any other symptoms?
B: Yes, I have a slight fever and aches and pains.
A: OK, Dr. Peterson can see you tomorrow. Can you come in the morning?
B: Yes, tomorrow morning is fine.
A: How about 10 o'clock?
B: Yes, 10 o'clock is fine.
A: May have your name?
B: Yes, it's David Lain.
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
A: Have you seen Dr. Peterson before?
B: Yes, I had a physical exam last year.
A: Yes, here you are. OK, I've scheduled for ten o'clock tomorrow morning.
B: Thank you.
A: Drink plenty of warm fluids and get a good night's sleep!
B: Thank you. I'll do my best. Goodbye.
A: Goodbye.
Elements of communication
Addresser:
At first, you may think that the secretary is the addressor here
because she is the first one to actually utter the first words.
However, she is not the one who opens the channel. By dialing a
number and making the phone rings on the other side, David Lain
is already communicating. Later, as the dialogue progresses, the
secretary takes on a more dominant role in the interaction; we can
say that she takes over the role of the addressor.
Addressee:
Same explanation, but inverted.
Channel:
That is the medium used to communicate, in this case, we can say
is the telephone wire.
Message form:
According to the lexical and grammatical choices of the speaker,
we can say that we have a structured and neutral (maybe more
formal than informal) dialogue, with a predominant use of
questions and short answers.
Topic:
Making and appointment with the doctor
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
The code:
English spoken/oral language
The setting:
Physical context: (time and place) We may have to physical
context: First, David Lain´s house, though we don´t have explicit
clue about it, we can assume he is calling from home. However, he
may be calling from his work or another place. On the other hand,
we have the receptionist room at the doctor´s. We can also draw
some implications about the time, the call took place during
daylight, probably late in the afternoon, since she is giving him
some advice about drinking liquids and resting well.
Social context: In this aspect we will just focus on how the
participants are related. This is an important variable since it will
determine the speakers’ linguistics choices. In the dialogue we are
analyzing, we can say that they are just acquaintances. They are
being polite with each other. And we can also mention that the
secretary is in a more dominant role since she is the one providing
a service to a person “in need”.
Take a text book used to teach English,
choose from it a short dialogue. Attempt to
analyse each of the elements of communication in
it. This means that you will be providing a
possible context to the dialogue. I am eager to
see your findings!!
M a c r o -f u n c t i o n s a r e t h e n e st a b l i sh e d , e a c h f o c u si n g at t e n t i o n u p o n o n e
e l em e n t :
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
1 . T h e m ot i v e f u n ct i o n: c om m u ni c a t i n g i n n er st a t e s a n d e m o t i o n s o f t h e
a d d r e s se r .
2 . T h e d i r e ct i v e f u n ct i o n : se e k i n g t o af f e ct t h e b e h av i o u r of t h e
a d d r e s se e .
3 . T h e p h a t i c f u n ct i o n : o p e n n i n g t h e c h a n n e l or c h e c k i n g t h a t i t i s
wo r k i n g . T h e u se o f su c h p h r a se s a s ‘ n i c e d a y t o d a y ’ , o r ‘ h o w d o y o u
d o ’ i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d b y l a c k of a n y i nf o rm at i v e c o n t e n t a n d i s
i n t e n d e d t o l i n k p e o p l e a n d m a k e t h e c o ex i st e n c e p e a c e f u l a n d
p l e a sa n t . T h e p h a t i c u se of l a n g u a g e i s c h a r a c t e r i st i c m ai nl y of
sp e e c h , h o we v e r , i n c e r t ai n t y p e s o f wr i t i n g i t c a n al so b e n o t i c e d ,
a s i n l e t t e r s f o r ex am pl e , wh e r e t h e b e g i n n i n g D e a r S i r / M a d a m a n d
e n d i n g Y o u r s f a i t hf u l l y a l so se rv e t h a t p u r po se .
4 . T h e p o e t i c f u n ct i o n : i n wh i c h t h e p a rt i c ul a r f o rm c h o se n i s t h e
e s se n c e o f t h e m e ssa g e . H e r e , t h e wo r d p o e t i c d o e s n o t r ef e r t o t h e
a b i l i t y t o wr i t e p o e t r y, b u t t h e a bi l i t y t o m a ni p u l a t e l a n g u a g e i n a
c r e a t i v e wa y . W i t h t h e u se o f j o k e s a n d m et a p h o r s we c a n p l a y wi t h
wo r d s a n d m e a n i n g s si m pl y f o r j o y .
5 . T h e r ef e r e n t i a l f u n ct i o n : c a r r yi n g i nf o rm at i on .
6 . T h e m e t al i n g u i st i c f u n c t i o n : f o c u si n g a t t e n t i o n u p o n t h e c o d e i t se l f ,
t o cl a r i f y i t o r r e n e g o ci a t e i t . Al l we a r e r e a d i n g ri g h t n o w h a s a
l a r g e l y m e t al i n g u i st i c f u n c t i o n .
7 . T h e c o n t ex t u al f u n ct i o n : c r e at i n g a p a r t i c u l a r k i n d of c om m u n i c at i o n .
E a c h e l e m e n t o f c o m mu n i c a t i o n
c o r r e s p o n d s to a f u n c t i o n , F o r e x a m p l e ,
t h e c o d e e l e m en t co r r e s p o n d s to th e
m e t a l i n g u i s t i c fu n c t i o n . S e e i f yo u a r e
a b l e to m a t c h th e r e s t !
W h a t d o yo u c o n si d e r to b e th e mo s t
l i k e l y fu n c ti o n s o f th e fo l l o w i n g ?
I s i t p o s s i b l e to a s s i g n o n e fu n c ti o n to
e a c h , o r w e c a n n o ti c e s o m e w i t h m i x e d
f u n c ti o n ? H o w mi g h t th e fu n c ti o n o f e a c h
u t t e r a n c e v a r y a c c o r d i n g to th e c o n t e x t ?
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
Dear Sir or Madam....
Fred Astaire’s dead.
Workers of the world.
You make me sick.
The court is now in session.
What do you mean by this?
Well, I’ll be damned!
Here’s Miss Julie.
M i c r o fu n c ti o n s a n d fu n c ti o n a l l a n g u a g e te a c h i n g
I f we a c c e p t J a k o b so n ’ s a n d H y m e s’ , o r a n y si m i l a r, c a t e g o ri z a t i o n of
l a n g u a g e i n t o a sm al l n um b e r of m a c r o -f u n ct i o n s, we m i g h t t h e n g o o n t o
su b d i v i d e e a c h f u n c t i o n a n d sp e c i f y m o r e de l i c at e c a t e g o ri e s, o r m i c r o f u n ct i o n s. A b r e a k d o wn o f t h e d i r e ct iv e f u nc t i o n , f o r ex am p l e, m i g h t l o o k
so m e t h i n g l i k e t h e f ol l o wi n g t a k e n f r om C o o k ’ s wo r k :
(Taken from: Language Teaching- Discourse, Guy Cook ;OUP, 1996, page 27)
T h e p r ev i o u s d i a g r am f ol l o ws t h r o u g h o n l y o n e f u n ct i o n i n e a c h
c o l um n , b u t o n e m i g h t e a si l y i m a gi n e a si m i l a r di v i si o n a n d r e - d i v i si o n of
a n y of t h e ot h e r si x m a c r o -f u n ct i o n s, o r of a n y of t h e r e su l t i n g su b c a t e g o r i e s. T h e r e su l t wo u l d b e a d i a g r am wh i c h b e c o m e s ev e r m o r e
p r e c i se a n d e x pl i c i t a s i t m ov e s f r om l ef t t o r i g h t , wi t h a l o n g l i st of f ai rl y
n a r r o wl y d e f i n e d f u n c t i o n s o n t h e ri g h t - h a nd si d e . T h e r e su l t i n g l i st of
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f u n ct i o n s i s of t h e ki n d u se d a s t h e b a se s o f f u n ct i o n al l a n g u a g e c o u r se s t h e o n e s w h i c h u se t h e t e rm i n a n y m e a n i ng f ul wa y r a t h e r t h a n b e c a u se i t
wa s f a sh i o n a b l e - a n d t hi s i s t h e c o n n e c t i o n b e t we e n f u n c t i o n a l c o u r se s a n d
f u n ct i o n al a p p r o a c h e s t o l i n g u i st i c s.
F u n c t i o n a l c o u r se s se t o u t t o l i st t h e p u r p o se s f o r wh i c h st u d e n t s
m i g h t wi sh t o u se l a n g u a g e , a n d t h e n t o t e ac h t h em h o w t o d o so . I n t hi s,
t h e y h av e i m p o r t a n t st r e n g t h s, a n d t h e y c an t e a c h st u d e n t s sk i l l s wh i c h
c o u r se s c o n c e n t r a t i n g o n f o rm al f e a t u r e s of l a n g u a g e of t e n om i t : h o w t o
g r e e t p e o p l e , o r h o w t o m a i n t ai n p ol i t e c o n t a c t wh i l e l i st e n i n g o n t h e
t e l e p h o n e . B u t t h e y al so h av e c e r t ai n we a k n e s se s, f o r t h e m o r e ex a c t o n e
t r i e s t o b e c om e a b o u t f u n ct i o n s, t h e m o r e sl i p p e r y t h e y b e c om e, a n d t h e
m o r e sc o p e t h e r e i s f o r v ar i at i o n a n d di sa g r e e m e n t . C e r t ai n l y , n o l i st c o ul d
ev e r c l ai m t o b e ex h a u st i v e a n d c om p l et e . T h e r e a r e a l so p e d a g o g i c
p r o b l e m s i n f ol l o wi n g l i st of f u n c t i o n s t h r o u g h . W h a t o r d e r sh o u l d we
f ol l o w? A r e so m e f u n ct i o n s m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n o t h e r s? H o w e x a c t l y d o
t h e y r e l at e t o g r am m a r a n d v o c a b ul a r y ?
(Taken from: Language Teaching- Discourse, Guy Cook ;OUP, 1996, pages 25-30)
Mandatory assignment 1(deadline: August 29th)
Analyze each of the elements of communication and its corresponding macro-functions in
the following dialogue:
A- Why have you changed your mind about the contract?
B- Because we decided to ask our client’s opinions.
A- And what did they say?
B- They say that they prefer to buy products that are not tested on animals.
A- Really?
B- Yes, they also said that they wish to live in a better world and when they buy products
from companies that respect animal rights, they hope to be contributing to that.
A- You see. That’s the reason our products are not experimented on animals. We know
that consumers are much more caring now.
B- Yes, that’s why we wish to purchase more of your products. We hope to form a good
partnership with you guys.
A- And a caring one!
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2- According to Jacobson and Hymes, language is categorized into seven macro
functions: motive function, directive function, phatic function, poetic function,
referential function, metalinguistic function and contextual function. Choose one
of these macro functions and subdivide it specifying its micro functions as in the
example of the subdivision of the directive function from the unit.
T h e Co o p e r a t i v e P r i n c i p l e
L o o k a t a cl a ssi c a l ex am pl e , t h e c o nv e r sa t i o n , t a k e n f r om ‘ P r a g m a t i cs ’ , b y
George Yule (p.36)
There’s a w oman sitting on a park bench
and a large dog lying on the ground in
front of the bench. A man comes along
and sits down on the bench.
M an : D o e s y o u r d o g b i t e ?
W o m an : N o
(T h e m a n r e a c h e s d ow n t o p e t
the dog. The dog bites the man’s hand)
M an : H e y ! Y o u s a i d y o u r d o g d o e s n ’ t
bite.
W o m an : H e d o e s n ’ t . B u t t h a t ’ s n o t m y
dog.
O n e of t h e p r o b l em s wi t h t h i s ex c h a n g e h a s t o d o wi t h
c o m m u ni c a t i o n . T h e p r o bl em wa s c a u s e d b y t h e m a n ’ s a ss u m p t i o n t h a t t h e
d o g b e l o n g e d t o t h e wo m a n . F r om t h e m a n ’ s p e r s p e c t i v e t h e wo m a n ’ s
a n s we r p r o v i d e s l e ss i n f o rm a t i o n t h a n ex p ec t e d . O f c o u r se i f sh e h a d , t h e
st o r y wo u l d n ’ t b e f u n n y . F o r t h e st o r y t o b e f u n n y t h e wom a n h a s t o g i v e
l e ss i n f o rm at i o n t h a n i s e x p e ct e d .
T h e wh o l e si t u a t i o n p oi n t s o u t t h a t t h e r e i s a n e x p e c t e d am o u n t of
i nf o rm at i o n p r ov i d e d i n c o nv e r sa t i o n , a n d t h e a s su m p t i o n i s t h a t p e o p l e
i nv o l v e d i n c o nv er sa t i o n wi l l c o o p e r a t e wi t h e a c h o t h e r . I n Y ul e ’ s e x am pl e ,
t h e wo m a n , cl e a rl y , d o e s n o t wa n t t o t a k e pa r t i n a n y c o o p e r a t i v e
i n t e r a c t i o n . B u t i n m o st c a se s, t h e a s su m p t i o n o f c o o p e r a t i o n i s c om m o n t o
a l l c o nv e r sa t i o n s, so t h a t i t c a n b e d ef i n e d a s a c o o p e r a t i v e p r i n c i p l e of
c o nv e r sa t i o n a n d f ur t h e r su b d i v i d e d i n t o f ou r su b - p r i n c i p l e s, c al l e d m a x i m s
b y t h e E n gl i sh l a n g u a g e p h i l o so p h e r P a u l G r i c e ( 1 9 7 5 ) . A c c o r di n g t o G ri c e
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
sp e a k e r s a n d h e a r e r s s h a r e t h e c o o p e r a t i v e p r i n ci p l e . S p e a k e r s sh a p e t h e i r
u t t e r a n c e s t o b e u n d e r st o o d b y h e a r e r s.
G r i c e a n a l y z e s c o o p e r a t i o n a s i nv o lv i n g f o u r m ax i m s: q u a n t i t y ,
qual i ty, rel ati on, and m anner. Speakers give enough and not too m u ch
i nf o rm at i o n : q u a n t i t y . T h e y a r e g e n u i n e a n d si n c e r e , sp e a k i n g " t r ut h " o r
f a ct s: q u a l i t y. Ut t e r a n c e s a r e r e l a t i v e t o t h e c o n t ex t of t h e sp e e c h : r e l a t i o n .
S p e a k e r s t r y t o p r e se n t m e a n i n g c l e a rl y a nd c o n c i se l y , av o i di n g am bi g u i t y :
manner.
Grice's cooperative principle: set of
n o r m s e x p e c t ed i n co n v e r s a t i o n . M a t ch
G r i c e ’ s fo u r m a x i m s e x p e c t e d i n
c o n v e r s a t i o n w i th th e i r co r r e s p o n d i n g
definition:
MAXIMS
DEFINITIONS
Quality
response is relevant to topic of discussion
Quantity
speaker's avoids ambiguity or obscurity, is direct and straightforward
Relation
speaker tells the truth or provable by adequate evidence
Manner
speaker is as informative as required
M c G o wa n p r o p o s e s t h a t G r i c e ' s f o u r m ax i m s e st a b l i sh i m p o r t a n t
n o r m s of di sc o u r se t h a t d i f f e r e n t g e n r e s a n d st r a t e g i e s p l a y wi t h . J o k e a n d
t a l l t a l e t e l l e r s p l a y wi t h l a n g u a g e . T h e y b en d t h e o r d i n a r y st r u c t u r e s a n d
a s su m p t i o n s a b o u t sp e e c h .
M c G o wa n a r g u e s t h a t m u c h j o ki n g a n d t al l t a l e d ev e l o pm e n t i nv ol v e
t h e t el l e r s p l a yi n g wi t h t h e se f o u r m ax i m s of G r i c e ' s c o o p e r a t i v e p ri n c i pl e .
O rv i l l e Hi c k s i n a t a l e of pl o u g h i n g t h e p o pc o r n f i e l d el a b o r a t e s d e t a i l s
a b o u t h i s f a t h e r a n d t h e m ul e . T h e se r e a l i st i c d e t ai l s se t u s u p f o r t h e t al l t a l e ex a g g e r a t i o n of t h e we a t h e r b e i n g so h o t t h a t c o r n st a r t e d t o p o p .
O rv i l l e , i n f a ct , a d d s o n e m o r e " r e al i st i c " de t a i l : t h e r e wa s so m u c h
p o p c o r n , i t c r e a t e d a " b l i zz a r d . " H e g o e s b e y o n d t h e m ax i m of q u an t i t y ; h e
g i v e s u s m o r e t h a n we n e e d t o k n o w. A l l O rv i l l e ' s t al l t al e s a l so v i ol a t e
q u a l i t y . H e p u r p o se l y sp e a k s u n t r u t h s, y e t h e g i v e s se e m i n gl y f ac t u a l
d e t a i l s. H e p l a y s wi t h r e l a ti o n of t e n , cr e a t i n g c r a z i l y l o gi c a l c o n n e c t i o n s.
G r i c e ' s f i n al m ax i m , m an n e r , d em a n d s t h a t c o nv e r sa t i o n b e u n am bi g u o u s,
b u t O rv i l l e' s t a l l t a l e s b e n d t h e m e a ni n g s o f wo r d s f o r h um o u r ; h e pl a y s
wi t h wo r d s a n d i m a g e s. O rv i l l e H i ck s p l a y s wi t h t h e se f o u r m ax i m s of t h e
15
Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
c o o p e r a t i v e p ri n ci p l e i n hi s p e rf o rm a n c e s. O f t e n t h e a p p r o p r i a t e i n c o n g r ui t y
o f h um o u r i n su c h t a l e s d e p e n d s o n t h e v i o l a t i o n o r t am p e ri n g wi t h t h e f o u r
m ax i m s of G ri c e ' s c o o p e r a t iv e p ri n c i pl e : q u a n t i t y , q u al i t y , r e l at i o n, a n d
manner.
O v e r a l l , t h e se si m p l e c o nv e r sa t i o n a l r ul e s a r e v e ry u se f ul - b o t h wh e n t h e y
a r e f o l l o w e d a n d wh e n t h e y a r e n o t i c e a b l y b r o k e n .
F o l l o w i n g th e R u l e s/ M a x i m s
W h e n t h e r ul e s a r e f o l l o we d i t i s v e r y e a sy f o r p e o p l e t o u n d e r st a n d e a c h
o t h e r . W h at p e o p l e sa y i s e x pl i ci t , d i r e c t , an d t o t h e p oi n t . P e o p l e sa y wh a t
they mean.
N o t i c e a b l y B r e a k i n g th e R u l e s/ M a x i m s
T h e se r u l e s, h o we v e r , a r e u se f ul ev e n wh e n t h e y a r e b r o k e n . I f a sp e a k e r
b r e a k s t h e r u l e s i n a wa y t h a t i s n o t i c e a b l e ( c a l l e d "f l o u t i n g " ) , we t r y t o
f i g u r e o u t wh y i t h a p p e n e d - " . . . wh y d i d sh e sa y t h a t ? "
T h e f ol l o wi n g ex am pl e s sh o w h o w t h i s wo r k s:
I f som e o n e a sk s y o u , “ H o w m u c h d i d y o u r ho u se c o st ? ” a n d y o u r e sp o n d b y
sa y i n g “ E n o u g h ” - we l l , h o p e f ul l y t h e y wi l l g e t t h e p oi n t (" I t ' s n o n e o f y o u r
b u si n e ss. " )
T h i s i s h o w we i m p l y m e a n i n g – we sa y t h i ng s wi t h o u t a c t u al l y h av i n g t o
sa y t h e m b y b r e a k i n g G ri c e ’ s r u l e s o v e r t l y (o u t i n t h e o p e n ) .
O n e m o r e ex am pl e of f l o u t i n g t h e m ax i m s: I m a gi n e t h a t y o u a n d a f r i e n d at
wo r k a r e si t t i n g a r o u n d wo r k c om p l ai ni n g a b o u t y o u r b o ss. M i d - se n t e n c e
y o u r f ri e n d a b r u p t l y swi t c h e s t h e t o p i c ( b r e a k s t h e M a x i m of R e l a t i o n ) .
W i t h o u t sa y i n g a wo r d y o u r f r i e n d h a s t o l d wh a t y o u n e e d t o k n o w.
A s c a n b e se e n , G r i c e ’ s r u l e s a r e i m p o r t a n t – we f ol l o w t h e m wh e n we w a n t
t o b e ex p l i ci t l y cl e a r a n d d i r e c t .
A n d we b r e a k t h e r u l e s i n a n o bv i o u s, n o t i ce a b l e i n o r d e r t o m ak e a p oi n t
wi t h o u t h av i n g t o b e ex p l i ci t a b o u t t h e p o i n t b e i n g m a d e .
Read the following joke, what
m a x i m s o f co n v e r s a t i o n a r e b e i n g
v i o l a t ed ? E x p l a i n .
Student: The brain is a wonder full thing
Teacher: Why do you say that?
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
Student: Because it starts working the second you get up in the morning and never stops
until you get asked a question in class!
Adapted from:
http://www.acs.appstate.edu/~mcgowant/grice.htm
(Taken from: Language Teaching- Discourse, Guy Cook ;OUP, 1996, pages 30-38)
T h e S p e e c h Ac t T h e o r y
(p r o p o s ed b y Au s t i n a n d r e f o r mu l a t e d b y S e a r l e )
A u st i n f i r st d ev e l o p e d t h e i d e a t h a t , f o r i n st a n c e g e t t i n g a g l a ss o f
wa t e r i s a n a c t i o n , a n d a sk i n g so m e o n e e l se t o g e t y o u o n e i s al so a n a c t .
T h i s c o n c e p t u n d e r l i e s t h e S p e e c h Ac t T h eo r y , wh i c h we wi l l f u r t h e r
a n a l y z e i n m o r e d e t ai l i n t h i s se c t i o n .
T h e i m p l i c a t i o n i s t h a t w h e n we sp e a k , o u r wo r d s d o n o t h av e
m e a ni n g i n t h em se l v e s. T h e y a r e v e r y m u c h af f e ct e d b y t h e si t u a t i o n , t h e
sp e a k e r a n d t h e l i st e n e r . T h u s , wo r d s a l o n e d o n o t h av e a si m pl e f i x e d
m e a ni n g .
T h e S p e e c h A ct T h e o r y p r o p o se s t h a t o n a ny o c c a si o n , t h e a c t i o n
p e r f o rm e d b y p r o d u c i n g ut t e r a n c e s wi l l c o nsi st o f t h r e e r el a t e d a ct s o f
sp e e c h : T h e r e i s f i r st a l o c u t i o n a r y a c t wh i c h i s t h e b a si c a ct of p r o d u c i n g
a m e a n i n gf u l l a n g u a g e e x p r e ssi o n . T h e n a n i l l o cu t i o n a r y a ct a n d l a st l y a
p e r l o cu t i o n a r y a ct . R e a d t h e ex p l a n a t i o n s a n d d e f i n i t i o n s b e l o w:
Locutionary act: saying something (the locution) with a certain meaning in traditional
sense. This may not constitute a speech act.
If a person has difficulties in producing sounds and words to create a meaningful
expression, in a foreign language, for instance, because of insufficient knowledge of this
language, then the person might fail to produce a locutionary act.
Illocutionary act: the performance of an act in saying something (vs. the general act
of saying something).
The illocutionary force is the speaker's intent. A true 'speech act'.
e.g. informing, ordering, warning, undertaking.
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
In general, we produce well- formed utterances with a purpose, and we always have
some kind of function in mind. The communicative force of an utterance results in what has
been described as an illocutionary act.
Of course, a speaker does not create an utterance with a function without intending it to have
an effect on the hearer. This is the third dimension, the perlocutionary act.
Perlocutionary acts: Speech acts that have an effect on the feelings, thoughts or
actions of either the speaker or the listener. In other words, they seek to change
minds! Unlike locutionary acts, perlocutionary acts are external to the
performance.e.g., inspiring, persuading or deterring.
S e a r l e ( 1 9 6 9 ) i d e n t i f i e d f i v e i l l o c u t i o n a r y / pe r l o c u t i o n a r y p o i nt s:
1. Assertives: statements may be judged true or false because they aim to describe a
state of affairs in the world.
2. Directives: statements attempt to make the other person's actions fit the propositional
content.
3. Commissives: statements which commit the speaker to a course of action as
described by the propositional content.
4. Expressives: statements that express the “sincerity condition of the speech act”.
5. Declaratives: statements that attempt to change the world by “representing it as
having been changed”.
T h u s, p r e t t y m u c h al l we d o wh e n we a r e t a l ki n g i s t o a sse r t , d i r e c t ,
c o m m i se r a t e , ex p r e ss a n d d e c l a r e .
T h e m e a n i n g of a n u t t e r a n c e i s t h u s d e f i n e d m o r e b y c o nv e n t i o n t h a n
t h e i ni t i a t i v e of t h e r e a d e r . W h e n we sp e a k , we a r e f ol l o wi n g l e a r n e d r u l e s.
P e r f o r m a t i v i t y o c c u r s wh e r e t h e u t t e r a n c e of a wo r d a l so e n a c t s i t ( ' I n am e
t h i s sh i p . . . ' ) . I t i s a f o rm of i l l o c ut i o n a r y a c t . T hi s h a s b e e n t a k e n u p b y
su c h a s J u d i t h B ut l e r i n f em i ni sm a n d h a s b e e n u se d t o i n d i c a t e h o w
p o r n o g r a p h y i s l e ss a f o rm of sp e e c h a s a p e r f o rm at i v e a ct of se x u a l
d e g r a d a t i o n . I t i s r e l a t e d t o su t u r e a n d i nt er p e l l at i o n i n t h e wa y i t f o r c e s a
si t u a t i o n .
Some examples:
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
Oh! - is an utterance (note that communication is not
intended - it is just a sound caused by surprise).
The black cat - is a propositional act/locutionary act
(something is referenced, but no communication may be
intended)
The black cat is stupid - is an assertive illocutionary act (it
intends to communicate).
Please find the black cat - is a directive perlocutionary act
(it seeks to change behaviour).
Adapted from:
http://www.acs.appstate.edu/~mcgowant/grice.htm
(Taken from: Language Teaching- Discourse, Guy Cook ;OUP, 1996, pages 30-38)
I m p l i c a t i o n s o f P r a g m a ti c s , d i s c o u r s e an a l y s i s fo r l an g u a g e t e a c h i n g
S o f a r we h av e b e e n d i sc u s si n g t h e o r i e s of t h e p r a g m at i c
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of l a n g u a g e : h o w p e o p l e c r e a t e m e a n i n g a n d m ak e se n se o f
wh a t i s sa i d i n sp e c i f i c ci rc um st a n c e s. T h e f a ct t h a t m e a ni n g i s n o t
c o n st r u c t e d f r om t h e f o rm al l a n g u a g e of t h e m e ssa g e a l o n e i s c r u ci a l i n
e x pl a i ni n g wh a t i t i s t h a t m a k e s p e o p l e p e r c e i v e so m e st r e t c h e s o f
l a n g u a g e a s c o h e r e n t d i sc o u r s e a n d o t h e r s a s d i sc o n n e c t e d j u m bl e s. I t i s
a l so i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e su c c e ssf u l t e a c hi n g an d l e a r n i n g of f o r ei g n
l a n g u a g e s.
T h e i m p o r t a n c e of p r a gm a t i c t h e o r i e s i n l a ng u a g e l e a r n i n g i s r e a l l y
t wo f o l d . F i r st l y t h e d i v e r g e n c e of f u n ct i o n a n d f o rm m e a n s t h a t we c a n n o t
r e l y u p o n t e a c hi n g o n l y f o rm . I n p r o d u c t i o n , l e a r n e r s n e e d t o c h o o se t h e
wo r d s wh i c h m o st su i t a b l e r e al i z e t h ei r i n t en t i o n , a n d t h i s d o e s n o t a l wa y s
e n t a i l t h e m o st c l o se l y r e l at e d f o rm ; i n r e c e p t i o n of l a n g u a g e , g i v e n t h e
h u m a n p e n c h a n t f o r i n d i r e ct i o n , t h e y a l so n e e d t o b e a b l e t o m ov e f r om t h e
f o rm t o t h e f u n c t i o n . T h e r e a r e t i m e s wh e n m a ki n g t h e l a n g u a g e f u n c t i o n
e f f e c t i v el y i s m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n p r o d u ci n g p e r f e ct l y p r o n o u n c e d ,
g r a m m at i c a l l y c o r r e c t se n t e n c e s.
S e c o n d l y , t h e l i n ki n g of f o rm t o f u n c t i o n m ay h e l p l e a r n e r s t o
o r i g i n a t e t h em se l v e s wi t h i n a d i sc o u r se . A l l l e a r n e r s of a f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e
a r e f am i l i a r wi t h t h e di st u r b i n g se n sa t i o n o f u n d e r st a n d i n g ev e r y wo r d , a n d
t h e l i t e r al m e a n i n g , b ut so m e h o w m i ssi n g t h e p o i n t . T h e u n d e r l y i n g
19
Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
st r u c t u r e of t h e d i sc o u r se m a y b e a p r o g r e ssi o n o f f u n c t i o n a l u n i t s, a n d a
b r e a k d o wn i n p r a gm a t i c i n t e r p r e t at i o n m a y e a si l y l e a d t o a l e a r n e r l o si n g
h i s o r h e r wa y . W e sh a l l n e e d t o g o f u rt h e r i n ex am i n i n g h o w f u n c t i o n a l
u n i t s i n t e r a ct t o c r e a t e d i sc o u r se , a n d h o w t h e l e a r n e r m ay b e g u i d e d
t h r o u g h t h em .
T h e t wo p o i n t s r a i se t h e i ssu e o f t h e ex t e n t t o wh i c h p r a gm a t i c
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n a n d di s c o u r se st r u c t u r e a r e c u l t u r e sp e c i f i c, a n d t h e ex t e n t t o
wh i c h t h e y n e e d t o b e - o r c a n b e - t a u g h t . I n o r d e r t o ‘ d o t hi n g s wi t h wo r d s’
e i t h e r a ct iv el y, a s l a n g u a g e p r o d u c e r s, o r p a s si v el y , a s l a n g u a g e
u n d e r st a n d e r s, we c l e a r l y n e e d m o r e t o ol s t h a n t h e f o rm al l a n g u a g e
sy st e m , t h o u g h we d o n e e d t h a t t o o . T h e n ee d s o f t h e l a n g u a g e u se r m i g h t
b e r e p r e se n t e d a s i n t h e f ol l o wi n g c h a r t t a ke n f r om G u y C o o k :
T ak en f r om “ D is c our s e, G u y C ook , 19 96 , p ag e 42
T r a d i t i o n al l y, l a n g u a g e t e a c h i n g h a s c o n c e n t r a t e d o n l y o n t h e t h r e e
l ev e l s of t h e f orm a l l a n g u a g e sy st e m - p r o n un c i a t i o n , g r am m ar , a n d
v o c a b u l a ry - a n d t h e wa y i n wh i c h t h e y f u n c t i o n wi t h i n t h e se n t e n c e , o n t h e
a s su m p t i o n t h a t ot h e r a sp e c t s o f c om m u n i ca t i o n wi l l f ol l o w f ai r l y
a u t o m a t i c al l y . I t r em ai n s t r u e , of c o u r se , t ha t t h e f orm a l sy st e m of a f o r e i g n
l a n g u a g e i s v e ry o bv i o u sl y d i f f e r e n t f r om t ha t of t h e l e a r n e r ’ s f i r st
l a n g u a g e , t h a t i t , t h e r ef o r e , f o rm s t h e b a si s of a n y f u l l c om m u ni c a t i o n , a n d
t h a t i t n e e d s t o b e a c q u i r e d i n so m e wa y . I t i s n o t , h o we v e r , al l t h a t i s
n e e d e d f o r c om m u n i c at i o n . S o f a r , i n o u r se a r c h f o r t h e f o r c e s wh i c h
c r e a t e s c o h e r e n c e , we h a v e ex am i n e d so m e of t h e ot h e r f a ct o r s i n
c o m m u ni c a t i o n .
I n t h e f i r st u n i t we h av e se e n h o w t h e f o rm a l sy st e m o p e r a t e s a c r o ss
se n t e n c e s a n d we h a v e m e n t i o n e d h o w k n o wl e d g e o f t h e wo r l d o r of t h e
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
c u l t u r e , a b o u t so c i a l r ol e s a n d r e l a t i o n sh i p s) e n a b l e s p e o p l e t o m a k e t h ei r
l a n g u a g e f u n ct i o n a s t h e y i nt e n d t o u n d e r st a n d h o w o t h e r s d o t h e sa m e t o
t h e m . T o c o n n e c t t h e i r k n o wl e d g e wi t h t h e l a n g u a g e sy st e m p e o p l e u se
r e a so n i n g , a n d p r a g m a t i c t h e o r i e s. I n o r d e r t o u n d e r st a n d t h i s, we sh o u l d
g o so m e wa y t o wa r d s e x p l ai n i n g h o w p e o p l e r e a so n t h e i r wa y f r om t h e f o rm
t o t h e f u n ct i o n a n d t h u s c o n st r u c t c o h e r e n t d i sc o u r se f r om t h e l a n g u a g e
t h e y r e c e iv e.
W h at we n e e d t o d e c i d e a s l a n g u a g e t e a c h e r s i s t h e d e g r e e t o wh i c h
o t h e r c om p o n e n t s o f c om m u ni c a t i o n n e e d t e a c h i n g . Al l h um a n b ei n g s h av e
r e a so n i n g p o we r , wo r l d k n o wl e d g e , a n d k n o wl e d g e o f a t l e a st o n e c u l t u r e;
b u t t h e di v i si o n s b e t we e n t h e se c a t e g o r i e s a n d t h e n a t u r e of t h e i r c o n t e n t s
a r e n o t a l wa y s c l e a r . H o w f a r d o c o nv e r sa t i o n a l p r i n ci pl e s a n d t h e
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of sp e e c h a c t s p r o c e e d s d i f f er e n t l y i n d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r e , f o r
e x am pl e ? W e a l so n e e d t o h el p l e a r n e r s i n t e g r a t e t h e c om p o n e n t s of
c o m m u ni c a t i o n o n e wi t h a n o t h e r . I t i s n o g o o d t e a c h i n g t h em a s d i sc r e t e
u n i t s a n d h o p i n g t h a t t h e l e a r n e r , su d d e n l y f a c e wi t h i m m e di a t e su c c e ss.
W h at ev e r c ul t u r al v a ri a t i o n t h e r e m a y b e i n p r a g m a t i c i nt e r p r e t a t i o n , we
m a y b e su r e t h a t i t s i n t e r a c t i o n wi t h f o rm i s l a n g u a g e sp e c i f i c . I t d o e s
n e e d s t e a c h i n g , t h o u g h we m u st b e c a r ef ul n o t t o g o t o t h e o p p o si t e
e x t r em e , a s m a n y c o u r se s d o , a n d p a t r o n i zi n g l y t h at a d u l t l e a r n e r s l i k e
n e w- b o r n b a b i e s . T h e y b r i n g wi t h t h em i m me n se r e a so n i n g p o we r ,
k n o wl e d g e o f t h e wo r l d , a n d a so p h i st i c a t e d sk i l l at i m pl em e n t i n g t h r o u g h
t h e i r o wn l a n g u a g e a n d c u l t u r e t h e c om pl ex n e e d s o f al l h um a n s; t o r el a t e
t o o t h e r s, a n d t o a ct wi t h t h em .
(Taken from: Language Teaching- Discourse, Guy Cook ;OUP, 1996, pages 40-42)
Mandatory assignment 2 (deadline: September 9th)
Consider the following exchanges. Does the second speaker answers the first speaker’s
question in each case? Does the answer implicate anything? What maxim/s are being
flouted in each case and what the reasons might be?
1) Exchange between two colleagues:
A: Did I get invited to the conference?
B: Your paper was too long.
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Linguistics – Discourse Analysis
2) Exchange between mother and daughter:
M: What did you have for breakfast this morning?
D: Food
3) Exchange between two friends:
Lucy: What’s Kate’s husband like?
Sue: She married a rat
4) Exchange between husband and wife?
W: Do you like my new coat?
H: It’s pink!
5) Exchange between two students:
A: Coffee?
B: It would keep me awake all night.
1- Provide two examples (real or invented) in which Grice’s rules are broken overtly
(flouting) stating which of the maxims is being violated in each case.
2- Speech Acts: Provide one example (created by you) for each type of speech acts:
Locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary.
END OF UNIT II
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