Conversational implicature.docx
- 文档编号:4009527
- 上传时间:2022-11-27
- 格式:DOCX
- 页数:15
- 大小:29.38KB
Conversational implicature.docx
《Conversational implicature.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《Conversational implicature.docx(15页珍藏版)》请在冰豆网上搜索。
Conversationalimplicature
ChapterThreeConversationalimplicature
1.Whatisanimplicature?
1.1Preliminaryremarks
Lookattheexample:
A:
Ihaveafourteenyearoldson.
B:
Well,that'sallright.
A:
Ialsohaveadog.
B:
Oh,I'msorry.
Inwhatcontextdoesthisdialogueoccur?
PleaseexplainthemeaningthatBintendstoconvey.
●Howisitpossibleforthespeakerandthehearertounderstandeachother?
Bmeansmorethanwhatheorshesays,butAcanunderstanditorinterpretitwellinthecontext.Howdoesthishappen?
Howdoesthehearergetfromwhatissaidtowhatismeant,fromthelevelofexpressedmeaningtothelevelofimpliedmeaning.
●Somephilosophersorlogiciansconcludethatnaturallanguageisinadequatefortheprecise,logicalrepresentationofmeaning,and.soitisnecessarytodeviseideallanguagestosolvetheproblem.Thusaccordingtologicalsemantics,understandingthemeaningofnaturallanguageisunderstandingalogicalrelationshipbetweentwopropositions.
✧
Thelogicalrepresentationofconjunction:
pq
E.g.Letyoucutmyhedgebesymbolizedbyp;andI'lltakeyououttodinnerbesymbolizedbyq.Thenthelogicalexpressionpqwillstandfor:
ifp,thenq.
Ifyoucutmyhedge(p),I'lltakeyououttodinner(q).
✧Thelogicalrepresentationofconjunction:
p&q
Thislogicalexpressionstandsfor:
ifpistrueandqistrue,thenp&qistrue.Ifeitherporqisnottrue(i.e.false),thentheconjunctionofpandqisnecessarilyfalse.
E.g.TheduckranuptoMary(p)andlickedher(q).
✧Butthisisnotalwaystrueinreallifeasintheaboveexample.Wheneverp&qistrue,itlogicallyfollowsthatq&pistrue:
TheducklickedMary(q)andranuptoher(p).
●Grice(1975)publishedanarticle"Logicandconversation"whichraisesthequestionhowitispossibleforatheorytodealwiththefactthatnaturallanguageutterancesdonotconveythesamemeaningthatthecorrespondinglogicalpropositionwould.Hemadeanattempttoofferasolution:
Thephilosopher'sassumptionthatnaturallanguageexpressionsdivergefromtheformaldevicesofthelogiciansiswrong.Inotherwords,naturallanguageexpressionscannotbefullyexplainedbyformallogic.
Theargumentisthatthereasonwhypeoplemakeaproposition(p)butoftenmeanmorethanthat(q)isthatthe"divergent"or"extra"meaningsthatseemtocropupwhencertainkindsofnaturallanguagestatementsaremadearenotduetothesyntacticorsemanticrulesoflanguages,buttorulesandprinciplesofconversation.
1.2Definingimplicatures
●Whatisintendedbythespeaker,ortheintendedspeakermeaning.
●Invisiblemeaningorimplicitmeaning.
●Additionalconveyedmeaningthatismorethanwhatwordsmean.
●Whatiscommunicatedincontext,notthemeaningofwords,phrasesorsentences.
2.Grice'stheoryofconversationalimplicature
meaning-nn
Twocomponents
TheCooperativePrinciple(CP)
Thefirsttheoryofmeaning-nnisregardedasatheoryofcommunicationwhichmightbeachievedintheabsenceofanyconventionalmeansforexpressingtheintendedmessage.Thesecondtheoryisessentiallyatheoryabouthowpeopleuselanguage.
2.1Meaning-nn
●Naturalmeaningandnon-naturalmeaning(meaning-nn)
Grice'sanalysisofmeaningismainlypresentedinhisarticles,Meaning,Utterer'sMeaningandIntention,andMeaningRevisited(1978,1981,1989)
a)Thesespotsmeanmeasles.
b)Cloudsmeantitisgoingtorain.
c)Hisgesturemeantthathewasfedup.
d)Hiscoughmeantthatthesupervisorhadcometotheclassroombuilding.
Questions:
Isthereanydifferencebetweenthemeaningoftheverbmeanina)andb)andthatoftheverbmeaninc)andd)?
Naturalmeaning:
factiveornotinvolvingintention
XmeansthatpandXmeantthatpentailp.(relatedto"natural"signs)
Non-naturalmeaning:
non-factiveandintentioninvolved
XmeansthatpandXmeantthatpdonotentailp.(relatedto"conventionalsigns")
●Meaningandintention
Sincetheintentionofthespeakerhastobeinvolvedincommunication,ananalysisofmeaningisnecessarilydoneintermsofintention.
Smeant-nnsomethingbyX:
ThismeansthatspeakerintendstheutteranceofXtoproducesomeeffectinanaudiencebymeansoftherecognitionofhisintention.ForGrice,meaninghastobeinterpretedintermsofthehearerandsomeaningandintentionwerebroughttogetherinhisanalysis.ThisisthecrucialpointinunderstandingGrice'stheoryandSearle'sone.
Searle'stheory:
meaning=intentionrepresentedbythespeaker(intentiontorepresent)
Grice'stheory:
meaning=intentioninterpretedbythehearer(intentiontocommunicate)
SowhatisanintentionbyGrice'sinterpretation?
●Grice'smechanismforpragmaticinference
XintendstobringaboutaresponseonthepartofYbygettingYtorecognizethatXintendstobringaboutthatresponse;YdoesrecognizeX'sintention,andistherebygivensomesortofreasontorespondjustasXintendshimto.
E.g.Itiscoldinhere.
Setting:
inaclassroom
Utterance:
itiscoldinhere.
ThespeakerXintendstomakearequestofthehearerYtoclosethedoor.
ThehearerYisabletorecognizethisintentionbydoingtheactionofclosingthedoor.
Austin'sillocutionarymeaning=Grice'sperlocutionarymeaning
Searle'sview:
meaningIsamatterofintentionandamatterofconventionaswell.(Searle,1979)
●Conversationalimplicatureandconventionalimplicature
Gricedistinguishedwhatissaidfromwhatisimplicated.Bywhatisimplicateditmeansanimplicatureaswehavedefinedintheabove.Gricewentfurthertodistinguishtwodifferentsortsofimplicature:
conventionalimplicatureandconversationalimplicature.
Conventionalimplicature:
animplicaturethatarisesnotdependingonparticularcontextoflanguageuse;ornon-truthconditionalinferencesthatarenotderivedfromsuperordinatepragmaticprinciplesliketheGriceanmaximsbutaresimplyattachedbyconventiontoparticularlexicalitems(Levinson1983);oritisrelatedtotheuseofcertainwordsregardlessofthecontextinwhichitoccurs.
Adverbs:
already,also,barely,either,only,scarcely,still,too,yet
Connectives:
but,nevertheless,so,therefore,yet
Implicativeverbs:
bother,condescend,continue,fail,manage,stop
Subordinatingconjunctions:
although,despite(thefactthat),eventhough
a)Sheispoorbuthonest.
cf:
Sheispoorandhonest.
b)HeisanEnglishman;heis,therefore,brave.
cf:
HeisanEnglishmanandheisbrave.
c)EvenJohnlikesMary.
Butmeansthatwhatfollowswillruncountertoexpectations;orwhatfollowswillbeincontrastwithwhatwillbeexpectedfromwhatprecedes.
Thereforemeansthatwhatfollowswillbetheconsequenceofwhatprecedes.
Evenmeansthatthecasewillbemorethanmightbeexpected.
Properties:
non-cancelableanddetachable
Controversialissues:
a)Isaconventionalimplicatureanon-troth-conditionalmeaningornot?
Sheispoorbuthonest.(Whatisimplicated?
)
Sheispoorandhonest.(Whatissaid?
)
Thesetwosentenceshavethesameproposition,thatis,theyhavethesametruthvalue.Ifso,isaconventionalimplicaturepartofwhatissaid?
b)Isaconventionalimplicatureequaltosemanticpresupposition?
Thesentence"Sheispoorbuthonest"implicatesthatthepoorpeoplearenothonest;butothersmayarguethatthissentenceissaidbypresupposingthatthepoorpeoplearenothonest,otherwiseitwouldnotmakesense.
c)Isaconventionalimplicaturejustamatterofimplicaturebyintuition?
Arthurwasalawyerbuthewashonest.
EventhoughArthurwasalawyer,hewashonest.
Arthurwasalawyer,neverthelesshewashonest.
Thesethreesentencessaynothingmorethan"Arthurwasalawyerandhewashonest".Ifthisistrue,thenwemayclaimthatconventionalimplicatureisnotdetachable(becausethesesentencesexpressthesamesemanticcontent).Soconventionalimplicaturerestsentirelyonintuition.
d)Dodifferentwordsgenerateimplicatureswithdifferenttruthconditions?
Johnisaphilosopherbutheisrich.
Johnisaphilosophersoheisrich.
Ifthisistrue,doyoustillcallconventionalimplicatureanon-truth-conditionalinferenceornotpartofwhatissaid?
Conversationalimplicature:
non-troth-conditionalinferences:
derivedfrompragmaticprinciplesinaparticularcontextofutterance.AccordingtoJ.Mey(2001),"conversationalimplicatureconcernsthewayweunderstandanutteranceinconversationinaccordancewithwhatweexpecttohear".
a)Whattimeisit?
b)Thebusjustwentbyorthemilkmanhasjustcome.
Howdoesa)understandswhatb)meansinthisparticularcontext?
AsLeechremarks,"interpretinganutteranceisultimatelyamatterof'guesswork,or(touseamoredignifiedterm)hypothesisformation"(1983).
a)When'sAuntRose'sbirthday?
b)It'ssometimeinApril.
Doestheheareranswerthespeaker'squestion?
Howdoesa)interpretwhatb)means?
Ifb)doesnotknowexactlywhichdayAuntRose'sbirthdayoccurs,whydoesheorshechoosessuchavagueexpression?
Theguessworkinvolvescooperationbetweenthespeakerandthehearerinconversation;assumptionthatcertainprinciplesareinoperation.Buttheguessworkmayberightorwrongbecausetheimplicatureisgeneratedbythespeakerandtheinferenceisinterpretedbythehearer.Animplicaturemayleadtodifferentinferencesinaparticularcontext.
2.2TheCooperativePrinciple
Basedonhisobservationsofmeaningandinordertoexplainthemechanismsbywhichpeopleinterpretconversationalimplicatureortoexplainwhypeopleoftenmeanmorethanwhattheysay,Grice(1975)proposedtheCooperativePrincipleandintroducedfourconversationalmaxims
- 配套讲稿:
如PPT文件的首页显示word图标,表示该PPT已包含配套word讲稿。双击word图标可打开word文档。
- 特殊限制:
部分文档作品中含有的国旗、国徽等图片,仅作为作品整体效果示例展示,禁止商用。设计者仅对作品中独创性部分享有著作权。
- 关 键 词:
- Conversational implicature