HI-LING
LINGUISTICS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL
UNIT 2: VIOLATION OF MAXIMS
Module 9: Pragmatics
Pragmatics is the part of linguistics that looks at context. Only by mastering the pragmatic side of communication can interpersonal communication be successful.
Learn what pragmatics is and why we need it
Context and shared knowledge are the foundation for successful communication. The amount of information in an exchange is dependent on lots of different factors, such as dialogue partner and mode.
Generally speaking, there are four basic guidelines for interpersonal communication in conversation. These guidelines are not prescriptive, but observational, meaning one doesn't have to follow them.
Speech acts are linguistic utterances that, in addition to conveying information, can also achieve a certain effect and thereby perform an action themselves.
Politeness refers to the linguistic expression of respect, kindness and social consideration. It is an important aspect of communication that influences how people interact with each other.
Final Quiz
Once you have completed all lessons of this module, you may test your knowledge in this quiz 1. Why is written language not considered a graphic representation of spoken language? 2. How does the speaker's relationship with the listener influence the communication and what do we call this effect in linguistics? 3. What is the function of an illocutionary act? 4. What are performative words? Name examples. 5. Explain how criticism is a face-threatening act, what face is threatened and whose face is threatened. 6. What are the four conversational maxims and their most important points? What are they for? 7. In what ways can the cooperation principle be broken? 8. Explain how conversational implicature, the co-operation principle and conversational maxims are related and give an example to illustrate these relations.