Pragmatics Final Exam
Pragmatics Final Exam
Pragmatics Final Exam
7. Say whether the following utterances are instances of coping with a clash/suspending/infringement/ flouting/opting out/violation.
Mention the maxim(s) that is/are broken and the implicature generated (if necessary). The same type of non-observance might occur
several times. (8p)
(1)
If a doctor or a nurse, who has complete confidentiality regarding his/her patients, is asked by the police or the press to reveal
something about the patient that s/he is treating, he /she will reply:
A: I am sorry but can't tell you anything.
(2)
Mother: Did you study all day long?
Son who has been playing all day long: I've been studying till know!
(3) Sara: Did you enjoy the party last night?
Anna: There was plenty of oriental food on the table, lots of flowers all over the place, people hanging around chatting with each othe
(4) Journalist: So if no one asked you to be here, why are you here?
Lawyer: Don't take this personally, Mr. Woodward. It would be a mistake to do that. I just don't have anything to say.
(5)
(2)
(3)
(4)
9. Consider the dialogue below. Mention the implicature that is generated and state its type. Discuss the calculability of this class of
implicatures by specifying the steps through which the respective implicature was calculated (4p).
A: What can you tell me about Catherines ability to concentrate on a task? B: Catherine is a butterfly flitting from flower to flower.
10. Exemplify and give the illocutionary point, the direction of fit, and the expressed psychological state for commissives (2p).
11. Illustrate the difference between performatives and constatives in terms of morphosyntactic properties (2p)
12. Define the speech act.(2p)
13. Comment on the text below using the pragmatic notions studied and provide its translation
George: It just didnt work out. (U1) What can I do? (U2) I wanted to love her. (U3) I tried to love her. (U4) I couldnt. (U5)
Jerry: You tried. (U6)
George: I kept looking at her face. (U7) Id go: Cmon, love her. Love her! (U8)
Jerry: Did you tell her you loved her? (U9)
George: Oh, I had no choice. (U10) She squeezed it out of me! (U11) Shed tell me she loved me. (U12) Alright, at first, I just look at
her. (U13) Id go Oh, really? or Boy, thats, thats something. (U14) But, eventually you have to come back with Well, I love
you. (U15) You know, you can only hold out for so long! (U16)