Pragmatics

The Vessel into which all other components are placed!

A Functionalist Model

Language Review 1 Definition of Language

– A socially shared code or conventional system for representing concepts through the use of arbitrary symbols and the combination of those symbols. Bloom and Lahey

2. Perspectives of language– 1. Components– 2. Discourse– 3. Receptive/Expressive

3. 4 views of language development 4. Communication Circle 5. Language Fan: Form/Content/Use

Components of Language

Pragmatics Phonology Semantics Syntax Metalinguistics Emergent Literacy Central Auditory Processing (CAP)

Pragmatics

Definition: study of the relationship between language and the context that are basic to an account of language understanding

– social use of language

It’s about COMMUNICATION

Pragmatic Concepts

Sociolinguistic: Culture & Communication

Development: Begins with Cry- ends with the death sigh

Theorists• 1. Dore 2. Halliday• 3. Roth & Spekman 4. Prutting• 5. Fey 6. Others

Pragmatics=Intentionality

Speech Act and Development of Intentionality• Perlocutionary• Illocutionary (INTENTIONALITY) @ 6

months• Locutionary (First Words

Development of Intentionality

Perlocutionary-Caregiver assigns intentions to infant’s cry, smiles, vocalizations, gestures

Illocutionary-Infant begins to initiate INTENTIONALITY through cry differentiation, smiles, gestures

Locutionary-Modality specific: Verbal Language or Gestures (sign language)

It’s a PIL,– what’s a ILP, a LIP?

Theorists: Dore Prag 3

Studied younger children developing language

Taxonomy appropriate for language below MLU of 3 or through telegraphic speech

Taxonomy (p. 242)

Pragmatics: Halliday Prag. 4

Halliday’s perspective: Language is used to interact with others, regulate their behavior and to fulfill speaker’s needs by having a listener/s respond appropriately

Taxonomy Use: older children who are verbal because it is multi-word taxonomy

Taxonomy– similar to Dore’s except for Heuristic

Dore/Halliday Comparison

Dore Label Repeat Answer Request Action Request Answer Calling Protesting Practice

Halliday Personal (that’interesting,

self-talk)

Imitating Informative (got something

to tell you)

Regulatory (do as I tell you)

Interactional (initiation)

Personal(withdrawal) Instrumental (I want) Imaginative (let’s pretend) Heiristic (why?)

Halliday’s Taxonony

Halliday observed Broad pragmatic functions instead of individual utterance functions as observed by Dore BUT considerable similarity

Emergence of Speech• initially speech emerges to accompany action,

not to convey information• attention is restricted to a single object and

action associated with it• notes object relations or comments on the

event (recurrence)

Halliday’s Taxonomy, #2

Separated into 3 PHASES– Phase I

• ages 9 months to 17 months• initially speech emerges to accompany action,

not to convey information• communicative functions

– instrumental– regulatory– interactional– personal

Halliday’s Taxonomy #3

– Phase II• characterized by a generalization of the

previous functions into new broader functions and by the disappearance of isomorphic forms

• two broad functions emerge– mathetic general learning functions

» includes the Personal and Heuristic– pragmatic involves needs satisfaction and control

» includes Instrumental and Regulatory functions

• at two-word level, child begins to use structure independent of function

• in general: Old Forms (constructions)-New Ideas

New Forms (generalization) - Old ideas

Halliday’s Taxonomy #4

Phase III– child attains adult-like functions– attained by age 2– ability to combine several language

functions within a single utterance– -use of a lexicogrammatical (semantic/syntactic)

system makes in possible to fulfill (perlocutionary) all necessary functions in a discourse simultaneously

• ex: mommy, cookie hot -interactional, description, inferential requesting

Pragmatics: Roth & Spekman prag. 4

Taxonomy use: more comprehensive Taxonomy:

• Triangle with points of» Communication Intention» Presupposition» Organization of Discourse

CI

ODP

Communication Intention

Communication Intention– Divided into Range and Form

• Range– Preverbal– Holophrases– Multi-Word

• Form– Gestural– Gestural + Vocalization– Verbal/ Sign Language

Communication Intention for Roth and Spekman PREVERBAL prag #5

Preverbal Intentions– Attention Seeking to self– Attention seeking to events, others, – Requesting

• objects• Actions• Information

– Protesting/Rejecting– Responding/Acknowledging– Informing– Greeting (social)

Communication Intentions for Roth and Spekman

Holophrases #7

Holophrases– Naming– Commenting– Request Objects

• Present• Absent

– Requesting Information– Responding– Protesting/Rejecting– Greetings

Multiword– Requesting Information– Requesting Action– Responding to Requests– Stating or Commenting– Regulating Conversational Behavior– Other Performatives such as teasing,

warning sarcasm, humor, metaphors, etc (metalinguistics)

Communication Intentions for Roth and Spekman

Multi-Word #8

Matrix Example

Performatives teasing warning sarcasm humor metaphors

Examples

Presupposition for Roth and Spekman

Principle of Informativeness Three Aspects

– 1. Topic• New/Old Information• Needs of listener

– 2. Listener• Conversational participants• Type of language (register)

– 3. Cohesive Devices• Anaphoric reference -use of pronouns• Ellipsis• Conjunctions• Deictic terms (empty pronouns) this, that, these,

those

Organization of Discourse

5 Aspects – 1. Conversational Initiation– 2. Turn Taking

• conversational speaking time

– 3. Staying on Topic OR Conversational Maintenance

– 4. Conversational Repairs– 5. Topic Termination

Conversational Repairs Linguistic Structure

– phonologic poon--spoon– morphologic he sleep--sleeps– syntactic cats--big cats

Linguistic Content– repetition– confirmation– elaboration

Extralinguistic– pitch change– stress– demonstration

Pragmatics’ Assignment Example

Organization of Discourse Form Range

– items Presupposiiton -listener - topic Organization of Discourse conversation initiation turn taking eye contact conversation repair conversation termination

Examples verbal

dyad familiar:

initiated by conv. Part example part. Made eye contact

lasting about __second repair example

Taxonomy GRID Organization of

Discourse Form Range

– items Presupposiiton -listener - topic Organization of

Discourse conversation initiation turn taking eye contact conversation repair conversation

termination

Examples

Communication Intentions

RANGEUsed Examples

Social    

Informing/Commenting    

Regulating Conversational Behavior

   

Negating/Protesting    

Requesting Info    

Requesting Action    

Responding to Request    

Heuristic    

Presupposition Used Examples

New/Old Information    

Conversational Participants    

Register    

Anaphoric reference    

Ellipsis    

Conjunctions    

Deictic terms    

  

Organization Of Discourse Used Examples

Initiation/Conservation    

Conversation Maintenance    

Turn Taking    

Repair (EXPAND)    

Termination    

Prutting’s Pragmatic Taxonomy Includes all of Roth and Spekman’s

– Communication Intention– Presupposition– Organization of Discourse

ADDS: Proxemics– )

CI OD

P PROX

Proxemic’s Importance

“The eyes of men converse as much as their tongues, with the advantage that the ocular dialect needs no dictionary, but is understood the world over,” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Skills– Nonlinguistic elements

• distance from a speaker, • gaze• touch

– Paralinguistic elements (fluency, rate, intonation)

Fey’s Taxonomy

Assertive/ Responsive Matrix Definitions

– Conversational Assertiveness• Definition: ability and/or willingness to take a

conversational turn when none has been sloicited by a partner.

– Responsiveness-• Definition: ability to comply with the speaker’s

range of intent.

Matrix

Fey’s Taxonomy: Assessment/ Intervention Implications

For Assessment: In a PBA determining the child’s ability in both areas.

For intervention: Using a communication modality that encourages both. Usually SLI children are better at being “Responsive” than “Assertive.”

Reason: therapy usually reinforces Responsiveness.– Ex. Question/Answer

Pragmatics’ Questions 1. Define pragmatics. 2. How is pragmatics ‘tied to’ the 4 views of

language development? 3. What is the Speech Act progression of

pragmatic development 4. Why is pragmatics ‘central’ to language? 5. Explain Dore’s taxonomy 6. Explain Halliday’s taxonomy 7. Explain Roth & Spekman’s taxonomy 8. Explain Prutting’s taxonomy 9. Explain Fey’s taxonomy 10. What is the purpose of knowing these

taxonomies?

End of Lecture Notes