Contemporary Pragmatic Theory

Contemporary Pragmatic Theory and Two Models of Linguistic Communication

Module 2. Contemporary Pragmatics

References

1. Austin J. L. How to Do Things with Words / John Langshaw Austin. – 2^nd ed. – Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press, 2005.

2. Austin J. L. Performative Utterances / John Langshaw Austin // Philosophical Papers / [J. O. Urmson, G. J. Warnock (eds.)]. – Oxford: Clarendon, 1961.

3. Bach K. Linguistic Communication and Speech Acts / Kent Bach, Robert M. Harnish. – Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1979.

4. John Searle and His Critics / [Ernest Lepore, Robert van Gulick (eds.)]. – Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991.

5. Searle J. R. A Taxonomy of Illocutionary Acts / John R. Searle // Language, Mind, and Knowledge: Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science / [K. Günderson (ed.)]. – Minnesota: Minnesota University Press, 1975. – vol. 7. – P. 344-369.

6. Searle J. R. Expression and Meaning / John R. Searle. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979.

7. Searle J. R. Foundations of Illocutionary Logic / John R. Searle, Daniel Vanderveken. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

8. Searle J. R. Indirect Speech Acts / John R. Searle // Pragmatics: A Reader / [S. Davis (ed.)]. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. – P. 265-277.

9. Searle J. R. Speech Acts: An Essay in The Philosophy of Language / John R. Searle. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969.

10. Speech Acts, Meaning and Intentions: Critical Approaches to the Philosophy of John R. Searle / [Armin Burkhardt (ed.)]. – Berlin / New York, 1990.

Issues Discussed:

1. Contemporary pragmatic theory

2. Two models of linguistic communication

Most current pragmatic theorists are neo-Griceans in that they adopt at least some version of his main three contributions:

1. a fundamental distinction of what a speaker says and what he implicates;

2. a set of rules or principles, derived from general principles of rationality, cooperation and/or cognition, that guide, constrain or govern human linguistic communication (there are differences among neo-Griceans on the exact nature of these principles and of pragmatic reasoning generally, as we shall see);

3. a notion of communicative intention (called M(eaning)-intention by Grice) whose fulfillment consists in being recognized by the addressee.

Given these similarities, there are many differences. One important dimension involves disciplines and methodology. Following Carston there are at least three different general tendencies:

· those who see pragmatics, much in Grice's vein, as a philosophical project;

· those who concentrate on its interaction with grammar;

· those who see it as an empirical psychological theory of utterance interpretation [1].

A second dimension has to do with the relative importance given to two models of communication. One is the coding-decoding model of Locke and Saussure, as developed in the twentieth century logic and philosophy in compositional theories of meaning and truth. The other is the Gricean model of coding and decoding of thoughts, which also has Lockean roots, in that communication of belief from speaker to hearer lies at its center. But the mechanism of discovery is not decoding according to conventional rules, but intention-recognition and discovery based on ampliative inference. The two models are not inconsistent, and all theorists accept elements of each. The issue is their relative centrality and importance in the phenomenon of human communication with language.

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