Felicity Conditions in Pragmatics Quiz & Flashcards

Questions and Answers

The relationship between the speaker and the listener

The speaker's intention and the context of the utterance (correct)

The literal meaning of words and phrases

The grammatical structure of the sentence

A sentence being written in a formal setting

A sentence being grammatically correct

A speaker having the authority to make a promise (correct)

A sentence being spoken in a friendly tone

The utterance is considered grammatically incorrect

The utterance is considered contextually irrelevant

The utterance is considered semantically ambiguous

The utterance is considered infelicitous or ineffective (correct)

<p>J.L. Austin</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Felicity conditions are the rules that govern speech acts</p> Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

The primary focus of felicity conditions is on the assumptions that must be met for a speech act to be successful or felicitous.

A bride and groom must be present for a wedding ceremony to be felicitous.
A person being baptized must be unaware of what is happening for the baptism to be felicitous.

If an utterance fails to meet felicity conditions, it will be infelicitous, which means the speech act will not be successful or will be nullified.

Philosopher J.L. Austin is credited with developing the concept of felicity conditions.

Felicity conditions are essential for the successful performance of speech acts, such as making a promise, giving an order, or performing a wedding ceremony.
Speech acts and felicity conditions are closely related, as the speech act will only be effective if the necessary conditions are met.