Linguistics PDF

LinguisticS Definition It is the scientific study of language. It's a science because: It’s empirical: it operates with verifiable data obtained by means of observation or experiment, its objective: pre-set beliefs should be challenged and terms should be clearly defined or rejected. It’s descripti...

LinguisticS Definition It is the scientific study of language. It's a science because: It’s empirical: it operates with verifiable data obtained by means of observation or experiment, its objective: pre-set beliefs should be challenged and terms should be clearly defined or rejected. It’s descriptive: it describes how things are. It has its own technical vocabulary. Its object of study is language and its structures. The scope of Linguistics: What do you know when you know a language? Phonetics: the study and classification of speech sounds. Phonology: the branch of linguistics that deals with systems of sounds (including or excluding phonetics), within a language or between different languages. Morphology: How the meaningful parts are put together to form words. Syntax: the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. Semantics: Semantics is the study of meaning in language. Pragmatics: The study of how language is affected by the situation in which it is used. Sociology/ Anthropology/ Philosophy/ Literature/ Artificial Intelligence/ Languages/ Psychology Branches General and descriptive. General→ (our subject) it supplies the concepts and categories. Descriptive→ provides the data for the theories, confirmed or refuted. Historical/ Diachronic and Nonhistorical/Synchronic. Historical→ investigates the details of the historical development of particular languages and formulates general hypotheses about language-change. Non-historical→ accounts the language as it is at some particular point in time. Theoretical and Applied. Theoretical→ it is the theory of their structure and functions without practical application. Applied→ the application of the concepts/theory. Micro and Macro. Micro → it concerns only the structure of language systems. Macro→ the broader view. Language A system of conventional vocal signs by means of which human beings communicate. Language as a system: We speak in patterns. Language is not just a collection of words, but a system of rules and patterns that relate the words to one another and organize/guide the language. Duality of patterning: (two levels to its systems): Meaningful and Meaningless units.  Conventional: a formal agreement, the accepted, traditional method of doing sth. Tacit agreement. Understanding language as a convention refers to the idea that the meaning we attribute to words and the rules we follow in using language are not inherent properties of the words themselves, but rather agreements or conventions that exist within a community of language users. Language as speech: the signs of Language (words and morphemes) are basically oral-aural sounds (produced by the mouth, received by the ear). Gestures that accompany speech are not language (kinesics, study of body movements; paralanguage, parallel systems of communication that accompany speech) Sign: something that stands for something else. Human: Language is a specific human activity. Language as communication: The main/only purpose or aim of language is to communicate, with others (talking or writing) or with ourselves (thinking). Language is human because only human beings have these properties. Communicative versus informative: THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THE INTENTIONALITY. Communicative signals the use of language to tell something with an intentionally communication. Informative signals are not intentionally sent, they can refer to the number of signals that a person performs when they communicate, for example: sneezing may imply that you have a cold. Unique Properties of Human Language Arbitrariness: there is no natural link/intrinsic connection between the signal and the message, or between the word and the object it symbolizes, or the linguistic form and its meaning. Duality: Language is organized into 2 layers/levels. A layer of sounds which can be combined into a 2nd layer of larger and meaningful units. Each phoneme is meaningless in isolation (layer 1) but it becomes meaningful only when it is combined with other phonemes (layer 2). Creativity/Productivity: humans can produce novel/new utterances whenever they want to. A person can utter a sentence which has never been said before, in the most unlikely circumstances, and still be understood Need for Learning: language has to be learnt. A human acquires language, which is culturally transmitted. There is certainly some type of innate predisposition towards language in a new-born child, but this potentiality can be activated only by long exposure to language, which requires careful learning. Displacement: humans can communicate about things that are absent or present, not necessarily in the here and now, unreal, nonexistent. Human language can refer to present, past, future, literature, philosophy, and can create fiction.  Structure dependance: language is structure dependent, it depends on an understanding of the internal structure of a sentence rather than on the number of elements involved. The type of structure dependent operations are quite complicated. Elements of structure can change places, or be omitted. Patterning: There is a fixed set of possibilities for the order and substitution of items. Every item in language has its own characteristic place in the total pattern, it can combine with certain specified items, and be replaced by others. Discreteness: the sounds used in language are meaningfully distinct. Each sound is treated as discrete. Different sounds leads to a distinction in meaning (p / b sound) CHARACTERISTICS SHARED WITH ANIMAL COMMUNICATION Vocal-auditory channel: human beings as well as other species use the vocal-auditory channel. Human linguistic communication is typically generated via the vocal organs and perceived via the ears. Reciprocity: any speaker/sender of a linguistic signal can also be a listener/receiver. Roles are not fixed, they’re interchangeable Specialization: linguistics signals do not normally served any other type of purpose, such as breathing or feeding (only to communicate) Non directionality: linguistics signals can be picked up by anyone with hearing, even unseen. Rapid fade: linguistics signals are produced and disappear quickly. Sound does not live long. The faces of a Language System Expression encompasses words, phrases, sentences, and pronunciation, including intonation and stress. Meaning refers to the senses and referents of these elements of expression. Context refers to the social situation in which expression is uttered (relies on shared knowledge between speaker and hearer). it is only in a particular context that the meaning of an expression can convey a speaker`s intended content and correctly be interpreted by a hearer. Content refers to the intended message of an expression uttered in a particular context. What links expression and meaning is grammar. What links grammar and interpretation is context. Without attention to both grammar and context, we cannot understand language or how it works.  Arbitrary sings Language is a system of arbitrary signs. Human language is basically and essentially arbitrary. The form of an expression is generally independent of its meaning. There is no casual or inherent connection between arbitrary signs and what they represent or indicate. (example, stop sign/ no property of the color red is inherently associated with stopping, but red lights are conventionally used to indicate that traffic must stop.). Arbitrary indicators can be present even when the thing indicated is absent. Arbitrary signs can be changed since they are simply conventional representations, whereas non arbitrary signs cannot be changed (no one can change the relationship between red and fire). Representational signs The representational signs are arbitrary but partly iconic. Explanation: Sometimes an arbitrary sign suggests its meaning (poison may be suggested by the icon ☠️ or the sun may be suggested by the icon ☀️) Because the signs suggest what they indicate, they are partly iconic, but there is still no inherent connection. In language, a representational sign can be meow or trickle. Language as patterned structures Language must be highly organized systems in order to function as reliable vehicles of communications. A language is a set of elements and a system for combining them into patterned expressions that can be used to accomplish specific tasks in specific contexts. Grammatical competence: the ability that enables speakers to produce and understand an infinite number of sentences that they haven't seen or heard before. Discreteness: speakers of a language can identify sound elements in its words. English speakers can identify the sounds in cat as three sounds with its respective letters /c/ /a/ /t/. It is a structural feature of language that words are made up of elements sounds. Duality: it has already been described Communicative competence and grammatical competence: defined as the capacity that enables humans to use language appropriately. It enables human communicative competence: s to weave utterances together into narratives, requests, directions, recipes, and other things. Being a fluent speaker presumes both communicative competence and grammatical competence. Grammar competence is the language user's implicit knowledge of vocabulary, pronunciation, sentence structure, and meaning. Communicative competence is the implicit knowledge that underlines the appropriate use of grammatical competence in communicative situations. STRUCTURALISM Structuralism was the first movement which contributed to the consolidation of linguistics as a science. This movement was concerned with the search for structure by means of the exploration of formal units and their patterns. Structuralism is the methodology that implies elements of human culture must be understood by way of their relationship to a broader, overarching system or structure. Structuralists believe that things cannot be understood in isolation – they have to be seen in the context of larger structures they are part of. Structuralism, in linguistics, any one of several schools of 20th-century linguistics committed to the structuralist principle that a language is a self-contained relational structure, the elements of which derive their existence and their value from their distribution and oppositions in texts or discourse. SAUSSURE Known as one of the founders of contemporary linguistics and as the father of European Structuralism. Tries to focus on the essence of language through a series of binary divisions. DICHOTOMIES First, it is necessary to distinguish the underlying system (‘langue’) from its individual representations (‘parole’). Langue: the language system shared by native speakers of a language- the system of communication within a community. Langue refers to the abstract system shared by all the speakers of the same language, like English, Arabic, French, etc. It is an underlying system of abstract rules of lexicon, grammar and phonology which is implanted in each individual’s mind resulting from his nurture in a given speech community. Being peculiar to the speech community, langue is something which the in/dividual can make use of but cannot influence by himself. It has a social nature according to Saussure Parole: what speakers do with the language. The actual utterances speakers produce, an individual realization of the system. Parole refers to the real speech of the individual, an instance of the use of the system. It is the concrete side of language. According to Saussure, it is langue that should be the primary concern of the linguist. Second, Saussure turned European linguistics away from its exclusive occupation with historical explanations of linguistic phenomena towards descriptions of the structure of /language at a particular point in time. Diachronic language study (evolution of a language) is concerned with language evolution over time. The historical perspective for the study of language. A diachronic approach, is the study of the history of a language, focussing on language change in pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary. This approach deals with the never-ending successions of language states. A diachronic study presupposes a  synchronic study. Saussure emphasized that modern linguistics should be synchronic in perspective. Synchronic language study (a snapshot of a language at a particular time), the latter being the proper object of study in general linguistics. the state of a language at any given time. Concerned with the present condition of a language. A synchronic approach to language studies investigates the state of language at a particular phase of its development without allusion to its history. Saussure referred to this state as an état de langue. In order to study this, linguists will collect samples of language within a fixed period, describing them without considering any historical factor which might have influenced the state of language up to that time. The time factor is irrelevant. Another concept introduced by Saussure in his linguistic theory is the linguistic sign. He regards langue as a system of arbitrary signs. First, he defines the sign as a relationship between two equally participating characteristics: the signifié (signified) and the signifiant (signifier). The sign is a meaningful entity, and it is the basic unit of communication. Arbitrariness of the linguistic sign means that there is no inherent or inevitable link between the signifier and the signified: it is a matter of convention within a speech community. The system is made up of units, each of which is defined by its difference from other units, whether words or phonemes. Each unit functions as a linguistic ‘sign’ composed of two inseparable faces: the ‘signifiant’ (signifier or acoustic image) and pronunciation form – sound image the ‘signifié’ (signified or mental representation of external reality). A concept, meaning or sense. According to Saussure, language, then, has a two-dimensional structure. Linguistic signs are linked together either paradigmatically (one is selected from a series, e.g. grammatical cases) and syntagmatically (in a chain within the utterance). Paradigmatic: substitutional relations which a linguistic unit has with other units. Visualized as the vertical dimension of language. Concerns the ability of a constituent to substitute for another in the same context. The axis of choice. Syntagmatic : refers to the sequential characteristic of language. Order in arranging items in sentences. In this axis the words are linked or chained together according to grammatical rules. It’s a snapshot of the language BLOOMFIELD May be considered the father of modern American linguistics. His masterwork on general linguistics, Language (1933), determined the direction of the scientific study of language in the United States. Language introduced innovative methods for descriptive synchronic linguistics and a new terminology soon to be adopted by his American colleagues. He insisted that only observable manifestations of language could be the subject of linguistic investigation. Bloomfield argued that language should be studied like a natural science. As a descriptive structural linguist, he concentrated on the synchronic perspective. A synchronic approach describes a language at one particular time. Bloomfieldian structuralism focused on phonology and morphology and remained the dominant approach to linguistic analysis until Chomsky’s treatises. In the US, Structuralism came under the dominance of empiricism in science. The prestige of physics as a science encouraged researchers to treat language as an agglomerate of physical mechanisms that can be observed and measured. According to this, American sought language in observable events in order to describe it in “physical terms”. This empiricist accorded well with Behaviourism, whose main tenet was that everything which some refer to as mental activity, including language, can be explained in terms of habits, or patterns of stimulus and response, built up through conditioning. Bloomfield had an inductive approach that started with observation of given data (i.e. a set of utterances produced by an informant or a group of speakers from the same language community). The linguist’s task was to discover the system of categories and relations inherent in the data and make generalizations about it. Grammar was “discovered” through certain operations on a corpus of data. He was a behaviorist, he understood language as a matter of stimuli and response conditioning. He reacted against traditional grammar and this led to a scientific approach based on observation and work with tangible data: sounds. Meaning was left aside. An attempt to lay down rigorous procedures for the description of any language. Linguistics should deal with observable data. Interest in the way items were arranged (not in meaning) Goal: discovery procedures: a set of principles which would enable a linguist to “discover” the linguistic units of an unwritten language. Process: 1. Find a native speaker 2. Collect a set of utterances. (record them) 3. Analyze the corpus collected 4. Study phonological and syntactic patterns 5. Identify and classify items on the basis of their distribution within the corpus. CHOMSKY Is one of the most profound and influential thinkers of our time, ‘arguably the most important intellectual alive’ (New York Times Book Review). Chomsky almost single-handedly assimilated psychology to the natural sciences by formulating ‘transformational generative grammar’. (creativity) This theory takes for granted the now widely (although not unanimously) held view that all human languages operate under the same general principles in spite of their superficial diversity. His specific model for human language (transformational generative grammar) can be regarded as a confluence of traditional (and long-forgotten) concerns of the study of language and the mind (as in the work of Wilhelm von Humboldt or Otto Jespersen) and new understanding provided by the formal sciences in the late 1930s, particularly recursive function theory. The year 1965 witnessed the publication of Chomsky’s next major book, Aspects of the theory of syntax, which made fully explicit the role of linguistics in the investigation of the human mind Chomsky shifted the attention away from detailed descriptions to actual utterances and started asking questions about the nature of the system which produces outputs. Grammar should be more than a description of old utterances, it also should take into account possible future utterances. Chomsky is a mentalist, since he conceives the language as a mirror of the mind. Linguistic terms & concepts: Grammar: Chomsky claimed it was not enough for a Grammar to take account of existing sentences. Grammar must be able to account for sentences which have not been written or uttered yet. Generative grammar: a grammar which consists of a set of statements or rules which specify which sequences of a language are possible, and which impossible. A grammar is a device which generates all the grammatical sequences of a language and none of the ungrammatical ones. You internalize rules, but not all the sentences. You generate all the grammatical sentences and none of the ungrammatical ones. By applying rules you generate an infinite number of grammatical sentences. SYNTACTIC: It’s a central component of grammar. Generates strings of minimal syntactically functioning elements. Specifies: categories, functions, structural interrelations.  PHONOLOGICAL: How to pronounce a string of constituents. Converts a string of syntactic structure into a phonetic representation. SEMANTIC: Assigns meaning to an abstract structure generated by the syntactic component. Interprets the meaning of a sentence. If a sentence has two meanings the semantic component will provide for the different readings. MODELS OF GENERATIVE GRAMMAR TAXONOMIC: takes utterances and organizes them in the form of patterns. it is purely descriptive it is an outgrowth of structural linguistics Transformational grammar: The particular type of generative grammar favored by Chomsky. It is closer to traditional grammar. Some sentences are related by means of transformation (T-rules: crosses out, rearranges, adds elements, combines basic strings into complex sentences, gives well written sentences) Sentences have 2 forms: DEEP / SURFACE Structure. Deep: the propositional core of the sentence. Consists of rules for combining constituents and controlling the input into the other structure. Specifies the rules by which the surface was derived. Surface: the way the sentence appears as an actual utterance. T RULES: we can get more complex patterns Crosses out Rearranges Adds elements Combines basic strings into complex sentences Gives well written sentences STEPS TO APPLY T-RULES Phrase Structure Rules. Words For Symbols. Get Strings Of Symbols. (Deep Struct.) Apply Transformational Rules. Surface Structure. (words, meaning, pronunciation) Semantic Component. Phonological Component. Universal grammar: A child is born with a capacity to learn grammar, to infer rules of his grammar. A child is born with UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR (UG). Then, exposure to language is necessary to activate the mechanism of U.G. A speaker can produce new sentences of his language and another speaker can understand it, though it is new to them. Why? Because we MASTER a language so we can produce an infinite set of sentences, fluently and without difficulty. What is mastery? The ability to understand an infinite number of new sentences and the ability to identify deviant sentences  Creativity: the capacity to generate completely novel sentences endlessly. This could be possible if speakers had internalized sets of rules (= Grammar) The linguist function: was to understand the mental grammar and so penetrate the mysteries of the human mind. The linguist had to proceed indirectly, by examining actual language use and working backwards to the mental system responsible for its production. Grammar was thought of as a mental construct and language was the output of an internalized mechanism. (different from “a skill that people acquire”) Competence: the knowledge possessed by native users of a language which enables them to speak and understand their language fluently. (similar to langue) The ability of a person to handle a language. the internalized knowledge: set of rules. the knowledge a speaker has. Performance: the actual use of language in concrete situations. Characteristic: each performance of the same utterance is different because users do not speak / write in the same way as anyone else. (similar to parole). the actual use of language. It is particular. It depends on circumstances Linguistic Universals: constructions and processes which all languages have in common. Contribution of the development of psycholinguistics and linguistic universals as regards language acquisition: Human beings have an inherited core of linguistic knowledge.  PRAGMATICS IS The study of speaker meaning. The study of contextual meaning. The study of how more gets communicated than is said. The study of the expression of relative distance. The study of how utterances have meaning in situations (Leech) SYNTAX: Is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms, how they are arranged in sequence, and which sequences are well-formed. SEMANTICS Is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and entities in the world PRAGMATICS Is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and the users of those forms. It allows humans into the analysis. One can talk about intended meanings,assumptions, purposes, kinds of actions It is about how people make sense of each other linguistically. DEIXIS Pointing via language. It is a form of referring which is tied to the speaker’s context. Deictic expression: any linguistic form used to accomplish pointing. Deixis is tied to the speakers’ context and interpretation Deixis help to identify the basic distinction between “near speaker” (proximal terms: here, now, this) and “away from speaker” (distal terms: there, then, that) There are 3 types: ○ spatial: (here,there) the relative location of people and things is being indicated. ○ person: personal pronouns ○ temporal: now, in an hour, tomorrow, etc. Deictic elements: pronominal and adverbial expressions which can only be interpreted if the speaker's immediate physical context is known. THIS – THAT – HERE – THERE COME-GO-BRING-TAKE PRONOUNS NOW – THEN – YESTERDAY – TOMORROW- IN AN HOUR REFERENCE An act in which a speaker, or writer, uses linguistic forms to enable a listener, or reader, to identify something. People refer Referring expressions: can be Nouns (Shakespeare, Cathy Revuelto, Hawaii), noun phrases (the author, the singer, the island) and pronouns (he, her, it, them). Endophoric: Anaphoric: refers to so. / sth. already mentioned. Cataphoric: introduces so. / sth. Which is fully identified later. Exophoric: refers to so. / sth. from outside the text. (It’s not referred to previously either later in the text.) ATTRIBUTIVE USE: referring to whoever/whatever fits the description. (e.g.: he wants to marry a woman with lots of money). REFERENTIAL USE: when you actually have a person in mind. (e.g.: There's a man waiting for you.). There appears to be a pragmatic connection between proper names and objects that will be conventionally associated, within a socio-culturally defined community, with those names. (Can I borrow your Shakespeare? / Where's the cheese sandwich sitting?) CO-TEXT The linguistic environment in which a word is used. It limits the range of possible interpretations we might have for a word. CONTEXT The physical environment in which a word is used. INFERENCE The listener’s use of additional knowledge to make sense of what is not explicit in an utterance. COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. (Grice) In any conversation, participants have implicit assumptions that they’re going to cooperate In most circumstances, the assumption of cooperation is so pervasive that it can be stated as a cooperative principle of conversation and elaborated in four sub-principles called maxims. There are 4 maxims that are respected by all participants MAXIMS Quantity: make your contribution as informative as is required. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required. (necessary) Quality: make your contribution one that is true. Don’t say what is false. (accurate and precise information) Relation: be relevant. (answer related to the question - when someone avoids answering) Manner: be clear, avoid obscurity, avoid ambiguity, be brief, be orderly. (must follow a logical order) Examples studied in class: MAXIME VIOLATED: QUANTITY. A: What’s playing at the Rialto tonight? B: A film you haven’t seen. (info provided is not enough) A:What should I do to get rid of this awful headache, doctor? B: Take some medicine. (There’s less info - which medicine) MAXIME VIOLATED: QUALITY  A: A lot of people are depending on you! B: Thanks! That really takes the pressure off. (Being sarcastic - not true, more pressure) Don’t be silly! I love working 80hs a week with no vacation. (not truthful) MAXIME VIOLATED: RELATION. A: How are you going to pay for all of this? B: Space aliens have taken my body and you’re next. (To avoid paying back) A: You really love me? B: I like Ferrari’s wheels, football and things that go really fast. (avoid answering→ doesn't love them back) MAXIME VIOLATED: MANNER Kawashima received his PhD in 1986, his BA in 1980 and his MA in 1982. (not in order) I’ll take appropriate action on your complaint. And consider it carefully. A: When are you coming home? B:I will codify that question to my superiors and respond at such time as an adequate answer is prepared. (not how we usually speak) IMPLICATURE (violation to a maxime - there’s an intention behind) An additional conveyed meaning. An additional unstated meaning that has to be assumed in order to maintain the cooperative principle. What a speaker can imply, suggest or mean as distinct from what the speaker literally says. SPEECH ACTS A sentence is uttered by a speaker and when the speaker utters it he/she performs an act: a speech act. Are actions performed via utterances An act of communication performed by the use of language, either in speech or writing. An action performed by the use of an utterance to communicate. The action performed by producing an utterance will consist of three related acts Locutionary act: the basic act of producing a meaningful linguistic expression. The performance of an utterance (close window) Illocutionary act: the function of the utterance. It is performed via the communicative force of an utterance. The communicative force of an utterance. Real intended meaning. (I’m cold) Perlocutionary act: the intended effect of the utterance (action of closing window) FELICITY CONDITIONS Conditions that must be satisfied if a speech act is to be correctly and honestly performed. POLITENESS: showing awareness of another person’s face (public self-image) FACE: the public self-image of a person. The emotional and social sense of self that everyone has and expects everyone else to recognize. FACE NEGATIVE: the need to be independent, to have freedom of action and not to be imposed on. The need to be independent. POSITIVE: the need to be accepted, even liked by others, to be treated as a member of the same group. The need to be connected. EXERCISES A: "What did you think of the movie?" B: "The popcorn was really tasty." Violation: Relation Implicature: B didn’t enjoy the movie and is avoiding giving a negative opinion by focusing on the popcorn instead. A: "How was your day at work?" B: "Did you know the Eiffel Tower is 330 meters tall?" Violation: Relation Implicature: B is either avoiding the question or signaling that something unpleasant happened at work and they don't want to talk about it. A: "Can I borrow your car tomorrow?" B: "Sure, I love spaghetti!" Violation: Relation Implicature: B might be indicating confusion or not taking the question seriously, suggesting they don’t want to lend their car. A: "Why didn’t you finish the project?" B: "Aliens probably didn’t want me to." Violation: Quality Implicature: B is deflecting responsibility in a humorous or sarcastic way, implying they have no real excuse. A: "Is the restaurant open?" B: "It’s painted green." Violation: Relation Implicature: B either doesn’t know if the restaurant is open or is intentionally being unhelpful. A: "How are you feeling today?" B: "I'm feeling as good as quantum physics allows!" Violation: Manner Implicature: B might feel complicated or conflicted, and they’re using an exaggerated metaphor to convey complexity or humor. A: "What’s 2 + 2?" B: "About 4, give or take a few billion." Violation: Quality Implicature: B gives an exaggerated and untruthful answer, likely to mock the simplicity of the question. A: "Do you like my new haircut?" B: "Your shoes are fantastic!" Violation: Relation Implicature: B doesn’t like the haircut but is avoiding saying it directly by diverting attention to something else. A: "Did you feed the cat?" B: "The cat is a very mysterious creature." Violation: Relation Implicature: B didn’t feed the cat and is trying to avoid admitting it directly. A: "Can you pick me up at 7 PM?" B: "Sure, I’ll think about it." Violation: Quality Implicature: B is non-committal and likely doesn’t want to pick A up but avoids directly declining. A: "Do you have a pen I could borrow?" B: "I have a collection of rare pencils." Violation: Relation Implicature: B doesn’t have a pen or doesn’t want to lend it and is deflecting by mentioning pencils instead. A: "When is the meeting scheduled?" B: "Meetings are so tedious, don’t you think?" Violation: Relation Implicature: B doesn’t know the answer or doesn’t want to answer, and they’re shifting the conversation to their opinion of meetings. A: "Is this dress blue or green?" B: "It’s somewhere between sky and forest." Violation: Manner Implicature: B either doesn’t want to commit to an answer or is being poetic, suggesting uncertainty or a mix of colors. A: "Are you coming to the party tonight?" B: "It’s nice that people have parties. Violation: Relation Implicature: B is likely not planning to attend and is avoiding giving a direct answer. TEST QUESTIONS 1- Son who has been playing all day long : “Yes, I’ve been studying all day long!” Maxim Violated: QUALITY. Implicature: The speaker doesn’t want to admit he did not study or is hiding the fact. 2- T: “Why didn’t you do your homework?” St: “May I go and get some water? I’m thirsty” MV:RELATION Implicature: The speaker wants to avoid the answer because she/he didn’t do the homework 3- Sarah: 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 other…. MV: QUANTITY/MANNER (not the proper way of answering) Implicature: 4- Teacher to a student who arrives late more than ten minutes to the class meeting: - Wow! You’re such a punctual fellow. Welcome to the class.  - St: Sorry sir! It won’t happen again! MV: QUALITY (sarcasm) Implicature: The teacher is being sarcastic and is saying something that’s not true 5- A: What do you do? B: I’m a teacher A: Where do you teach? B: Outer Mongolia A: Sorry I asked! MV: QUALITY sarcasm Implicature: The speaker doesn’t want to answer where does he/she work 6- A: How do I get from here to the library? B: Keep walking MV: QUANTITY Implicature: The speaker doesn’t want to answer or doesn’t know where the library is 7- A: Should I buy my son this new car? B: I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. He’s totaled two cars since he got his license last year. MV: QUANTITY/MANNER Implicature: 8- Look at the following dialogue: What maxim does B flout and what implicature follows from it? A: How’s it going with your new child? B: Well, babies are babies. MV: RELATION(not relevant) /QUANTITY(need more info) Implicature: It implies that this child is not behaving differently from other kids that age 9- A: How did you get on with your seminar preparation this week? B: Well, I couldn’t get any books out of the library. MV: RELATION Implicature: It implies the speaker couldn’t get on with the seminar preparation 10- St: I was absent on Monday- Did I miss anything important? T: Oh no, of course not, we never do anything important in class. MV: QUALITY sarcasm Implicature: