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U24, c) VERBAL COMMUNICATION - Coggle Diagram
U24
2. ASSERTION & NON-ASSERTION
Logical contrast btw ~ & ~:
1) Positive statements assert the truth of some proposition,
2) Negative statements (& Qs) do not claim the truth of the corresponding positive one
1) Assertion is grammatically related to positive sentences
2) Non-assertion to negative & interrogative sentences
Close connection btw Questions & Negations:
Both constructions involve an Operator & are associated with Non-assertive forms (any, anybody...)
b) NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
Non-assertive pronouns
Any
represents a choice btw 3 or more
& the compounds anyone/ body/ thing/ where
Either
limits the choice btw two (dual meaning)
Negation
Clause ~
Verb phrase
negation (through an Op): "I won't do it ever again"
Other items
(in the Subj or Predicate): "No one saw it", "I will never do it again"
"I'm
not
staying here any longer" > "I'm staying here
no longer
"
When negation with an Op is also possible, it has a different meaning:
"Many people did
not
go to the concert" (many from a group in my mind)
"
Not
many people went to the concert" (only a few people)
the whole clause
is negated using non-assertive items
Local & Predicative ~
when
only part of the clause
is negated/ affected, without making the whole clause negative (the rest of the clause remains assertive:
assertive forms may occur
)
"I speak English well and with
not
many mistakes" (local ~)
"You must not do
some
exercises" (predicative ~) when a modal Vb is used with a different scope of negation from its normal one
Non-assertive
c) QUESTIONS
Yes-No Questions
The most common type of interrogative structure: is
neutral
, with no expectation towards a positive or a negative response:
"Have you finished your homework yet? -Yes, I have/No, I haven't"
However, it is also possible to indicate the speaker’s expectation of the kind of answer that he thinks he will receive. That is,
positive & negative orientation
by means of
assertive & non-assertive items
:
"Did
someone
phoned me while I was gone?" (I expect sb to have done it) (+)
"Do you
really
like pudding?" (You surely don't) (-)
"Didn't you like pasta?" (I thought you did, but it seems not) (-)
neutral
/ positive / negative
:arrow_upper_right:
Wh-Questions
Positive assumption
/presupposition: assertive items
No assumption
/presupposition (about the missing element): non-assertive items can occur
"Who closed the door?" (implies that someone closed the door: positive)
"When will we ever go to any restaurant?" (non-assertive items can occur)
"Why don’t you ever talk to anyone?" (negative Qs also take non-assertive items)
no assumption
/ positive assumption
:arrow_lower_right:
Exclamatory & Rhetorical Qs
Exclamatory
: invite the hearer’s agreement/ confirmation to sth on which the speaker has strong (positive) feelings (don’t admit nonassertive forms)
Rethorical
: where no answer is expected (non-assertive forms may occur)
"Has Daddy already gone!", "Hasn't she grown!"
"What has he ever done for you?", "Are you sure I have no reasons to be upset?", "Isn't that obvious?"
Interrogative in structure but function as
strong assertions
(has the force of an exclamation)
:arrow_lower_right::arrow_lower_right:
Non-assertive
a) POSITIVE STATEMENTS
Assertive pronouns
Some
with
plural & noncount Ns
. Although it can used in interrogative form, its basic meaning is still assertive
& the compounds someone/ body/ thing/ where
Many/Much & a Few/a Little
MANY [a large number] contrasts with A FEW [a small number] (both count).
MUCH [a large amount] contrasts with A LITTLE [a small amount] (both non-count)
One
Sg. equivalent of "some"
Numerical one: "one boy / a boy"
Substitute one: for a count Noun/NP "The ones I like"
Generic one/one's: people in general "One must be careful about..."
Several, Enough, Half
SEVERAL: (always Pl.) higher number than few
ENOUGH: more than too few/too little
HALF
Det. / Pron:
Of-pronouns
Assertive
Types of sentences
Syntactically, we have Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative & Exclamative sentences
Semantically, we have (affirmative/negative) Statements, Questions, Commands & Exclamations
Pragmatically, we have Assertion, Non-assertion, Emphasis & Objection (no one-to-one correspondence)
1. THE NOTIONS OF ASSERTION, EMPHASIS & OBJECTION
Linguistic levels
involved
Morphology
3rd person singular in positive statements
Phonology
The pronunciation (stress, rhythm, tone & intonation)
Syntax
Grammatical typology of sentences: statements, questions, commands & exclamations
Lexis
Lexical choices related to assertion, emphasis &
disagreement (verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc)
Semantics
Meaning where morphological & syntactic levels do not tell the difference
Speech Acts
Illocutionary Act
What one does in saying sth
The
communicative force
of a message/utterance
The
implied meaning
or the
function/intention behind it
it has force; it is informed with a certain tone, attitude, feeling, motive, or intention
Perlocutionary Act
What one does by saying sth
The
communicative effect
of the utterance on the audience
The effect of both the message & its purpose on the listener
it has a consequence/effect upon the addressee
Locutionary Act
The act of saying something
The
actual form
or
literal meaning
of a message/utterance
it has meaning; it produces an understandable utterance
Austin (1962) & Searle (1969) Theory of Speech Acts
E.g. "It's too hot in here"
Illocutionary Acts
Assertives
'Paris is the capital of France.'
'I watched a great documentary last night.'
Representatives
to tell people how things are (express beliefs or opinions) by
stating
, asserting, predicting, describing, advising
ASSERTION
Directives
'Pass me the salt please.'
'You should not drink that!'
to try to get someone else to do something by means of
commanding & requesting
Commisives
'I'll see you at 6 tomorrow'
'I will, I promise!'
to
commit ourselves to some future action
by
promising & offering
. .They express what the speaker's commitment or intention to do sth: promises, threats, refusals, pledges...
Expressives
'I'm so sorry about yesterday. '
'I really appreciate your help.'
to express our feelings and attitudes (the speaker's emotional state) by
thanking, forgiving or blaming
. They are statements of pleasure, pain, likes, dislikes, joy or sorrow
EMPHASIS & OBJECTION
Declaratives
Performatives
'I now declare you husband and wife'
'You're fired!'
to
bring about changes in the world
through our utterances by means of bringing about correspondence btw the propositional content & reality, by
baptizing, naming, appointing or sacking
5 categories of
intentions/functions
performed by Speech acts
Grammatical categories
At word level
Verbs
state, affirm, claim, assert...
stress, highlight, point out...
disagree, disapprove, reject...
Prons & Determiners
some, many, a few, several
any, no, either
Adjectives & Adverbs
clear, true, great, total
very, really, absolutely, certainly
Other expressions
involved
At sentence level
Types of sentences
declarative, interrogative, exclamative, imperative
Specific syntactic structures
yes-no Qs, wh-Qs
emphatic operators, inversion
3. EMPHASIS
b) INFORMATIVE EMPHASIS
Word Order
Theme & Rheme
Normally,
Theme
(the starting point of a message) coincides with the
given/old
information/elements &
Rheme
(the rest of the message in a clause: what is said about the theme) coincides with the
new
informartion/elements (unmarked)
"The elephant is the biggest animal" > "The biggest animal is the elephant" (marked, new info first)
Fronting
Certain parts/elements of the sentence are given emphasis (marked) by
moving into initial position
an item which is otherwise unusual there (from the rheme). That is, moving a word/phrase from its typical position to the beginning of the sentence
We usually front
the elements after the verb
(such as an Object, Complement, Adverbial or Prepositional phrase), thus breaking the unmarked word order in English (SVOC)
"I saw him in the garden only last week" >
"Only last week I saw him in the garden" (marked)
"The store was closed when we got there" >
"When we got there, the store was closed" (marked)
"Yesterday I..."
Inversion
Changing the order of the sentence elements by moving them before the Subj (
reversing the typical Subj-Vb word order
in a sentence)
Subj-Vb
inversion: Subj cannot be a pers. pron. & single-word intransitive Vb
Subj-Op
inversion: obligatory when a negative element is fronted
"There goes my dog", "Here are your books"
"Not a word did he say", "Seldom have I felt worse"
(not emphatic/question inversion: "Is he at home?")
Adverbial of place:
here, there, on the table...
Negative Advs:
hardly, never, seldom, rarely, only then, no sooner...
Conditionals:
had, were, should
"Never have I..."
Cleft sentences
An
introductory "It-clause"
that emphasizes a particular element in a sentence, splitting a sentence into two clauses, the second being
a subordinate that-clause
. (it-clause + marked element (+ that) + rest of the sentence). Consider: "Tim wore a suit at the dance last night":
"It was Tim who wore a suit at..." (Subj)
"It was a suit that Time wore at..." (Obj)
"It was at the dance that Tim wore..." (PAdv)
"It was last night that Tim wore..." (TAdv)
Pseudo-cleft ~
Another device to make explicit the division btw “given” & “new” info, where the subject is realized by
an introductory what-clause
. Here, the main focus is
on the Vb & at the end of the clause
"I don't like spicy food" > "What I don't like is spicy food"
"What I... is..."
"It is/was... that..."
While the cleft sentence often put the main focus near the front position, the pseudo-cleft is chiefly used to postpone the focus to end position
Postponement
When an element of a sentence is moved from its normal/usual position and
postponed to the end
(conveying emphasis
by placing the new information at the end
of the clause)
This is done either because (1) it conveys new or
important info
(
end-focus
) or (2) it is grammatically complex or simply
too long
(
end-weight
)
The key to understand this is that sentences which grow to the right in English are easier to understand than sentences which grow in the centre
"Mary gave the man the book" (normal SVO pattern) >
"Mary gave the book to
the man
she met on the train with nothing to read" (postponed because of end-weight)
"I confessed * him all my worst defects"
end-focus / end-weigth
how word order is used to give more importance to some parts of the sentence (5)
Devices (certain words) used to show the significance or special value of any discourse part, making it more important than it would normally be. We are
highlighting a piece of information
in our speech to give it a special prominence
a) EMOTIVE EMPHASIS
Reinforcement
Repetition
of an item or replacing it for a pronoun. It conveys
degree
(=extremely)
"I agree with everyone. Every single person",
"It's far, far too expensive"
in informal/colloquial style/speech
Intensifying Adjs/Advs
classified by the effect they have on the noun they modify:
Amplifiers
scale upwards from an assumed point denoting a high or extreme degree. Convey increasing/amplifying
degree
(
scale the quality of the noun upwards
)
"A complete victory,
A great destruction,
An absolute hero,
A firm belief"
very
, absolutely, greatly, completely, perfectly, totally, wholly
absolute, great, complete, perfect, firm
Emphasizers
general amplifying/heightening effect & are generally attributive only. Convey
emphasis
(
enhance the quality of the noun
)
"A true scholar,
A clear failure,
A certain winner,
A real hero"
really
, utterly, purely, certainty, clearly, truly, plainly, definitely, surely
utter,
real
, pure,
certain
,
clear, true
, plain, definite, sure
Downtoners
lowering effect/scale, usually scaling downwards from an assumed point (
reduce the strength of the noun's quality
). They are few
"A slight effort,
A feeble joke,
A poor decision,
A small problem,
A minor mistake"
rather
, slightly, poorly, just, almost, virtually, nearly, somewhat, kind of, barely
feeble, slight, poor, minor, tiny, small
Many ~ adjs can be related to ~ advs: "He is a true scholar /He is truly a scholar"
Exclamatory sentences
Those
introduced by "what" & "how"
(requiries the initial placement of an exclamatory Wh-element & there's no Subj-Op inversion)
Intensifier "How" + Adj/Adv/clause: "How beautiful she is!"
Predeterminer “What" + a + (Adj) + Nn/NP: "What a beautiful day!"
So & Such
So (adv) & Such (det) (in any type of sentence) become
equivalent to How! & What!
in exclamations
"She is
so
beautiful" > "How beautiful she is!"
"They’re
such
delightful children!" > "What delightful children they are!" more...?
Specific ~: "
What...!
" & "
How...!
"
Emphatic Operators
Auxiliaries
as Ops can carry nuclear stress to add exclamatory emphasis to the whole sentence. It mainly occurs
to deny a negative
which has been stated or implied
"-You don't like pasta, do you? -I
do
like it!"
"I'm sorry" > "I
am
sorry"
"He
did
promise to go"
Aux of emphasis
Emphatic Pronouns & Determiners
Reflexive Pronouns
In emphatic use, they have a special meaning:
"I myself wouldn't have noticed", "Myself, I wouldn't have noticed", "I wouldn't have noticed myself", "I’d prefer you to do the job yourself"
"myself, yourself, ourselves"
Possessive Dets +"own"
Possessives can be made emphatic
by adding "own"
("mine and nobody else")
"Sam makes his own cloths"
"my own"
"
myself
" & "
my own
"
Intensification of Qs & Negatives
Qs
: adding to the wh-element "the hell, on eath, ever..."
Negatives
: "at all, whatsoever, by any means, in any way, in the least, in the slightest"
"What on earth?", "not at all"
Interjections & Expletives
emotive "Oh", swearwords "Damn"
Interjections
are purely emotive & emphatic words, disconnected grammatically to the rest of the sentence:
"Hey", "Eh?", "Mmm", "Oh", "Shh", "Wow", "Ouch"
Expletives
are expressions of anger or rejection (strong emotions), usually
taboo words & swearwords
:
"Damn", "Hell", "Jesus", "Christ", "Shit", "Bastard"
to intensify the
emotive/ expressive force
of the message (8)
4. OBJECTION
a) DISAPPROVAL
Neutral style
be always +ing
(p. continuous):
"
keep
" +ing:
"
How
" + negative Adj/Adv:
"
What
a" + negative NP:
"You're always complaining"
"You keep forgetting the keys"
"How ugly an animal that is"
"What a horrible day"
A negative judgment expressing an
unfavorable opinion
(opposition, blame, accusation...)
Informal style
I
can't stand/bear/put up with
...
Formal style
I am not very fond of...
I am opposed to...
Is/Was it necessary to
...?
Do/Did you have to
...?
...cats/motorbikes/football
...feminism/politics/advertising
...do it all over again?
...yell at us like that?
disapprove, oppose, object to, condemn, censure, reject, refuse
A negative judgment or evaluation of someone's behavior, choices, or ideas. It implies a personal disliking or objection to something based on one's moral, ethical, or social values.
b) DISAGREEMENT
Partial agreement
Neutral
:
I can see your point, but...
I agree with most of what you say, but...
Informal
:
Ok/Yes/True, but...
Formal
:
There is some truth in what you say, but...
I agree on the whole, but...
A negative judgement
on other people's opinion
Disagreement refers to a difference of opinion or viewpoint between two or more individuals. It signifies a lack of consensus or agreement on a specific topic, idea, belief, or course of action. It is possible to disagree with someone without necessarily disapproving of them or their choices.
Disagreement
Neutral
:
I totally disagree with...
I can't accept your argument...
I don't share your views
Informal
:
Nonsense! No way! Never!
You must be joking!
Formal
:
I am afraid I entirely disagree
I see things rather differently
The (formal/informal) register used by the speaker is very important here to determine the extension of the ~ or ~
c) VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Speech
Emphasized
vowels/words are stressed
(become longer, higher intonation) & are pronounced after a
pause
Phonological level
Writing
Punctuation marks
: commas, full stops, question/ exclamation marks, quotation marks. Special devices: capital letters, italics, underlined or bold words
Orthographical level
Prosody