Outline

Overview

Pragmatics explores interactions of meaning and context in discourse. This unit of study introduces students to some important topics in pragmatics research: reference and speech acts, non-literal language, the role of inference and reasoning in discourse, politeness, conversation, and the ethnography of speaking.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Linguistics
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 2000 level in Linguistics
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Nick Riemer, nick.riemer@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Nick Riemer, nick.riemer@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 2 April 2024

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Exercise 1 Written exercise	25%	Week 04 Due date: 15 Mar 2024 at 23:59	750wd
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Exercise 2 Written exercise	25%	Week 07 Due date: 12 Apr 2024 at 23:59	750wd
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay Essay	50%	Week 13 Due date: 24 May 2024 at 23:59	3000wd
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Exercise 1: written exercise demonstrating your understanding of ideas from early in the course
Exercise 2: written exercise demonstrating your understanding of ideas from later in the course
Essay: essay demonstrating your understanding or, and research on, topics or themes from the course as a whole, with a special concentration on its last third.

Assessment criteria

High Distinction 85-100

Intelligent critical analysis of evidence or sophisticated analysis of data;
Demonstrates high level of initiative in research and reading;
Impressive command of underlying debates and assumptions, and awareness of alternative analyses;
Properly documented;
Solid argumentation;
Precise, clear writing and control of appropriate formalism;
All criteria addressed to a high level.

Distinction 75-84

Intelligent, critical analysis of evidence or sophisticated analysis of data
Demonstrates initiative in research and reading;
Good command of underlying theory, debates and assumptions;
Properly documented;
Solid argumentation;
Precise, clear writing and control of appropriate formalism;
All criteria addressed clearly, and most to a high level.

Credit 65-74

Good analysis of evidence or data;
Demonstrates control of research and reading;
Shows an understanding of the underlying debates and assumptions;
Properly documented;
Solid argumentation;
Precise, clear writing, and control of formalism;
Most criteria addressed clearly

Pass 50-64

Satisfactory analysis of evidence or data;
Demonstrates control of research and reading;
Properly documented;
Work is adequately written, with some grammatical errors; adequate control of appropriate formalism, with some errors;
Most criteria addressed adequately

Fail 0-49

Work not of acceptable standard
Most criteria not clearly or adequately addressed;
Written style inappropriate to task; major problems with expression

Work may fail for any or all of the following reasons:

Failure to demonstrate understanding of content;
Faulty analysis (e.g., internal inconsistency or failure to account for data);

Inadequate argumentation;
Failure to understand the theoretical framework;
Gross lack of control of appropriate formalism;
Irrelevance of content;
Unacceptable paraphrasing;
Absence of referencing where assignment requires this
Unreadability (including major grammatical or structural problems).

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy 2023 reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy 2023. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction: Language, use and meaning	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	Speech acts	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	Speech acts	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 03	Speech act theory - critiques	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	Speech act theory - critiques	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	Inference and implicature - Grice	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	Inference and implicature - Grice	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 05	Post-Gricean developments	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	Post-Gricean developments	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 06	Approaches to non-literal language	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 06	Approaches to non-literal language	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 07	Conversation Analysis 1	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	Conversation Analysis 1	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 08	Conversation Analysis 2	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 08	Conversation Analysis 2	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 09	Politeness	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 09	Politeness	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 10	Power, language use and linguistics 1	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 10	Power, language use and linguistics 1	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 11	Power, language use and linguistics 2	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 11	Power, language use and linguistics 2	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 12	Power, language use and linguistics 3	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 12	Power, language use and linguistics 3	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 13	Tobic to be determined collectively by the group.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 13	Topic to be determined collectively by the group.	Tutorial (1 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Weekly readings

Unlike many subjects in Linguistics, this is a discussion-based course. Each week there will be one or more readings which students will all be expected to have completed before the seminar. The seminars (and often also the tutorials) will be spent discussing the readings and the issues of different kinds they raise. Readings are all compulsory.

With only a handful of exceptions, noted below in the list, the weekly readings are all available electronically through the Fisher library catalogue. On the grounds that effective use of library resources is essential to university study, I’m not providing any of these readings for you directly: you’ll have to go in to the catalogue and download them (or, occasionally, read them online) yourself. For each reading, I’ve supplied the permanent URL in the catalogue, so I’ve made it easy for you. I’ll email you the four texts that aren’t available electronically in good time for the seminars they’re needed.

Seminar 1. Introduction: Language, use and meaning

Reading: Louise Cummings 2005. ‘Meaning: a three-part approach’. Section 2.2 of chapter 2 of Pragmatics (Edinburgh, EUP), pp. 40-43. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_openaire_primary_doi_09a04066492a177fc205c2550adecb59

Billy Clark 2013. ‘Codes and inference’ and ‘Linguistic semantics: what we encode’. Sections 1.4.2 and 1.4.3 of chapter 1, ‘Communication and cognition: a fuller overview’ of Relevance Theory (Cambridge, CUP), pp. 12-23. Stop half way down p.23, before ‘Whose thoughts are being communicated?’. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9781139034104

Seminar 2. Speech acts

Reading: J.L. Austin 1962. Excerpts from How to do things with words (Oxford, OUP):Lecture I ‘Preliminary isolation of the performative’ , All of Lecture II; end of Lecture III from ‘The performative utterances I have taken as examples’ to the end. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_oup_oso_acprof_9780198245537

J. R. Searle 1969. ‘The structure of illocutionary acts’, chapter 3 of Speech Acts. An essay in the philosophy of language. Cambridge: CUP. Text will be distributed.

Seminar 3. Speech act theory – critiques

Reading: Stephen C. Levinson 2016. ‘Speech acts’. Chapter 10 of Yan Huang (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Pragmatics. Oxford Handbooks Online. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_oup_oho_10_1093_oxfordhb_9780199697960_013_22

Michelle Z. Rosaldo, ‘The things we do with words: Ilongot speech acts and speech act theory in philosophy’ Language in Society 11 (1982): 203-237. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_openaire_primary_doi_2d6e17c6acf67a9fda0654068ee89532

Seminar 4. Inference and implicature – Grice

Reading: H.P. Grice. ‘Logic and Conversation’, chapter 2 of Studies in the way of words Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1989 [originally published in 1975]. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_acls_primary_heb08428_0001_001

Stephen Levinson 1983. ‘Conversational Implicature’, chapter 3 of Pragmatics (Cambridge, CUP). Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/1c0ug48/alma991032510615105106

Wayne A. Davis 1998. ‘Quantity implicatures’, and ‘Quantity implicatures: the possibility of ignorance’, sections 2.1 and 3.7 of Implicature. Intention, convention and principle in the failure of Gricean theory (Cambridge, CUP), pp. 33-41 and 77-80. Text will be distributed.

Seminar 5. Post-Gricean developments

Reading: Deirdre Wilson and Dan Sperber 2004. Relevance Theory. In Horn, L. and G. Ward (eds) The Handbook of Pragmatics. Malden: Blackwell, 607–632. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_2131959728

Seminar 6. Approaches to non-literal language

Reading: Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson 2008 ‘A deflationary account of metaphor’, chapter 5 of Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr., The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought. (Cambridge, CUP). Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/1c0ug48/alma991013680839705106

Rosa E. Vega Moreno 2007. ‘Relevance theory and metaphor interpretation’. Chapter 4 of Creativity and Convention. The pragmatics of everyday figurative speech. (Amsterdam, Benjamins). Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_casalini_monographs_5001977

Seminar 7. Conversation Analysis 1

Reading: Rebecca Clift 2005. Discovering order. Lingua 115: 1641-1665. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_unpaywall_primary_10_1016_j_lingua_2004_07_008

Harvey Sacks, Emanuel A. Schegloff and Gail Jefferson 1974. A Simplest Systematics for the Organization of Turn-Taking for Conversation. Language 50: 696-735. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_unpaywall_primary_10_2307_412243.

Seminar 8. Conversation Analysis 2

Reading: Emanuel A Schegloff 1988. Presequences and indirection. Journal of Pragmatics 12: 55-62. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_openaire_primary_doi_7c76d45e032a3bd75549e5b0c7c1b8d5

Emanuel A Schegloff 2017 Conversation analysis. Chapter 23 of Yan Huang (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Pragmatics. Oxford Handbooks Online. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_oup_oho_10_1093_oxfordhb_9780199697960_013_26

Seminar 9. Politeness

Reading: Penelope Brown and Stephen C. Levinson 1987, Politeness. Some universals in language use (excerpt) (Cambridge, CUP). Text to be distributed.

Luming Robert Mao 1994. Beyond politeness theory: ‘Face’ revisited and renewed. Journal of Pragmatics 21:451—486. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/1c0ug48/alma991031422886005106. (Note that this link send you to the Journal of Pragmatics. You’ll have to navigate to the article yourself.)

Seminar 10. Power, language use and linguistics 1

Reading: Pierre Bourdieu and Loïc J D Wacquant, excerpt from ‘Language, gender and symbolic violence’, section 5 of chapter 2 of An invitation to reflexive sociology (Cambridge, Polity, 1992), pp. 140-151.

Pierre Bourdieu 1992. ‘The production and reproduction of legitimate language’, chapter 1 of Language and symbolic power (Raymond and Adamson, tr) (Cambridge, Polity)

Seminar 11. Power, language use and linguistics 2

Reading: Charity Hudley, Anne H ; Mallinson, Christine ; Bucholtz, Mary 2020. Toward racial justice in linguistics: Interdisciplinary insights into theorizing race in the discipline and diversifying the profession. Language 96 (4): e200-e235. Available online: https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_unpaywall_primary_10_1353_lan_2020_0074

Seminar 12. Power, language use and linguistics 3

Reading: Nick Riemer, forthcoming. Racism and ideology in linguistics. In Antia, Bassey, Rudwick, Stephanie and Makoni, Sinfree (eds) The Routledge Handbook of Language and Race. This text will be distributed.

Seminar 13. Reading to be decided collectively by the group

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. to introduce students to some key ideas in the study of pragmatics in linguistics
LO2. to encourage students to develop an understanding of how pragmatics fits in the structure of linguistic theory in general
LO3. to cultivate a critical and self-conscious approach to problems of enquiry in the empirical study of communication
LO4. to appreciate the biases and presuppositions that inform the study of linguistic pragmatics
LO5. to appreciate the complexity of language as an object of theoretical enquiry

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

New readings added.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

LNGS3702: Pragmatics - Meaning in Use

Semester 1, 2024 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect