Units 1 and 2 Step 5

Tutor: Viviana Ospina

Student: Heder Martinez

Code: 10886482

Group: 518017_54

Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia

Soledad, Atlántico, Mayo 20 de 2020

 Activities to Develop

1. Read the document “Introduction”, Chapter 1, pages 1-20, in ‘Huang Y.

Pragmatics. Oxford: OUP Oxford; 2007.; found in the Course Contents, UNIT 2, in
the Knowledge Environment; once you have studied and deliberated on the
concepts, please answer the following analysis:

Study questions

2. What are the differences, if any, between sentence and utterance?

A sentence is a well-formed string of words put together according to the grammatical rules
of a language. As a unit of the language system, it is an abstract entity or construct defined
within a theory of grammar.
By contrast, an utterance is the use of a particular piece of language, be it a word, a phrase,
a sentence, or a sequence of sentences, by a particular speaker on a particular occasion.

3. What is context? Why is it so important to pragmatics?

Context is one of those notions that are widely used in linguistic literature, but to which it is
difficult to give a precise definition. From a neutral-theory point of view, the context can in
a broader sense, can be defined as a reference to any relevant characteristics of the dynamic
configuration or environment in which a linguistic unit is used systematically. From
another point of view the context can be seen as composed of three different sources, a
view known as the 'geographical' division of the context. First, there is the physical context,
which refers to the physical configuration of the expression from the physical context of
the word, that is, the spatio-temporal location of the expression. The second type is the
linguistic context, which refers to the surrounding statements in the same speech; third,
we have the context general knowledge.

4. Imagine the following situation: a lady friend comes from a beauty parlor; she has a
new haircut. Once you see her you say: “you just had your hair cut!”
Cleary, you are not saying anything unknown, you friend knows perfectly that she
just had her hair cut… then, what is the function and purpose of your utterance?
Explain (Taken from: Escandell.2011)
In accordance with the function that the statement fulfills, it can be reflected within the
environment or context, it influences positively or negatively according to the phrase, word
or statement. In accordance with this specific situation, it can be inferred that the friend
used to wear long hair up to her waist, also that she performed this action for some new
look, on the other hand I present a sentimental or sad situation in her life that led her to
make the decision of to cut her hair, according to how she normally wore her hair, it can be
said that she did not usually cut it and when she saw that she had it shorter it was really a
surprising and amazing fact for those who watched her.

5. The concept ‘Linguistic under determinacy’ it is explained as “a huge gap between

the meaning of a sentence and the messages actually conveyed by the uttering of that
sentence. In other words, the linguistically encoded meaning of a sentence radically
underdetermines the proposition the speaker expresses when he or she utters that
sentence” Huang (2017:5), this concept is pivotal at understanding how pragmatics
meaning work; how do you understand it, give one example.

Linguistic under determinacy, there is a gap between the meaning of a sentence and the
messages that are actually transmitted when you say that sentence. Otherwise the
linguistically encoded meaning of a sentence comes to underestimate the proposition that
the speaker expresses when he pronounces that sentence.
Example 1.
You and you, but not you, stand up!
a. The authorities barred the anti-globalization demonstrators because they advocated
violence.
b. The authorities barred the anti-globalization demonstrators because they feared violence.
Example 2.
John is looking for his glasses.
a. glasses = spectacles
b. glasses=drinking vessels
Example 3.
They are cooking apples.
a. What are they doing in the kitchen? They are cooking apples.
b. What kind of apples are those? They are cooking apples.
6. At a daily basis, in teaching and translating areas, linguistics is used even without
being realized; do an inquiry and explain how this disciplined is implemented in any
task at teaching or translating. Your writing will emphasize in any of the classical
linguistic levels: grammar, speech sounds, semantic or pragmatic level. In your
explanation be clear and concise, avoid fuzzy ideas.

Linguistics understood is the scientific study of the origin, evolution and structure of
language, in order to deduce the laws that govern languages. Thus, Linguistics studies the
fundamental structures of human language, their variations across all language families and
the conditions that make understanding and communication possible through natural
language. We can approach the study of language at its different levels, on the one hand, as
a system, taking into account the rules that configure it as a linguistic code, that is, what is
traditionally known as grammar and, on the other hand, as an instrument to communicative
interaction, from disciplines such as pragmatics and textual linguistics. The grammar refers
to the compendium of the norms, regularities and exceptions that govern a specific
language. Its importance in the face of education lies in the fact that it serves as a query text
in case of doubt regarding the use of language, to establish correct ways of expressing
oneself or to analyze this language. The teaching of grammar in the classroom is mainly
based on the contents raised in the books; these are a fundamental material for the
development of the themes established by consensus as the most important, which are
necessary for the grammatical knowledge development. Grammar is a response of the mind
to human needs.