Introducing English Linguistics

3 The social context of English
1. 1 a, 2 c, 3 d, 4 b, 5 e
2. A discussion of the grammatical meaning of I wouldn’t mind another glass of wine would focus
on the meaning of the words and structures in this statement. For instance, I refers to the
speaker; another glass of wine works together as a unit of meaning specifying an additional
serving of a specific type of alcoholic beverage placed in a drinking vessel typically used to
hold this beverage; the expression wouldn’t mind conveys the meaning that the speaker has no
objections to drinking more wine. To determine the pragmatic meaning of the statement, it is
necessary to place it in some social context, such as a small get-together among friends. In
this context, one could imagine the host asking the speaker whether he or she wanted anoth-
er glass of wine, and the speaker replying with an indirect speech act for reasons of polite-
ness. If the speaker made the statement without any prompting, it would be interpreted as
somewhat impolite because he or she is being a bit too insistent.
3. Grammatically well-formed sentences:
(i)
I really like chocolate ice cream
(ii)
My second favorite flavor is vanilla
(iii)
I don’t care for vanilla
(iv)
I think it has great taste
Utterances (i.e. incomplete sentences that are meaningful but lack a subject and predicator):
(i)
Me too
(ii)
Too tasteless, in my opinion
(iii)
Really
4. (1)
Direct: An imperative sentence that is a directive: the speaker directly tells someone to
do something.
(2)
Indirect: This is a “hint”: a very indirect suggestion that the addressee shut the door to
prevent further mosquitoes from getting into the house.
(3)
Direct: A declarative sentence that is a commissive: the speaker is directly committing
himself to doing something in the future.
(4)
Indirect: An interrogative sentence that is a directive: the guest is not interested in know-
ing whether someone at the table is physically able to give her the butter. She’s using a
conventionalized yes/no question to politely request that someone give her the butter.
Answers to self-study activities
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5. Hazel has violated the maxim of relation: her sudden discussion of the weather has nothing
to do with Fred’s gossip about Christine. But Hazel’s violation of this maxim is purposeful,
and Fred’s likely interpretation of her utterance (i.e. the conversational implicature of her vio-
lation) is that Hazel is uncomfortable with his gossiping about Christine, or that she is trying
to warn him that they should shift topics so that Christine doesn’t hear their gossip.
6. The conventions of formal written English first of all stipulate that writers adhere to the
maxim of quantity: they must fully develop the topics they introduce, while at the same time
not saying too much so they are not perceived as “padding” their papers. Second, writers
must follow the maxim of relation: everything they write must be related and relevant to the
topic at hand; digression, or going off topic, is not tolerated. Third, writers must observe the
maxim of quality: everything they write must be truthful. There are cases where scientists
have gotten into serious trouble for fabricating the results of their experiments. Finally, writ-
ers must adhere to the maxim of manner: clarity of expression is of utmost importance in for-
mal written English.
7. In the first turn, the library patron is adhering linguistically to the generosity maxim. In his
statements, he expresses the efforts he has exerted to return the missing newspapers to the
library. However, instead of simply thanking him, the library worker engages in a serious vio-
lation of the tact maxim: he does not “maximize benefit” to the library patron, but very indi-
rectly issues a directive in an attempt to get the patron to do the worker’s job for him. In the
final turn, the library patron arguably violates the tact maxim too, but given the library
worker’s violation of this maxim, the patron’s anger is justified.
8. (a) The father and child are disparates: the father is higher on the power hierarchy than the
child. 
(b) Because of this power imbalance, the father has greater license to utter a statement that
is very direct and in this context not a violation of the tact maxim. However, some might
disagree and argue that parents need to be just as polite with their children as they are
with adults.
9. Slang is a type of “in-group” language. For this reason, it is especially prominent among
younger speakers, since they are at an age when identification with their peers is very impor-
tant. And slang marks them as a “member” of their peer group. This is why as people age, the
slang that they used as adolescents becomes archaic or obsolescent.