Centre for English Language Studies, University of Hyderabad

08 April 2019 Max. Marks: 20

MA I, sem II Semantics and Pragmatics

MID-TERM TEST II

I. What is the relation (if aSny) between each statement and the bracketed statements which follow?
Pick one of the following four answers: Presupposition; Entailment; Conversational Implicature; no
inference. 5marks

a. John is allegedly a good player.

[John is a good player.]

b. Oscar and Jenny are middle-aged.

[Jenny is middle-aged.]

c. Not everyone will get the correct answer.

[Someone will get the correct answer.]

d. Pete installed new cabinets after Hans painted the walls.

[Hans painted the walls.]

e. Dempsey and Tunney fought in Philadelphia in September (1926).

[Dempsey and Tunney fought each other.]

II. Write any two (within 50 words each) from the following: 2x2=4marks

What are adjacency pairs? What is their role in a conversation?

Distinguish between generalised and particularised implicatures

Explain Grice’s theory of implicature with an example.

III. Write any two (within 75 words each) from the following: 3x3=6marks

What are the different levels of action at which utterances perform according to J L Austin?

How does deixis play a role in our conversations?

Write a short note on Cooperative Principle and Conversation Maxims.

IV. Answer any one of the following: 5marks

1. The passage below is a joke from the British comedian Les Dawson (1979). How can we explain the boy's
behaviour in terms of Grice's conversational maxims? Discuss all the four maxims in terms of whether they are
violated and justify. Do you think he’s cooperative at all?

A salesman found him sitting on the doorstep one day. 'Is your mother at
home sonny?’ he asked. ‘Yes', replied the boy. So the salesman knocked on the
door for a few minutes, then tried ringing the bell; finally he resorted to
bashing on the window - all to no avail. 'I thought you said your mother was
 at home', he snapped at the boy. 'She is', came the reply, 'only this isn't our
house'.

OR

2. Compare and contrast the different inferences in a conversation: Conversational Implicature, Entailment
and Presupposition.

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