Discourse Analysis and Pragmatics: Key Concepts
Key Concepts in Discourse Analysis and Pragmatics
Questions and Answers
1) Which of the following would NOT be an area of interest for someone doing discourse analysis?
a) The relationship between language and socio-cultural contexts around it
b) The study of the sound patterns that occur within languages
c) The effects of language use upon social identities
d) The mechanisms language has to present different worldviews and understandings
2) After decades of formalist understandings of language, researchers started to give prominence to aspects of speech events that had been previously neglected (the addresser, the addressee, the context, etc.). Which of the following options could embody this linguistic turn?
a) Otto Jespersen in his work The Philosophy of Grammar (1924)
b) Hymes and his theory about the ethnography of communication (1964)
c) George Lakoff in Metaphors We Live By (1980)
d) None of the above
3) Which of the following options aligns more with the idea behind discourse performativity?
a) Discourses are socially-constructed
b) Discourses are naturally imposed by universal tenets of grammar
c) Discourses develop synchronically without taking context into account
d) Discourses are uniquely tied to abstract meanings of words, phrases or sentences
4) If we define pragmatics by giving salience to utterance interpretation…
a) You would only focus on meaning in use
b) You would mostly focus on the producer of the message
c) You would mostly focus on the receiver of the utterance
d) You would mostly focus on the social constraints on utterance production
5) In the sentences: We found that birch bark could serve as paper / I was scared when I heard that bark, we are dealing with…
a) Ambiguities of sounds in context
b) Ambiguities of structure in context
c) Ambiguities of reference in context
d) Ambiguities of sense in context
6) In the sentence: Visiting relatives can be boring, we are dealing with…
a) Ambiguities of sounds in context
b) Ambiguities of structure in context
c) Ambiguities of reference in context
d) Ambiguities of sense in context
7) Meaning-making is a dynamic process that involves…
a) The negotiation of meaning between speaker and hearer
b) The context of the utterance (physical, social, linguistic)
c) The meaning potential of an utterance
d) All of the above
8) According to Halliday and Hasan (1985), which of the following three elements constitute the idea of REGISTER?
a) Interpretant, object and representamen
b) Field, tenor and mode
c) Abstract meaning, contextual meaning and force
d) Social context, social rules and social norms
9) Imagine you are preparing the commencement speech for your undergraduate studies. If you start paying attention to the degree of spontaneity you are planning to include, which aspect of the social context of your speech you are taking into account?
a) Field
b) Tenor
c) Mode
d) All of the above
10) If we think of the relationship between pragmatics and semiotics, this emoji ( ) is a representative example of…
a) An icon
b) An index
c) A symbol
d) None of the above
11) Remember this picture we discussed in class, taken in February in Boston. (A picture of a car in the snow) Meaning is mostly achieved here…
a) Iconically
b) Indexically
c) Symbolically
d) All of the above
12) According to Halliday and Hasan (1985), which of the following is NOT an aspect of discourse?
a) Ideational meaning
b) Interpersonal meaning
c) Intrapersonal meaning
d) Textual meaning
13) Which of the following statements DOES NOT match with Conversational Analysis (CA)…
a) CA is keen on analyzing spoken discourse taking place at everyday conversational interactions
b) CA examines how spoken discourse is organized and developed through interaction
c) CA works with recordings of spoken data and carries out fine-grained analyses of data
d) CA dismisses the analysis of sequences of related utterances in spoken discourse
14) Imagine you are reading the transcription of a conversation and you find the following: Matt: that’s ni::::ce ↑ What did the transcriber mean if s/he followed Jefferson’s conventions (2004)?
a) There is a brief interval and the sound /ɪ/ is being prolonged
b) There is a shift into especially high pitch and the sound /aɪ/ is being prolonged
c) There is a loud sound and the sound /aɪ/ is being elapsed
d) There is a brief interval and the sound /ɪ/ is being elapsed
15) Imagine you are listening to the following conversation: “I know, this is a rather long story, so anyway…” Which might the speaker be signaling through the use of ‘anyway’ in this context?
a) The end of a his/her turn
b) His/her intention to prolong his/her turn
c) Both A and B are correct
d) Both A and B are incorrect
16) Which of the following options would be a DISPREFERRED second pair part in an adjacency pair?
A: Could I possibly have a name for the reservation?
B: …
a) Sure, my name is Zulema
b) Of course you can!
c) You certainly can’t
d) Indeed!
17) CA has received criticism from scholars in related fields. Which of the following suggested that, when analyzing data from a CA perspective, we are merely ‘spectators’ in the interaction?
a) Wooffitt (2005)
b) Bucholtz (2003)
c) Baxter (2002)
d) Hammersley (2003)
18) When classifying discourse, discourse types can be defined as…
a) High-level, more or less universal categories (narrative, for example)
b) High-level, more or less university categories (novel, for example)
c) Open-ended lists, rather concrete and specific (argumentative texts, for example)
d) Open-ended lists, rather concrete and specific (political speeches, for example)
19) Discourse has been classified on the basis of discourse types. Which approach is based on lexical forms related to communicative functions?
a) Chafe (1982)
b) Werlich (1982)
c) Biber (1989)
d) Bhatia (1993)
20) According to Bawarshi & Reiff (2010), which is the first step one should take into account when analyzing different genres?
a) We should randomly choose texts for exploratory investigation
b) We should consider what we already know of a specific genre
c) We should consider the goal and the purpose of texts
d) We should trace typical discursive patterns that characterize that genre
21) According to Jakobson (1960) and his attempt to classify discourse functions, which function is represented in the following dialogue?
Two strangers, at a bus stop
A: Awful day, right?
B: I know…
a) Emotive function
b) Metalingual function
c) Poetic function
d) Phatic function
22) Which of the following would be more representative when understanding discourse as dialogic and polyphonic interaction (Bakhtin)?
a) Written language offers more integrative understanding of discourse
b) Discourse contains references to different people: multivoicedness is central
c) Spoken discourse and spoken interaction involves speakers connected to hearers
d) Spoken interaction is part of a shared situation and paralinguistic information also occurs
23) Which of the following would NOT classify as a feature to define COHERENCE?
a) Textual coherence is regarded as a default assumption by interlocutors
b) Textual coherence is variable and scalar, depending on personal experience and knowledge of the world
c) Textual coherence is intuitively sensed by language users
d) Textual coherence is only manifested in the textual level of discourse
24) Which type of cohesive mechanism is illustrated in the following conversation?
A: Umm… I think I’ll have the soup!
B: I’ll have the same, thank you
a) Verbal substitution
b) Nominal substitution
c) Nominal ellipsis
d) Clausal ellipsis
25) Which type of mechanism is illustrated in the following image? (For sale)
a) Textual substitution: clausal
b) Textual ellipsis: nominal
c) Textual ellipsis: clausal
d) Situational ellipsis
26) Which type of cohesive mechanism is illustrated in the following sentence? A: He can stay if he likes, but he doesn’t want to
a) Verbal substitution
b) Clausal substitution
c) Nominal ellipsis
d) Clausal ellipsis
27) Reference is one of the most important cohesive devices discourse has. Which of the following cannot be said to define this phenomenon?
a) Referential mechanisms create a connection between a discourse element and a preceding/following element
b) Referential mechanisms mostly rely on semantic relationships
c) Referential mechanisms mostly rely on grammar relationships
d) Referential mechanisms can also be achieved by means of definite articles or adverbs
28) In the excerpt below, which ‘well’ is being used as a discourse marker?
A: You don’t look well (1)… Is it all well (2) with your family?
B: Well (3), unfortunately the family cat fell down the well (4) we have in the garden…
a) well (1)
b) well (2)
c) well (3)
d) well (4)
29) Which cohesive mechanism is being used in the underlined items in the following dialogue?
A: Oh wow, I was so impressed when I visited Tom in Puerto Rico! I saw several iguanas, lizards and snakes near his house
B: Crazy right? Reptiles are everywhere there!
a) hyponyms (iguanas, lizards and snakes) and hypernym (reptiles)
b) hypernym (iguanas, lizards and snakes) and hyponym (reptiles)
c) repetition (iguanas, lizards and snakes, reptiles)
d) meronym (iguanas, lizards and snakes, reptiles)
30) Which causal relation is being used in the following example to maintain textual coherence?
A: Her advice seems odd, yet I believe she’s right
a) Consequence
b) Cause
c) Purpose
d) Concession
31) If we think of the semantics-pragmatics interface within discourse, which of the following discursive elements would be more rooted in semantics than in pragmatics?
a) Definite expressions
b) Anaphoric expressions
c) Deictic expressions
d) None of the above
32) Imagine you bump into the following Instagram post. Which of the hashtags in use encapsulates a deictic expression?
a) #flowers
b) #homegarden
c) #indiansummer
d) #hereandnow
33) Which of the following is the best definition for ‘deictic center’?
a) The expression of elements that get their meaning from the extralinguistic situation in place
b) The speaker at the time and place of the utterance: speaker’s here-and-now
c) The assumptions that something is the case when making an utterance
d) The possibility for presuppositions to be canceled or suspended explicitly
34) Identify the INCORRECT statement
a) Sentences are more abstract than utterances
b) Sentences can be realized as many different utterances
c) Utterances can be seen as a form of action
d) Utterances are context independent
35) Some presuppositions are activated by means of change-of-state verbs. In which of the following options of finding an example of this presuppositional trigger?
a) Mary stopped teasing her wife
b) Mary managed to tease her wife
c) Mary pretended to tease her wife
d) Mary regretted teasing her wife
36) Which type of presupposition we find in the sentence: “I know I didn’t behave at Ana’s party”?
a) Specific existential
b) Factive
c) Non-factive
d) Counter-factive
37) In the following dialogue:
A: I am sorry John failed the test…
B: Well, I am not sorry he failed it!
The presupposition we get from this interaction remains the same (John failed the test). Why is this?
a) Because turning a categorical clause into a conditional clause does not change its presuppositions
b) Because certain verbs can trigger asymmetries depending on the person or the tense
c) Because changing an affirmative clause into a negative/interrogative clause does not change its presuppositions
d) Because presuppositions are maintained if the words or expressions of the sentence are replaced with synonyms
38) Which of the following options includes a non-performative speech act?
a) I bet you €5 everyone in the class will pass this test
b) He declared the war on Germany
c) I thank you for your support throughout the course
d) I love teaching Pragmatics
39) The perlocutionary act of a speech act is…
a) the conventional meaning of the utterance
b) what the speaker intends to do by means of the utterance
c) the effect on the hearer
d) All of the above
40) Imagine you are on the tube and you witness this scene:
A steps on B’s toe
A: Anteeksi!
B: What?
Which felicity condition is not being met here so that the speech act of apologizing is not working?
a) Propositional content
b) Preparatory conditions
c) Sincerity condition
d) Essential condition
41) Which speech act category are we dealing with if we listen to: “I’ll stab you if you don’t give me your wallet”?
a) Representative
b) Expressive
c) Commissive
d) Directive
42) Which speech act category are we dealing with if we listen to: “Could I have your phone, please”?
a) Representative
b) Expressive
c) Commissive
d) Directive
43) Speech acts are not always straightforward, they are complex and they are usually negotiated. Why is this?
a) Because speech acts can be indeterminate
b) Because speech acts are often played over a number of turns
c) Because speech acts are often multi-functional
d) All of the above are correct
44) Who of the following linguists is mostly known for his theory of implicature?
a) Grice
b) Austin
c) Searle
d) Halliday
45) There are several types of implicatures. Which ones are not affected by changes in context?
a) Conversational implicatures
b) Conventional implicatures
c) Cooperative implicatures
d) Contrastive implicatures
46) The sentence “Chris is poor but happy” contains an implicature, which type is it?
a) Conversational
b) Conventional
c) Performative
d) None of the above
47) Which central notion in pragmatics is summarized in the following excerpt?
“Do whatever is necessary to achieve the purpose of your talk; don’t do anything that will frustrate that purpose”
a) The Register Principle
b) The Presupposition Principle
c) The Implicature Principle
d) The Cooperative Principle
48) If, as part of a conversation, you support an argument with claims that are not rooted in robust evidence, which Gricean maxim would be at stake here?
a) The Maxim of Quantity
b) The Maxim of Quality
c) The Maxim of Relation
d) The Maxim of Manner
49) Imagine your boss asks you an uncomfortable question but you feel you have to answer. Because she is your boss, you answer the question with ambiguous references to the question being asked. Which Gricean maxim would you be violating here?
a) The Maxim of Quantity
b) The Maxim of Quality
c) The Maxim of Relation
d) The Maxim of Manner
50) If you are part of a conversation, you don’t want to make meaning-making exchanges easy, you say something that is very obviously not accurate and you clearly don’t care if your hearer is aware of this…
a) You are fulfilling the maxims of the Cooperative Principle
b) You are violating the maxims of the Cooperative Principle
c) You are flouting the maxims of the Cooperative Principle
d) You are opting out of the maxims of the Cooperative Principle
51) If you are part of a conversation, you don’t want to make meaning-making exchanges easy, you say something that is not accurate and you feel your hearer won’t be aware of this…
a) You are fulfilling the maxims of the Cooperative Principle
b) You are violating the maxims of the Cooperative Principle
c) You are flouting the maxims of the Cooperative Principle
d) You are opting out of the maxims of the Cooperative Principle
52) In the following dialogue:
[You have failed your Pragmatics course and you’ll have to retake it next year. Even if you know she has no way of finding out, you go like this:]
Mother: Oh, do you have all the results for your test?
You: Yes, and I passed Modernist Poetry, Language and Ideology and Psycholinguistics! What are you doing there?
a) Violating the Maxim of Quantity
b) Violating the Maxim of Relation
c) Flouting the Maxim of Quality
d) Flouting the Maxim of Relation
53) In the following dialogue:
Your friend: So, is the temperature OK here?
You: OMG I am freezing!!
What are you doing there?
a) Violating the Maxim of Manner
b) Violating the Maxim of Relation
c) Flouting the Maxim of Quality
d) Flouting the Maxim of Quantity
54) Choose the incorrect sentence option:
a) In politeness theory, facework is the actions taken by a person to make what (s)he is doing consistent with face
b) In politeness theory, facework is “the proactivity” to be consistent with face
c) In politeness theory, facework is shaped by the rules of a specific group
d) In politeness theory, facework is the positive social value a person effectively claims about his/her self, based on what others seem to be assuming about him/her
55) Which of the following concepts involves a desire for connection with others, in the desire to be liked or admired?
a) Face
b) Positive face
c) Negative face
d) Facework
56) Imagine the following dialogue:
Student: Well, I think all we did in this course was absolutely useless
Professor: Oh
What is the student doing there?
a) Expressing negative politeness
b) Expressing positive politeness
c) Engaging in an inherently polite FTA
d) Engaging in an inherently impolite FTA
57) Imagine the following dialogue:
Luke: I think we should get organized and go on strike!
Rosie: You are definitely right, Luke
What politeness strategy is Rosie using there?
a) Bald-on-record
b) Positive politeness
c) Negative politeness
d) Off-record
58) Imagine the following dialogue:
Student: Well, I was wondering whether you could perhaps write a reference letter for me
Professor: My pleasure!
What politeness strategy is the student using there?
a) Bald-on-record
b) Positive politeness
c) Negative politeness
d) Off-record
59) Which field is concerned with the way language is used in social encounters between human beings who have different first languages, communicate in a common language, and, usually, represent different cultures?
a) Intercultural pragmatics
b) Politeness theory
c) Gricean pragmatics
d) Historical pragmatics
60) Which of the following are areas of interest for intercultural pragmatics research?
a) Intercultural workplace communication
b) Interculturality as discursive construction
c) Globalization of discourse
d) All of the above are correct