Pragmatics and Discourse in New Englishes

New Englishes: Pragmatics and Discourse

Thus far, structural differences between New Englishes and metropolitan varieties. Additionally, considerable differences between New Englishes may be found when taking into account functions of a certain linguistic structure. Moreover, similar structures to Standard English may serve a different function. It is necessary to understand these pragmatic functions in connection with local meanings, local thought patterns and local sociocultural practices (“Grammar of culture”).

Syntactic Forms

1. Tag questions: Standard English: * Appropriate modal auxiliary + pronoun (Subject): John said he didn’t read the novel, didn’t he? * ‘invariant tags’: isn’t that so? / don’t you think? Pragmatic functions of tag questions: Politeness:* informational (rising pitch) * confirmatory (falling pitch) Impoliteness:* punctuation tag (for emphasis) * peremptory tag (to end a discussion) * aggressive tag (low tone)

Indian English: 2 syntactic variants (not so much prosodic): a) Canonical tag (=St Eng.) b) Undifferentiated tag (especially in informal contexts)

Governed by the politeness principle of non-imposition (“grammar of culture”) * Unassertive / Mitigated (informal) You said you’ll do the job, isn’t it? He said he will be there, isn’t it? * Assertive / Intensified (Standard) You said you’ll do the job, didn’t you? He said he will be there, didn’t he?

Undifferentiated tags, common in New Englishes e.gr. colloquial Singapore English : isn’t it? / is it?

In most of the varieties, a reflex of language transfer from the native languages (substratum influence). In most cases, tags in local native languages —is not, lexicalised as is it or isn’t it. West African English ->isn’t it, not, no (Yoruba)

In some other cases, more direct transfer, the tag being inserted from the native language (code mixing).

2. Auxiliaries: Auxiliaries may serve new or additional pragmatic functions. Indian English: may to express positive politeness. Obligation: These mistakes may please be corrected. These mistakes should be corrected (Standard Indian / British English) Black South African English: May you please give me a lift to town? (‘Could you please?’) Singapore English: would as a tentativeness marker: I will help you, but I’m not sure if my brother would [will in main clause, within the control of the speaker; would in subordinate clause, outside of that control (irrealist aspect)] Indian South African English: Q. When is the election taking place? A. I wouldn’t know (I don’t know / I couldn’t tell you)

Discourse Particles

Standard English: so, of course, actually, anyway, etc. Meta-pragmatic function: to guide the hearer’s interpretation process. Some evidence of their relatively restricted use in New Englishes. Variety specific particles (innovations): 1. La (Singaporean English): Interactional acts: request, invitations, promises, suggestions, etc. Present when there is an element of solidarity among the interlocutors, absent when there is a power asymmetry among the participants or in most formal contexts of speech and writing. Generally contributing an attitude of persuasion to the utterance. Degrees of assertiveness depending on pitch heights: * Low: practical impositional (highest degree, most frequent) Daughter: How can I let you read my diary? It’s private Mother: Can, la. I’m your own mother. * Mid-rising: persuasive (intermediate) I cannot do it, * High-falling: giving advice / presenting and idea/ conveying obviousness. A: He’s got kidney problem and carries a bag around. B: So he cannot go anywhere, la. 2. What [or wut] (Singaporean English): Low-falling tone, carrying a meaning of objection. Maximally assertive contexts. Invalidating a previous implication or assumption: A: Why didn’t you come in? B: You told me to wait here, what. 3. Only (Indian English): Phrase- or clause-final only. To mark focus. Focus: ‘new’, non-presupposed information. The rest of the sentence is presupposed, i.e. information that shared by the speaker and the listener. – Focusing strategies in Standard English: nuclear stress in order to signal the new information. A.When does he work? B.He works on Thursdays and Fridays – Indian English: no nuclear stress. Instead, pragmatic particle only immediately following the constituent to be emphasised /focused: A: When does he work? B: He works on Thursdays and Fridays only. [= St. Eng. It is only Thursdays and Fridays that he works] – When old information needs to be focused, again no prosodic means, but pragmatics only A. Why didn’t you ask your teacher to show you how to write an essay? B. She only told us to write like this.

Discourse

It is the cultural context and not the English language which sets specific conditions to the ways of encoding interactions and leads to different discourse patterns.

* Address forms. More direct (First name: ‘Call me Tom’), less direct (Family name) in business interaction between e.gr. American and Chinese speakers. Embarrassment (and possible conflict)

* Second-language writing: * Academic / expository : Straight linear structure of expository writing in English (mainly through American influence): a) Introduction: thesis statement, claims and background information b) Body: elaboration of the initial thesis statement or supporting evidence of the claim c) Conclusion. The writing conventions in ESL contexts do not commonly follow this monolithic structure. Great variation: writers use different stylistic and discoursal conventions, deriving from: – context of new linguistic and cultural paradigms. – transfer of pragmatic norms from original languages and cultures As a result, multinorms of styles and strategies. Expository writing in Indian English is unique: A )it allows for an affective style B )it lacks a straight linear progression of thought C )it involves a high level of tolerance for structural diversity and digressions D )it shows transfer of pragmatic-discoursal norms from local languages

* Persuasive Different patterns of communication in applications in events that lack face-to-face interaction. A case: applications for admission to graduate programmes in the United States, written in English by students from all over the world.

Contrast: strategies for politeness that applicants choose to adopt between themselves and whoever they perceive their addressee to be. A ) Asian students à deferential strategies of politeness: … ‘your respected university’ … be part of ‘your distinguished graduate program’ … to study in ‘your outstanding faculty’ B ) Non-Asians students ànon-deferential strategies: ‘Given my background, experience, and interest, I do believe myself to be the ideal candidate’ ‘The reasonable prices and good atmosphere in [state] encouraged me to apply at your University’

Other areas of study: – New English literature – Style shifting and code-switching

Different pragmatic functions: new articulations of identity, values, power and solidarity.