Pragmatics and Language Use Flashcards
7 cards from real Language Proficiency practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Pragmatics and Language Use flashcards as text
What does 'register' refer to in linguistics?
Answer: A variety of language used in a particular social situation
Register refers to the variety of language used in different social contexts, such as formal academic writing versus casual conversation.
Which field of study examines how social context, identity, and power affect language use?
Answer: Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics examines the relationship between language and social factors such as identity, power, community, and cultural norms.
What is an indirect speech act?
Answer: An utterance whose communicative function differs from its grammatical form
Indirect speech acts have a communicative function that differs from the literal grammatical form, such as using a question to issue a request.
Which scenario best illustrates a violation of Grice's Maxim of Relevance?
Answer: A speaker answers a question about weekend plans by discussing their pet's health
The Maxim of Relevance requires contributions to be pertinent to the topic at hand; an unrelated response clearly violates this.
What are discourse markers, such as 'firstly,' 'however,' and 'in conclusion'?
Answer: Words or phrases that signal the structure and flow of discourse
Discourse markers are words or phrases that guide listeners or readers through the organization and logic of spoken or written text.
Which phenomenon describes how the same utterance can mean different things depending on who says it, to whom, and in what situation?
Answer: Contextual interpretation
Contextual interpretation recognizes that meaning is shaped by the speaker, listener, situation, and shared background knowledge, not just the words themselves.
Which of the following is an example of a directive speech act?
Answer: 'Please turn off your phone.'
Directives are speech acts that attempt to get the listener to perform an action, including requests, commands, and instructions.