Define the notion of pragmatic intention

ACTIVITIES DONE BY CHAROS UMMATKULOVA, A MASTER STUDENT OF 104^TH GROUP

1. 
   DEFINE THE NOTION OF PRAGMATIC INTENTION
   

The pragmatic study of literary discourse is also concerned with the

problems of impact and perception as the two sides of communication. Only taken

together do they ensure an integral process of communication. Impact and

perception are closely interrelated and interdependent as ―two sides of the medal‖.

A crucial role in analyzing the effectiveness of impact and perception belongs to

the notion of pragmatic intention. Pragmatic intention is understood as verbalized

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in the text the addresser’s deliberate intention to e xert influence on the addressee

with the aim to cause some reconstruction in his world picture (Наер, 1984:16).

The general pragmatic intention of literary discourse is an aesthetic

influence on the reader. However, in concrete situations the types of pragmatic

intentions vary, and so does their impact. The pragmatic intention is an organizing

principle of the text. It predetermines the choice of language means, structural and

semantic peculiarities of the text. Therefore pragmatic analysis aims to find

language units which explicitly or implicitly make pragmatic intentions

recognizable. According to the type of pragmatic intentions the forms of its

language utilization vary. The effectiveness of impact and perception also depends

on the type of pragmatic intentions. In this respect differentiation of pragmatic

intentions, hierarchical classification o f their types seem to be of paramount

importance.

2. 
   TYPES OF PRAGMATIC INTENTION
   

Accepting the assumption that pragmatic intentions are materialized in the

language units, we define the type of pragmatic intention proceeding from: a) the

analysis of all the parameters of a verbal sign, the ways of its introduction,

organization and reorganization in the discourse; b) verbalized in the discourse

direct or indirect indication to a pragmatic intention; c) indication to the

addressee’s verbal and non-verbal reaction. The analysis of the language material

makes it possible to define the main types of pragmatic intentions in the literary

discourse. They are as follows:

● the pragmatic intention ―to attract attention‖ (attention-compelling intention);

● the pragmatic intention ―to interest the reader‖;

● the pragmatic intention ―to exert an emotional impact‖;

● the pragmatic intention ―to activize knowledge structures‖ relevant to the

conceptual information;

● the pragmatic intention ―to stimulate the addressee’s creativity‖;

● the pragmatic intention ―to represent the conceptual world picture‖

3. THE PRAGMATIC INTENTION “TO ATTRACT THE READER’S

ATTENTION”(ATTENTION – COMPELLING INTENTION)

This pragmatic intention is associated with the phenomenon of

actualization, which has been discussed by many scholars (Б. А. Ларин, Р.

Якобсон, И. В. Арнольд и др.). The most detailed analysis was done by the

Prague linguistic school. Actualization is understood as the usage of language

means which is perceived as unusual, deautomatic, and therefore it attracts

attention of the reader (Гавранек, 1967:355). There are some arguable points in

the conception of the Prague linguists. In particular, the assertion that actua lization

is an end in itself seems to be very doubtful because it depreciates a priority role

of a communicative aim. However, on the whole, the idea of ―deautomatization‖,

the notions of foregrounding, convergence of stylistic means, parallelisms as bas ic

signals of conceptual information remain actual and significant for the present -day

researches, especially in considering the problem of impact and perception.

The means of ―deautomatization‖ are mainly found on the surface layer of

the text and characterized by various kinds of structural transformations, which

serve to realize the pragmatic intention ―to attract the readers’ attention‖. To these

means we can refer various occasional transformations of words (simple,

derivative and compound words), phraseological units and syntactical structures.

So, the main device to realize this pragmatic intention is an occasionalism built on

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deviations from the norms of the literary language. The problem of the norm has

received much attention among linguists. There are a lot of disputes, differences of

opinions, controversies. In stylistics it concerns the problem of stylistic devices.

Some scholars regard stylistic devices as deviation from the literary norm

(Риффатер, 1979), others consider that stylistic dev ices are based on the norm,

intensify its typical structural and semantic properties, and promote them to a

generalized level (Гальперин, 1981).

The idea of the norm deviation is shared by the majority of linguists. It can

be accepted here with some amendments. Firstly, in every concrete case deviations

are characterized by different degrees of explicitness. Secondly, deviations are

subjected to some regulations. They, as I.V.Arnold stated, have certain restrictions

(1976:61).

Any deliberate deviation from the norms attracts the addressee’s attention,

and gives rise to some stylistic effects, thus influencing the process of perception.

The following may serve as an example:

I wanted death after that but death don‘t come when you want it, it comes

when you don‘t want! I wanted death then, but I took the next best thing. You sold

yourself. I sold my self

4. THE PRAGMATIC INTENTION “TO INTEREST THE

READER”

The pragmatic intention ―to interest the reader‖ generated as a consequence

of the previous one, is aimed to interest the reader, to make him think over the

semantic content of the text, to exert an impact on his intellectual sphere. The

significance of this intention is conditioned by the psychological peculiarities of

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the reader’s perception oriented to ―interest‖ as one of the main categories of

human life in general, and literary communication in particular. It is worth citing

here the statement:‖Если физический мир подчинен закону движения, то мир

духовный не менее подчинен закону интереса. На земле есть всесильный

волшебник, изменяющий в глазах всех существ вид всякого предмета‖ (ФЕС,

1983:213). The phenomenon of ―interest‖ is linguistically grounded in the work by

G.G.Molchanova who brings it into correlation with the phenomenon of ―the

new‖; the latter in its turn is characterized by violation of banality, triteness,

monotony (Молчанова, 1988:22).

Nothing is so boring as something known and monotonous. It is necessary to

keep in mind that in the fictional discourse ―the new‖ is linked with subtextual and

conceptual information rather than factual information presented by the plot of the

text. Therefore various kinds of structural and stylistic transformations, contextual

changes of lexical meanings, implicit meanings, connotations and associations are

in the foreground. From the linguistic point of view ―the new‖ is based on a

peculiar usage of language units, the renewal of their both structural and semantic

characteristics. Let’s turn to an example:

For women are as roses

Whose fair flower being once displayed

Doth fall that very hour

(W. Shakespeare)

The utterance contains a traditional, trite image “women - roses”. Due to its

frequent usage this image has become hackneyed. It doesn’t excite any interest on

the part of the reader. The perception of this image would not have been effective

if it were not for its peculiar usage. In order to attract and interest the reader, the

author resorts to ―renewal‖ of this image. It is achieved by the following: a) the

trite simile ―women are as roses‖ is included into the structure of an extended

metaphor containing several images: – flower, display, fall; b) violation of usual

associative links of this image. The simile here is used not to emphasize women’s

beauty, but to stress the fact that beauty does not last long; it passes lightly and

instantly like a flash.

Hence, the ―image renewal‖ deautamatizes its perception and changes the

character of emotional impact.

5. THE PRAGMATIC INTENTION “TO EXERT AN EMOTIONAL

IMPACT”

One of the specific peculiarities of literary discourse is its orientation to the

addressee’s emotional sphere. Emotiveness is one of the most important

components of literary communication (Шаховский, 1987). In this connection the

pragmatic intention of ―emotional impact‖ is one of the main, and, as a rule,

constant factors determining stylistic functioning of language units in a fictional

text. It should be noted that this pragmatic intention is usually combined with other

intentions. For instance, the above discussed pragmatic intention ―to interest the

reader‖ is inseparable from the emotional impact since ―interest‖ as one of the

innate emotions of a man is valid only on condition of emotional excitement

(Додонов, 1978). In this respect it is worthy of note that emotionally charged

language units, owing to sensuality of human psychics are more effective means

of impact than various devices of logic.

The pragmatic intention of emotional impact is realized by the whole system

of stylistic devices used in the text. But the dominant role belongs to a

convergence of stylistic devices, that is the accumulation of many stylistic devices

and expressive means of the language at a given point. It is accounted by the fact

that emotions manifest themselves not separately; they come in a flow of words,

one generating another (Изард,1980). The following quotation is illustrative in

this respect:

Words! Mere words! How terrible they were! How clear, and vivid, and

cruel! One could not escape from them. And yet what a subtle magic there was in

them! They seemed to be able to give a plastic form to formless things, and to have

music of their own as sweet as that of viol or of lute. Mere words! Was there

anything so real as words? (O.Wilde ―The picture of Dorian Grey‖, p.100)

The perception of the multifold notion ―word‖ here is determined by a set of

language means which are complexly interwoven. The statement produces a strong

emotional impact which is achieved by means of the convergence of stylistic

devices and expressive means. Practically, all types of stylistic means are in a ction

here: lexical stylistic devices – epithet, metaphor, personification; lexicosyntactical means – simile, antithesis; syntactical stylistic means – one member

sentences, exclamatory sentences, parallel constructions, gradation, rhetorical

question, anaphora, framing, and polysyndeton