问答题 Imagine you were at a bus stop and two people approached you one after the other. The first said:“哎,几点了?”and the second said:“不好意思,打搅一下,请问您戴表了吗?”What assumptions would you make if you were addressed in these two ways and why would you make them? (北外2007研)
【正确答案】正确答案:As to the first one, an immediate assumption coming to our mind would be the person is asking for the time. The assumption that the hearer gets arises out of the conventional meaning of the expression. The conventional meaning is related to the existing knowledge of the world, and is the meaning that is achieved by the conventions, and is generally accepted by the society. It can be accessed to when we turn to the knowledge towards the world that we have. The expression "几点了" is such a conventional meaning that when it is spoken out, everyone will unexceptionally accept it as a way of asking for the time. As to the explanation of the second one, Levinson's M-principle could come into use. Considering the context, which is in the bus stop, what it expresses is no longer a conventional one, but rather a conversational implicature. According to M-principle, the speaker normally will not use a prolix, obscure sentence. It is the ability not only to apply the grammatical rules of a language in order to form grammatically correct sentences but also to know when and where to use these sentences and to whom.
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