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Cengage Advantage Books: Understanding Arguments: An Introduction to Informal Logic

Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Robert J. Fogelin

Chapter 2

The Web of Language - all with Video Answers

Educators

Chapter Questions

Problem 1

Read each of the following sentences aloud. Did you perform a linguistic act? If so, explain what the sentence means and why it might not seem meaningful.
1. The old man the ship.
2. Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
3. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like bananas.
4. The cotton clothing is made of grows in Mississippi.
5. The square root of pine is tree.
6. The man who whistles tunes pianos.
7. "Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe." (From Lewis Carroll)

And now some weird examples from Dan Wegner's Hidden Brain Damage Scale. If these make sense to you, it might be a sign of hidden brain damage. If they don't make sense, explain why:
8. People tell me one thing one day and out the other.
9. I feel as much like I did yesterday as I do today.
10. My throat is closer than it seems.
11. I've lost all sensation in my shirt.
12. There's only one thing for me.

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Problem 2

Read each of the following sentences aloud. Did you perform a linguistic act? If so, explain what the sentence means and why it might not seem meaningful.
1. The old man the ship.
2. Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
3. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like bananas.
4. The cotton clothing is made of grows in Mississippi.
5. The square root of pine is tree.
6. The man who whistles tunes pianos.
7. "Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe." (From Lewis Carroll)

And now some weird examples from Dan Wegner's Hidden Brain Damage Scale. If these make sense to you, it might be a sign of hidden brain damage. If they don't make sense, explain why:
8. People tell me one thing one day and out the other.
9. I feel as much like I did yesterday as I do today.
10. My throat is closer than it seems.
11. I've lost all sensation in my shirt.
12. There's only one thing for me.

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Problem 3

Which of the following verbs names a speech act?
1. capture the suspect
2. assert that the suspect is guilty
3. stare accusingly at the suspect
4. find the defendant guilty
5. punish the defendant
6. take the defendant away
7. revoke the defendant's driver's license
8. welcome the prisoner to prison
9. order the prisoner to be silent
10. lock the cell door

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Problem 4

Using a dictionary, find ten verbs that can be used to construct explicit performatives that have not yet been mentioned in this chapter.

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Problem 5

Indicate whether the verbs in the following sentences name a speech act, a conversational act, or neither. Assume a standard context. Explain your answers.
1. She thought that he did it.
2. She asserted that he did it.
3. She convinced them that he did it.
4. She condemned him in front of everyone.
5. She challenged his integrity.
6. She embarrassed him in front of them.
7. He denied doing it.
8. They believed her.
9. They encouraged him to admit it.
10. She told him to get lost.
11. He praised her lavishly.
12. His praise made her happy.
13. He threatened to reveal her secret.
14. He submitted his resignation.
15. Her news frightened him half to death.
16. He advised her to go into another line of work.
17. She blamed him for her troubles.
18. His lecture enlightened her.
19. His jokes amused her.
20. His book confused her.

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Problem 6

Indicate which, if any, of Grice's conversational rules are violated by the italicized sentence of each of the following conversations. Assume a standard context. More than one rule might be violated.
1. "Did you like her singing?" "Her costume was beautiful."
2. "The governor has the brains of a three-year-old."
3. "The Lone Ranger rode into the sunset and jumped on his horse."
4. "Without her help, we'd be up a creek without a paddle."
5. "Where is Palo Alto?" "On the surface of the Earth."
6. "It will rain tomorrow." "How do you know?" "I just guessed."
7. "Does the dog need to go out for a W-A-L-K [spelled out]?"
8. "Why did the chicken cross the road?" "To get to the other side."

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Problem 7

Assuming a natural conversational setting, what might a person intend to conversationally imply by making the following remarks? Briefly explain why each of these conversational implications holds; that is, explain the relationship between what the speaker literally says and what the speaker intends to convey through conversational implication. Finally, for each example, find a context where the standard conversational implication would fail and another arise in its place.
1. It's getting a little chilly in here. (Said by a visitor in your home)
2. Do you mind if I borrow your pen? (Said to a friend while studying)
3. We are out of soda. (Said by a child to her parents)
4. I got here before he did. (Said in a ticket line)
5. Don't blame me if you get in trouble. (Said by someone who advised you not to do what you did)
6. Has this seat been taken? (Said in a theater before a show)
7. Don't ask me. (Said in response to a question)
8. I will be out of town that day. (Said in response to a party invitation)

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Problem 8

Identify each of the following sentences as irony, metaphor, or simile. For each sentence, write another expressing its literal meaning.
1. He missed the ball by a mile.
2. He acted like a bull in a china shop.
3. The exam blew me away.
4. He had to eat his words.
5. It was a real team effort. (Said by a coach after his team loses by forty points)
6. They are throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
7. This is a case of the tail wagging the dog.
8. "Religion is the opiate of the masses." (Marx)

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Problem 9

Unpack the following political metaphors by giving their literal content:
1. We can't afford a president who needs on-the-job training.
2. It's time for people on the welfare wagon to get off and help pull.
3. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
4. We need to restore a level playing field.
5. The special interests have him in their pockets.
6. He's a lame duck.

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Problem 10

1. It is late, and $A$ is very hungry. $A$ asks $B$, "When will dinner be ready?" Describe the linguistic act, the speech act, and some of the conversational acts this person may be performing in this context.
2. Someone is trying to solve the following puzzle: One of thirteen balls is heavier than the others, which are of equal weight. In no more than three weighings on a balance scale, determine which ball is the heavier one. The person is stumped, so someone says to her: "Begin by putting four balls in each pan of the scale." Describe the linguistic act, the speech act, and the conversational act of the person who makes this suggestion.

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