II.PRAGMATICS LABELS
Many uses of words need more than a statement of meaning to be properly explained. People use words to do many things: give invitations, express their feelings , emphasize what they are saying, and so on. The study and description of the way in which people use language to do these things is calle pragmatics.
In the dictionary, we draw attention to certain pragmatic aspects of words and phrases of English, paying special attention to those that, for cultural and linguistic reasons, we feel may be confusing to learners. The following labels are used:
- [APPROVAL] (人や物事などを是認する):used to show that you approve of the person or thing you are talking about, e.g. angelic
- [DISAPPROVAL] (人や物事などを否認する):used to show that you disapprove of the person or thing you are talking about, e.g. brat
- [EMPHASIS] (ポイントを強調する):used to emphasize the point you are making, e.g. never-ending
- [FEELINGS] (感情を表す):used to express your feelings about something, or towards someone, e.g. unfortunately
- [FORMULAE] (特定の場面に決まった形で使用する):used in particular situations such as greeting and thanking people, or acknowledging something, e.g. hi, congratulations
- [POLITENESS] (丁寧あるいは婉曲的な表現をする):used to express politeness, sometimes even to the point of being euphemistic, e.g. elderly
- [VAGUENESS] (あいまいに表現する):used to show how certain you are about the truth or validity of your statements; this is sometimes called “hedging” or “modality”, e.g. presumably