Questão FC700303
Read the text to answer question No one who speaks English has any difficulty understanding the meaning of a sentence like ‘It’s warm in here’. We all recognise that it is a commen
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VUNESP · 2024
Read the text to answer question
No one who speaks English has any difficulty understanding the meaning of a sentence like ‘It’s warm in here’. We all recognise that it is a comment on the temperature in some place or other. But why it is being said, and what the speaker wishes to convey by saying it, depends entirely on two things: the context in which it is said and what the speaker wants people to understand (...) The meaning of language depends on where it occurs within a larger stretch of discourse, and thus the relationship that the different language elements have with what comes before and after them. In other words, speakers and writers have to be able to operate with more than just words and grammar; they have to be able to string utterances together.
Our ability to function properly in conversation or writing depends not only on reacting to the context in which we are using the language, but also on the relationship between words and ideas in longer texts.
Words can also mean more than one thing, for example, ‘book’ (= something to read, to reserve, a list of bets, etc.), ‘beat’ (= to win, to hit, to mix, e.g. an egg, the ‘pulse’ of music/a heart) and ‘can’ (= ability, permission, probability – and a container made of metal). Notice that, in these examples, not only can the same form have many meanings, but it can also be different parts of speech.
With so many available meanings for words and grammatical forms, it is the context the word occurs in which determines which of these meanings is being referred to. If we say, ‘I beat him because I ran faster than he did’, ‘beat’ is likely to mean won rather than physically assaulted or mixed (though there is always the possibility of ambiguity, of course).
(Harmer, 1998. Adaptado)
The following conversation takes place in the context of two people getting ready for their party:
Jack: “We can leave the ice here till we need it.” Ben: “It’s warm in here.”
Taking context into account, the probable correct final comment by Jack that makes sense in the situation would be
- How warm do you think we need it?
- Why worry about details?
- Really? Let’s call someone else.
- Is it? OK, then, let’s find somewhere else.
- Don’t mention it.
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Comentário do professor
Contexto: Jack propõe deixar o gelo ali até precisar. Quando Ben diz "It’s warm in here", ele está comentando a temperatura e, pragmaticamente, sinalizando um problema para o gelo.
A resposta correta, "Is it? OK, then, let’s find somewhere else.", demonstra inferência pragmática: Jack reconhece o comentário (Is it?) e toma uma decisão prática (let’s find somewhere else) para evitar que o gelo derreta.
Do ponto de vista do uso da linguagem, a fala de Jack garante coesão e adequação ao discurso, pois conecta a observação sobre temperatura à ação necessária. É breve, direta e alinhada com a intenção comunicativa do contexto (preservar o gelo).
Assim, a alternativa expressa compreensão do comentário de Ben e uma solução imediata, o que a torna a escolha mais plausível para a situação descrita.
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