In linguistic pragmatics, the "felicity condition" refers to the conditions under which a speech act (such as a promise, giving an order or a request) can be considered successful or "proper". These conditions must be met in order for the speaker to be able to perform a speech act, and for the listener to be able to understand and respond to him properly. Conditions of this type are those that concern the degree of reliability of the speaker's speech acts.
Examples of readiness/suitability conditions in pragmatics:
- One example of felicity conditions in pragmatics is that in order for a speech act to function, the speaker must have the authority or ability to perform the speech act. For example of such a case, you can't make a promise you can't keep.
- The listener must be able to understand and respond to the speech act. For example, you can't ask something of someone in a language they don't understand.
- The context must be appropriate for the speech act. For example, you can't ask for ice cream in a shoe store.
- The speech act must be performed with the appropriate level of politeness or formality. For example, being too friendly with the judge in court would not work well.
- The speaker must not intend to deceive the listener. For example, lying is not a valid speech act.
- The listener must not be in a situation where he is unable to understand or respond to the speech act. For example, when a person is drunk of under the influence of narcotics.
There may be other felicity conditions specific to different types of speech acts. These conditions are important to ensure that the intended message is properly conveyed and understood.
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