Speech Act [PDF]

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Unit 9 SPEECH ACT Characteristic Two kinds of meaning: -

Locutionary meaning: (also knowns as propositional meaning), which is its basic literal meaning conveyed by its particular words and structures Illocutionary meaning (also known as illocutionary force), which is the effect the utterance might have on the hearer

Locution/locutionary act: hành động tạo ngôn Locutionary meaning: nghĩa mệnh đề Illocution/illocutionary act: hành động tại ngôn Illocutionary force/illocutionary meaning: lực tại ngôn Vd: Sam: ‘I am thirsty’ (=’give me something to drink, please’) Annie: ‘I’ll bring you a glass of water’  The locutionary meaning of ‘I am thirsty’ is I am suffering from my thirst  The illocutionary meaning is Sam indirectly requests Annie to give him something to drink Jane: ‘can you shut the window?’ (‘shut the window please’) Husband: ‘certainly’  The locutionary meaning of ‘can you shut the window ?’ is I wonder whether you are able to shut the window  The illocutionary meaning is Jane indirectly request husband to shut the window Classification- 5 main types 1. THE REPRESENTATIVE: hành động biểu hiện - Describe a state of affair in the world: asserting, stating, claiming, affirming, making hypotheses, describing, predicting, reporting, etc. - Can generally be characterized as being true of false Vd: Tom: ‘where are you from?’ David: ‘I’m from Canada’  It is a representative: David directly gives a pieces of information concerning where he was born and grew up Teacher: ‘there are only two seasons in the south: the dry seasons and the rainy season’ Student1: ‘then, each season is exactly six months long?’ Student2: ‘is there any transitional period between them?’  It is a representative: the teacher directly informs his/her student of what the weather is like in the south

2. THE COMMISSIVE: hành động cam kết - To commits the speaker to a course of action: promising , vowing, threatening, offering, etc. Vd: ‘if you don’t stop fighting, I’ll call the police’ ‘call them at once to turn your brother in’  It is a commissive : it directly threaten to call the police if Bill and hẻ brother don’t stop fighting Alice: ‘author will receive my reimbursement’ Victor: ‘author always pay their debt’ (=I’ll pay you back later’) 3. THE DECLARATIVE: hành động tuyên bố Bringing about or altering the state of affairs it names: dismissing, sentencing, naming, announcing marriage, etc. Vd: Vicar: ‘I pronounce you man and wife’ [at the wedding ceremony held in a church] Minister of education: ‘I resign’ Prime minister: ‘you’ll be free from tomorrow’ (= ‘I dismiss you from your current position’  ‘I resign’ and ‘you’ll be free from tomorrow’ both of them are declarative 4. THE DIRECTIVE: hành động cầu khiến - To get the listener to carry out an action: commanding, requesting, begging, warning, challenging, inviting, suggesting, giving advice, etc. Vd: Ed: ‘the garage is a mess’ Faye: ‘clean it up’  It is a directive: Faye directly orders Ed to make the garage tidy George: ‘how about a dinner out?’ Beth: ‘my essay is due tomorrow morning’ (=’leave me alone to write essay’) 5. THE EXPRESSIVE: hành động biểu cảm - Indicates the speaker’s psychological state(s) or feeling/attitude about something: greeting, apologizing, complaining, thanking, etc. Vd: ‘I beg your pardon. I’ll be right back’ ‘no problem’ ‘this beer is disgusting’ ‘why don’t you learn to take the bad with the good?’ THE ROGATIVE: hành động cầu khiến để xin thông tin Tom: ’where are you from?’ David: ‘I’m from Canada’ Speech-act category

Typical expression

axample

Declaratives

Declarative structure with speaker as subject and a performative verb in simple present tense

We find the defendant guilty I resign

representative

Declarative structure

Tom’s eating grapes Bill was an accountant

Expressive

Declarative structure with I’, sorry to hear that. words referring to feelings This beer is disgusting

Directives

Imperative sentence (câu mệnh lệnh)

Sit down.

Rogatives

Interrogative sentence (câu nghi vấn)

Is she leaving?

commissives

Declarative structure with speaker as subject and future time expressed

I’ll call you tonight

Fasten your seat belts

We’re going to turn you in

DIRECT and INDIRECT speech act DIRECT 1a. ‘come in, please’ is a direct request 2a. ‘it is quite wrong to condone robbery’ is a direct assertion against robbery 3a. ‘you should go to the doctor’ is a direct piece of advice INDIRECT -

Often felt to be more polite ways of performing certain kinds of speech act

1b. ‘won’t you come in?’ 2b. ‘it is right to condone robbery?’ 3b. ‘why don’t you go to the doctor?’ Practice Representative: declarative Directive: cầu khiến Commissive: cam kết Expressive: biểu cảm Exercise 40- book 1: 1. 2. 3. 4.

‘let’s go to our place for a beer’  directive ‘I don’t know how to answer this question’  expressive ‘mind your head’  directive ‘how nice to see you’ expressive

5. ‘who will believe this story’  expressive (by making a Wh-question which needs no answer) 6. ‘is it right to cheat in any exam’  representative 7. Would you like a cup of coffee?’  directive 8. ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss’ expressive 9. ‘I’m dead tired now’  expressive 10. I’m awfully sorry I wasn’t at the meeting this morning’  expressive 11. ‘if you don’t try your best, you’ll fail in the exam’  commissive 12. ‘why don’t you take a seat?’  directive 13. ‘how dare you speak to her like that?’  expressive 14. ‘you look lovely today in your new dress’  expressive 15. ‘I’d sell it if I were you’  directive (=you should sell it) 16. ‘I’ll be right back’  commissive 17. ‘I beg you to reconsider your decision’  directive (=please think it over) 18. ‘do you think I’m an idiot?’  expressive 19. ‘may I hand in my final paper the day after tomorrow?’  directive 20. ‘we select Alfred as the head of our group’ commissive declarative 21. ‘I’ll pay you back in two days’ commissive 22. ‘we are going to turn you in’  commissive 23. ‘I would appreciate it if you went away’  directive (=go away) 24. ‘can I help you’ rogative (directly); commissive (indirectly) 25. ‘I’ve stopped smoking’  declarative representative 26. ‘goodness’  expressive 27. ‘drink a cup of coffee’  directive 28. ‘that doesn’t sound very serious’  expressive 29. ‘I’ve got to go now’  declarative expressive 30. ‘someone said you got fired’expressive- declarative rogative Presupposition 1. Mary has stopped beating her boyfriend  Mary has been beating her boyfriend 2. John returned to Cambridge John returned to Cambridge John has been to Cambridge before 3. John managed to give up smoking John had smoking John try to give up smoking 4. After the Allies won the war, they divided Berlin Allies divided Berlin Allies won the war 5. It was Baird who invented the television Baird invented the television 6. If I were Superman, I would be bulletproof  I am not superman