Discourse and Pragmatics Speech Acts Lecture 4: Paltridge, pp

Objectives  Students should be able to: 1. Show understanding of the basic notion behind speech acts as ‘doing things’ through language. 2. Identify the different types of acts: locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary. 3. Define the different categories of speech acts. 4. Identify the illocutionary acts of utterances when provided with sufficient context. 5. Demonstrate understanding of the behavior of speech acts in discourse.

Speech Acts  Austain: How to Do Things with Words  Searle: Speech Acts  The basic notion: We use language to ‘do things’, not just to refer to the truth or falsity of particular statements. ? What kinds of things?

We make requests We ask questions We give orders We make promises We give warnings We give advice We make threats

 Austin refers to three types of acts: 1. Locutionary acts: literal meaning of the actual words 2. Illocutionary acts: intention of the speaker when uttering the words 3. Perlocutionary acts: the effect the utterance has upon the thoughts or actions of recipients.

Example: Bus driver to boys on the bus: “This bus won’t move until you boys move in out of the doorway” 1. Locutionary acts: ? 2. Illocutionary acts: ? 3. Perlocutionary acts: ?

Categories of Speech Acts Source: Parker, F & Riley, K. (1994). Linguistics for Non-Linguists. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.  1. Representatives: Utterances which are used to describe some state of affairs. Examples: stating, informing, predicting, notifying.  2. Directives: Utterance which are used to get the hearer to do something (or not to something). Examples: requesting, ordering, forbidding, advising, suggesting, insisting, recommending.

 3. Questions: Utterances which are used to get the hearer to provide information. Examples: asking, inquiring.  4. Commissives: Utterances which are used to commit the hearer to do some act. Examples: promising, volunteering, offering, guaranteeing.

 5. Expressives: Utterances which are used to express the emotional state of the speaker. Examples: apologizing, thanking, congratulating, condoling, welcoming. 6. Declarations: Utterances which are used to change the status of some entity: the status of some entity changes by the mere uttering of the words. Examples: naming (naming a ship, an institution), appointing, resigning, firing, marrying, divorcing (in the Islamic culture).

General Observations  A. It is not always easy to identify the illocutionary force/act of what is being said: -It may depend on the stage of the discourse, where in the discourse the utterance occurs. Example: -OK -It may depend on the social and situational context of the utterance.

B. One illocutionary act may spread over several utterances. Example: p. 56. C. One utterance may have more than illocutionary force/ may express more than one illocutionary act.

 Example: Chair of a committee to members: We have a meeting tomorrow at 9 in my office. Illocutionary acts: 1. Informing them 2. Requesting them to be there

Direct/ Indirect Speech Acts Most of our illocutionary acts are expressed indirectly. Waiter: Can I take your order now? Illoc. Act: Offer / Syntactic Form: Interrogative=> Indirect Customer: Can I have one hamburger with fries? Illoc. Act: Request / Syntactic Form: Interrogative=> Indirect The room needs to be cleaned Act: Request / Syntactic Form: Declarative=> Indirect