Speech Acts Study Guide

Speech Acts Overview

  • Speech acts, also known as illocutionary constructions, refer to ways in which utterances can perform actions rather than merely convey information.

Functions of Speech Acts

  • Exchange Factual Information: e.g., "The plane departs at 7:10."

  • Exchange Intellectual Information: e.g., "These arguments are correct."

  • Exchange Emotional Attitudes: e.g., "I’m worried about my term papers."

  • Exchange Moral Attitudes: e.g., "I appreciate your help."

  • Persuasion: e.g., "Hand in your assignments."

  • Socializing: e.g., "Hi, Jane, how are you?"

  • Additional functions exist beyond those listed.

Examples of Utterances and Their Functions

  1. Assertive Statements:

    • "It is raining"

    • "Is it raining?"

    • "I promise I'll give it back"

    • "Could you pass me the wine?"

    • "Drop your weapon or I'll shoot you"

    • "Stand up!"

    • "There’s a bee on your hand"

    • Further examples of utterances and their implied functions include requests and commands like:

      • "Hold my bag"

      • "Please, hold my bag"

      • "Do that again, and you won’t see the cartoons"

      • "You should buy a new car"

      • "Where is the railway station?"

      • "Would you like some beer?"

      • Other less direct assertions such as:

      • "There is a rat under your chair"

      • "I have broken your pen"

      • "This gun is loaded"

      • "You are an idiot"

      • "I love you"

Assertive Functions

  • Statements (a)-(e) mentioned are not merely for making truth-valuable claims but are to perform actions (i.e., to do things with words) that can invoke change in the world.

  • Examples like:

    • "This train connects London and Bristol"

    • "The Queen named the ship Titanic"

    • "I usually drink a lot of coke"

    • These types do not produce changes; rather, they describe states of affairs.

Identifying and Labelling Speech Acts

  • Speech acts can be identified through their corresponding verbs:

    • Example: "Have some more tea" → to offer (illocutionary force: I hereby offer you some more tea).

    • Example: "There’s a rat next to you!" → to warn (illocutionary force: I hereby warn you about the rat).

    • The HEREBY test along with illocutionary force can indicate the function of utterances.

Felicity Conditions

  • Felicity conditions establish the appropriateness conditions for a speech act's success, as per Austin's terminology:

    • For example, you cannot successfully perform the act of marrying someone unless stated by an authorized person in the correct context.

Structure of Speech Acts

Three Types of Acts:

  1. Locutionary Act: The act of saying something.

    • Producing sounds (phonetic act) following the language's grammar (phatic act), carrying meaning in accordance with semantics (rhetic act).

  2. Illocution: The act performed as the speaker utters the words, determined by social conventions.

    • E.g., asking for a cup of tea is regarded as an OFFER.

  3. Perlocution: The resultant effect of the speech act on the listener, which the speaker has limited control.

Example of Structured Speech Acts

  • Direct Instance: "Stop, or I'll shoot"

    • Locution: What is being said.

    • Illocution: The speaker's intention (threatening).

    • Perlocution: The hearer may feel frightened.

Infelicity in Speech Acts

  • A speech act may be infelicitous when:

    • Locution: Words are poorly pronounced.

    • Illocution: Lack of conditions for realization.

    • Perlocution: Producing unintended effects.

Conditions for Successful Speech Acts

  • Authority: The speaker must have requisite authority for certain speech acts. E.g., "I dub you Sir John" must be said by a monarch.

  • Context: Every speech act must occur at the right time and context, failure may lead to a misfire or abuse.

    • E.g., stating "I declare you man and wife" necessitates proper timing and proper context to be successful.

Illocutionary Force

  • Directly: e.g., "Close the door."

  • Indirectly: e.g., "Can you close the door?"

    • Direct Illocutionary Force Example: "I order you to be quiet."

    • Indirect Illocutionary Force Example: Contextual utterances carry various meanings depending on structure and intention.

Examples of Indirectness in Speech Acts

  • The conversation can include various requests communicated indirectly:

    • E.g., "Could you please close the window?" cannot be considered straightforwardly as an order but rather a polite suggestion.

Politeness in Speech Acts

  • Indirect requests enhance politeness and reduce face-threatening acts, which is significant in interactions.

    • Variations in phrasing based on contextual familiarity:

      • "Could you do me a favor?"

      • "Come on, do me a favor."

      • Politeness is Contextually dependent:

      • More formal requests using modal verbs, e.g., "Would you mind…?"

      • Indirect suggestions like, “I was wondering if…”.

Taxonomy of Speech Acts by John Searle (1975)

Types of Speech Acts:

  1. Representatives: Assert, declare, or explain.

  2. Expressives: Convey attitudes or emotions (e.g., "Thank you").

  3. Directives: Get the hearer to perform something (e.g., requests, orders).

  4. Commissives: Commit to a future action (e.g., "I promise").

  5. Declaratives: Change real-world situations (e.g., "Class dismissed").

Direction of Fit in Speech Act Types

  • Direction of fit mainly describes the relationship between utterances and the surrounding reality:

    • Representatives: Make words fit the world (S believes X).

    • Expressives: Make words fit the world (S feels X).

    • Commissives: Make the world fit the words (S intends X).

    • Directives: Make the world fit the words (S wants X).

    • Declaratives: Words change the world (S causes X).

Grammatical Treatment of Speech Acts

  • The core structure involves three forms:

    • Declarative: goals of imparting information.

    • Imperative: to elicit action.

    • Interrogative: to gather information.

  • These grammatical forms depict different communicative goals based on speaker intentions.

Syntactic Prototypes & Indirectness

  • Speech acts also involve indirectness, where utterances might serve one function cloaked as another.

  • Example of conversion processes illustrates how the expression can vary based on context:

    • A declarative can become a request, e.g., "It’s cold outside" could serve to both state the temperature and request action to close a window.

Metonymy and Illocutionary Scenarios

  • Understanding illocutionary force is grounded in cognitive functions like metonymy, where interpretations are also influenced by context:

    • E.g., "Can you X?" could indicate a question about ability or a polite request, depending on phrasing and context.

  • The suggestive and offering speech act scenarios navigate various forms that express similar intentions through different structures.

Thanking Strategies

  • Thanking reflects various attitudes categorized around typical components:

    • Core gratitude expressed via direct phrases like "Thank you!"

    • Intensifiers to heighten expressions of appreciation, showing importance and emphasis.

    • Situations that provide rapport and foster social bonds through expression.

Conclusion

  • The structure of speech acts is complex, involving direct and indirect forces, contextual implications, and social dynamics dictated by politeness and authority.

  • Different classification systems, like Searle's taxonomy, help to dissect these communicative functions for a better understanding of everyday interactions.