Speech Acts and Communication – Quick Notes

Types of Speech Acts

  • Definition: An utterance a speaker makes to achieve an intended effect; examples include offering an apology, greeting, requesting, giving a complaint, invitation, compliment, or simply expressing refusal.

  • Locutionary, Illocutionary, Perlocutionary:

    • Locutionary Act: actual act of uttering (e.g., "Please do the dishes.")

    • Illocutionary Act: social function of what is said (e.g., requesting someone to wash the dishes)

    • Perlocutionary Act: the effect on the listener (e.g., the dishes get washed)

  • Indirect Speech Acts: occur when there is no direct connection between the form of the utterance and the intended meaning.

  • Performatives: statements that perform an action by stating them (e.g., "I now pronounce you husband and wife" by an authorized person).

Classifications of Speech Acts

  • Assertive: expresses belief about the truth of a proposition (e.g., suggesting, swearing, putting forward, boasting, concluding).

  • Directive: tries to make the addressee perform an action (e.g., asking, ordering, requesting, inviting, advising, begging).

  • Commissive: commits the speaker to doing something in the future (e.g., promising, planning, vowing, betting).

  • Expressive: expresses feelings or emotional reactions (e.g., thanking, apologizing, welcoming, deploring).

  • Declaration: brings a change in the external situation (e.g., blessing, firing, baptizing, bidding, passing a sentence, excommunicating).

Communication Strategies

  • Nomination: introduces a topic to be discussed and collaboratively established.

  • Restriction: responses limited by a standard or speaker’s limitations.

  • Turn-taking: stops talking to give others a chance to speak.

  • Topic Control: leads the conversation and keeps it flowing on topic.

  • Topic Shifting: introduces a new topic.

  • Repair: addresses problems in speaking, listening, or comprehension.

  • Termination: close-initiating expressions that end a topic.

Types of Speech Styles

  • Intimate: between close relationships with private meanings.

  • Casual: among friends; slang; easily understood.

  • Consultative: everyday conversations; professional or mutually acceptable language.

  • Formal: one-way transmission; little participation.

  • Frozen: ceremonial or unchanging; examples include constitutions, prayers.

Nature of Communication and Elements

  • Nature:

    • It is a process

    • Occurs between two or more people

    • Expressed through written or spoken words, actions (nonverbal), or both

  • Elements:

    • Speaker: source of information

    • Message: content conveyed

    • Encoding: turning thoughts into communication

    • Channel: medium of transmission (spoken or written)

    • Decoding: interpreting the message

    • Receiver: recipient of the message

    • Feedback: reactions or responses

    • Context: environment of the communication

    • Barrier: factors distorting the message

Process of Communication

  • Sender encodes idea into words, symbols, or gestures.

  • Message results from encoding.

  • Message is sent through a channel.

  • Receiver decodes the message.

  • Barrier may distort the message.

  • Feedback occurs when the receiver responds, helping assess understanding.

Barriers to Communication

  • Noise

  • Emotional Barriers

  • Use of Jargon

  • Lack of Confidence

Models of Communication

  • Shannon-Weaver Model:

    • Mother of all models; does not include feedback.

    • Elements: Source (producer of message), Transmitter (encoder into signals), Channel (signals for transmission), Receiver (decoder from signal).

  • Transactional Model:

    • Two-way communication with feedback and content; interactive; shows how barriers (e.g., noise) disrupt the process.

  • Schramm Model:

    • Schramm (1954) modified the Shannon-Weaver Model.

Effective Communication Skills

  • Active Listening: give full attention, maintain eye contact, ask clarifying questions.

  • Clear Message: concise and accurate.

  • Nonverbal Communication: body language, facial expressions, tone.

  • Emotional Intelligence: recognize/manage emotions; empathize.

  • Adaptability: adjust style to context and audience.

Intercultural Communication and Communication Principles

  • Intercultural communication requires understanding cultural differences, contextual awareness, and adaptability; develop cross-cultural competence, emotional intelligence, and linguistic awareness.

  • 6 Cs:

    • Completeness: provide all needed information for response/evaluation

    • Conciseness: be direct and to the point

    • Consideration: account for the receiver's mood, background, needs

    • Courtesy: respect culture, values, beliefs

    • Clearness: use simple, specific words; focus on one objective

    • Correctness: grammar accuracy