PRAGMATICS 2

Outline A. Recap B. Austin - the structure of the Speech Act

C. Searle's theory of Speech Acts

A. RECAP

Performative/constatives? Explicit performatives / primary (implicit) performatives? Can we say that constatives are primary performatives? What is their

force?

B. THE STRUCTURE OF THE SPEECH ACT

To utter something - orally or in writing - is to do something. This is the central insight of the theory of Speech Acts.

Although this idea seems relatively straightforward, it raises questions about how the Hearer determines the sort of act the Speaker intended to perform, how the Herer determines the Speaker's intention.

The speech act: the act one carries out when uttering a sentence (stating, warning, promising, naming, etc.)

1. The facets of the speech act

The utterance in (1a) can be reported in at least 4 ways (b-e)

(1) a. John: 'I will come to your party!'

b. John said: 'I your come to will party!'c. John said: 'I will come to your party!'d. John said that he accepted my invitation.e. John promised he would come to my party.f. I was happy that he accepted my invitation.

b. - direct speech: we repeat the words uttered by the speaker, but jumbled upc. - direct speech: repeat the words uttered in the right order

d. - indirect speech: we focus on the meaning, we do not repeat the words uttered by the speakere. - using a performative verb we underline what the speaker has done by uttering the respective words, i.e. his speech act.f. - the hearer's response to the utterance

(1) => several dimensions of uttering (1a):

- uttering the sounds (words) - uttering the sounds (words) in a certain order, following certain syntactic rules- uttering words with a certain meaning- uttering words with a specific intention (illocutionary force), e.g., to promise, to accept an invitation, etc.- the effect of the words on the speaker

J.L. Austin (1962) How To Do Things With Words => The speech act is a complex communicative act involving the simultaneous performance of several acts. When we perform a speech act we perform three types of acts simultaneously: a locutionary act, an illocutionary act, and a perlocutionary act.

The structure of a speech act (SA):

1) a locutionary act - the act of saying2) an illocutionary act - the act the speaker has performed in saying what s/he said: (1) - accepting an invitation;3) a perlocutionary act: the act that is carried out by saying something: (1) - causing the H to feel happy

N.B. These acts are not to be understood as being separate parts of a Speech Acts, but rather as dimensions of the same SA.

1.1. The locutionary act (or the locution)

Definition

LA = the act of saying smth: 'the utterance of certain noises, the utterance of certain words in a certain construction, and the utterance of them with a certain meaning' (Austin 1962)

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The locutionary act is the basic linguistic act of uttering a string of sounds that follows the syntactic rules of the language and has a meaning in that particular language.

(2) I'm cold.

The locutionary act here is the act of uttering a series of sounds that is stringed together following the syntax of English, and has a meaning. The meaning (proposition) is that I refer to myself, as the Subject, and I predicate coldness of myself.

Q: Does the utterance in (1b) count as a locutionary act? What about 1 (a, c-f)?

1.2. The illocutionary act (or the illocution)

Speech acts are always produced with the intention to attain a certain purpose.

The illocutionary act refers to the intentions of the speaker regarding what act they intended to perform by means of making that utterance. The illocutionary act refers to what the Speaker wants to do in producing an utterance.

(2) can be intended to perform many acts, depending on the speaker's intentions and the context.

(2) I'm cold. - can be intended:(a) as a statement(b) an invitation - "Come over and snuggle"(c) a request - "Close the window!"

Definition of IA

This act that the speaker is intending to perform (e.g. the act of stating, inviting, requesting) is called the illocutionary act, and expresses the illocutionary force of an utterance (i.e. its communicative purpose).

Nota Bene! Illocutionary force & proposition should not be confused

There is a distinction between the proposition expressed by a sentence and the (illocutionary) force of the utterance.

The proposition => the meaning of sentences = more specifically, referring to smb and predicating a property of it

The illocutionary force of an utterance - what the utterance is meant as (order, question) ]

Examples of illocutionary acts: accusing, admitting, apologizing,challenging, complaining, condoling (expressing sympathy), congratulating, declining, denying, deploring, giving permission, giving way, greeting, leavetaking, mocking, naming, offering, praising, promising, proposing marriage, protesting, recommending, refusing, requesting, surrendering, stating, thanking, toasting.

In determining what was the illocutionary act intended by the Speaker, Hearers have to take the context into consideration.

(3) It's going to rain.-> even though we understand the meaning of the sentence, it is not very

clear if it is meant as a statement or as a warning. The context clarifies this.

To conclude

Austin states that the locutionary act is the performance of an act of saying something, whereas the illocutionary act is the performance of an act in saying something. The locutionary act is the act of saying something with a certain meaning and reference, whereas the illocutionary act is what you intend to do by means of saying it.

What is the illocutionary act in (4)

(4) a. ‘IQ tests can be tricky’ b. ‘It’s not true that Michael Jackson is dead.

c. ‘It’ll be a stormy week’d. ‘I’ll join you at the country club.’e. ‘Could I use your phone, please?’f. ‘Thank you all for being here tonight!'g. ‘Can we do lunch sometime next week?’h. ‘Get out of my face!’

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i. ‘You may be excused.’j. ‘I name this ship Queen Anne’k. ‘I swear loyalty to my master and commander’.l. 'Would you like a cup of coffee?'m. 'After you!' (said to someone wishing to go through

the same door as the speaker)n. ‘You can play outside for half an hour’o. ‘Good evening’p. ‘Good night’

1.3. The perlocutionary act

When a speaker produces an utterance with a certain purpose, he wants it to have an effect on the hearer.

Austin (1962:101): 'saying something will often, or even normally, produce certain consequential effects upon the feelings, thoughts, or actions of the audience, or of the speaker, or of other persons: and it may be done with the design, intention, or purpose of producing them.'

Definition

PA = the act through which the speaker affects the hearer in one way or another; the effect of uttering a specific locution, what is brought about or achieved by saying something, e.g. convincing, persuading, surprising, intimidating smb.

(5) Tom: 'I will show you what I'm capable of!'- PA: He intimidated me by threatening to show me what he was capable of.

What could be the perlocutionary act of the following utterances?

(6) a. Lecturer to student: ‘You’ll find the book on Swahili infinitives quite fascinating’

...............................................................................................................................b. Child to playground supervisor: ‘Miss, Billy just swore at me.

He told me to piss off’

...............................................................................................................................c. One chess player to another: ‘I just made a bad move’

...............................................................................................................................

d. Policeman to man in the street: ‘Good evening, Sir. Do you live around here?’

...............................................................................................................................

How do the three acts work together?

(7) Help her!

Locution: He said to me 'Help her!'Illocution: He urged (or advised/ordered) me to help her.Perlocution - a: He persuaded me to help her.Perlocution - b: He made me help her.

(8) You can't do that.Locution: He said to me, 'You can't do that,'Illocution: He protested against my doing it.Perlocution - a: He stopped me.Perlocution - b: He annoyed me.

Q: Does a PA always reflect the speaker's intentions and illocutionary force of their speech act?

Perlocutionary effects may be intended or uninteded - locutions like blunder, make a faux pas, drop a brick - unintended perlocutionary effects.

C. SEARLE'S THEORY OF SPEEACH ACTS

J.R. Searle (1932 - ) - American philosopher (University of California, Berkeley). Speech Acts (1969): his own theory on 'illocutionary acts' (having been introduced in How To Do Things with Words by Austin)

- Rules/felicity conditions for promises and other speech acts- Classification of illocutionary acts

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1. Main tenets of Searle's theory of SAs

1) the basic unit of verbal communication is the speech act (not the word, or sentence), i.e. the utterance of a word or sentence with a certain communicative intention (i.e. force)

2) Speech Acts are not produced in a random way, all SA abide by certain rules

Just as it is possible for a sentence to be ungrammatical if it violates the rules of syntax, it is possible for a speech act to be infelicitous if it violates the rules governing speech acts.

3) Since SAs are interpreted in context, and depend on the S's intentions, there are contextual and intentional restrictions on the use of a SA.

Remember that Austin listed the following felicity conditions for performatives:

(i) There must be a conventional procedure having a conventional effect, certain words must be uttered, by certain persons, under certain circumstances.

(ii) The circumstances and persons must be appropriate, as specified in the procedure.

(ii) The procedure must be executed correctly and completely by all participants.

(iv) The sincerity condition the persons must have the appropriate thoughts, feelings and intentions, as specified in the procedure.

Searle (1965) expands on Austin's felicity conditions using the speech act of promising as his model.

Searle asks: - under which conditions are speech acts produced? - what are the semantic rules that regulate the production of that speech act?

Searle believes that for a SA to be felicitous it needs to observe the following types of rules:

(9) Rules for the felicity of a SA

1) the propositional content rule focuses only upon the semantic content of the sentence uttered (i.e. the proposition/propositional content/meaning of the sentence)2) the preparatory rules focus upon background circumstances3) the sincerity rule focuses upon the S’s psychological state4) the essential rule focuses upon the purpose of the illocutionary act

2. Rules for Promises

(10) I will get you home!

Rule 1 the propositional-content rule

1) A speech act is a promise only if the sentence predicates some future act of the speaker

Rules 2 & 3 preparatory rules

2) A speech act counts as a promise only if- the hearer would prefer the speaker's doing the future act to his not doing it- the speaker also believes that the hearer would prefer his doing the future act to his not doing it

3) A speech act counts as a promise only if it is not obvious to both hearer and speaker that the future act will be done by the speaker as part of the normal course of events.

Rule 4 the sincerity rule

4) A SA counts as a promise only if the speaker indends to do the future act

Rule 5 the essential rule

5) A SA counts as a promise only if it counts as the undertaking of an obligation to do a future act

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3. Rules for Assertions

(11) It is snowing. - we state/assert that a proposition is true

Rule 1 the propositional-content rule

1) Any proposition can be expressed through an assertive SA

Rules 2 & 3 preparatory rules

2) the speaker must have some evidence for supposing that the asserted proposition is true

3) It is not obvious to both S and H that H knows the proposition expressed by the SA

Rule 4 the sincerity rule

4) A SA counts as an assertion if the speaker believes the proposition

Rule 5 the essential rule

5) The SA is an assertion if it counts as undertaking that the expressed proposition is true

4. Rules for Questions

(12) a. Do you sell wine here?b. Where can I find some good recipes for lasagne?

Rule 1 the propositional-content rule

1) any proposition can be questioned

Rules 2 & 3 preparatory rules

2) The SA is a question only if the Speaker does not know the answer

for a YES/No Q (12a), S does not know whether the proposition is true or false

for an elicitative wh-Q (12b), S does not know the missing information needed to complete the proposition.

3) The SA is a real question only if it is not obvious to both S and H that H will provide the information without being asked.

Rule 4 the sincerity rule

4) A SA counts as a question only if the S wants this information

Rule 5 the essential rule

5) A SA is a question is it counts as an attempt to elicit information from the Hearer.

5. Rules for REQUESTS

(13) Can you get me a glass of water?

Rule 1 the propositional-content rule

1) A speech act is a request if the S predicates a future act A of the H.

Rules 2 & 3 preparatory rules

2) A speech act counts as a request only if- the H is able to perform the future act;- the S believes H is able to do the future act- It is not obvious to both S and H that H will do A in the normal course of events, of his own accord

Rule 4 the sincerity rule A speech act is a request if S wants H to do A

Rule 5 the essential rule

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A speech act is a request if the utterance counts as an attempt by S to get H to do A.

To sum up1) the propositional content rule focuses only upon the semantic content2) the executive/preparatory rules focus upon background circumstances3) the sincerity rule focuses upon the S’s psychological state4) the fulfilment/essential rule focuses upon the purpose of the illocutionary act

D. THE CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH ACTS

1. Criteria for the classification of SAs

3 essential criteria for the classification of speech acts (among others proposed by Searle 1979 ‘A Taxonomy of Speech Acts’ ):

- the illocutionary point of the speech act- the direction of fit between the words and the world- the expressed psychological state

1.1. The illocutionary point of the speech act

'If we adopt illocutionary point as the basic notion on which to classify uses oflanguage, then there are a rather limited number of basic things we do withlanguage; we tell people how things are, we try to get them to do things, wecommit ourselves to doing things, we express our feelings and attitudes, andwe bring about changes through our utterances. Often we do more than oneof these at once in the same utterance' (Searle 1975: 369)

The illocutionary point of a SA =......................................

(14) a. Lock the doorb. Oil floats on water.c. I’ll clean my room, mum!

The illocutionary point of - an order: get the Hearer to ............ something; The illocutionary point of - an assertion: get the Hearer to .......... something

The illocutionary point of - a promise: a .................... by the Speaker to perform some future act

Illocutionary force vs. illocutionary point

Q: Is the illocutionary point of a SA the same as its illocutionary force?

(15) a. Bring me a glass of water! (.........)b. Could you please give me a glass of water? (..............)

1.2. Direction of fit between the words and the world [direcţia de ajustare]

words - the words uttered, the world - the world referred to.

Some illocutions have as part of their illocutionary point to get the words (more strictly, their propositional content) to match the world, others to get the world to match the words.

(16) a. The skirt is red.b. I’ll bring you some candy when I come home.

word-to-world direction of fit (get the words to fit the world) world-to-word direction of fit (get the world to fit the word)

1) assertions - have as part of their point to get the words to match the world= word-to-world direction of fit2) promises - have as part of their point to get the world to match the words= world-to-word direction of fit

The direction of fit is a consequence of the illocutionary point of a speech act.

Q: What about descriptions, requests, vows, explanations, commands, statements?

1.3. The expressed psychological state

In the performance of any illocutionary act with a propositional content, the speaker expresses some attitude, state, etc., to that propositional content.

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a man who states, explains, asserts or claims that p expresses the belief that p;

a man who promises, vows, threatens or pledges to do the act aexpresses an intention to do a;

a man who orders, commands, requests the hearer to do an act a expresses a desire (want, wish) that H do a;

a man who apologizes for doing a expresses regret at having donea

2. Classes of illocutionary acts

Basic sentence types: declarative (affirmative), interrogative, imperative

(17) a. You are wearing a dress. b. Are you wearing a dress? c. Wear a dress!

Classes of illocutionary acts or speech acts

1) Assertives

(18) a. The earth is flat.b. The lesson is too tiring.

- the illocutionary point of an assertive is to commit the speaker to the fact that something is true, to the truth of the expressed proposition

- direction of fit: words to the world - make the words fit the world- the expressed psychological state: belief- characteristic syntactic pattern: - a declarative sentence- they have a truth value- characteristic PF verbs for assertives: assert, state, claim, report,

confirm, confess, boast, claim

The simplest test of an assertive: can you characterize it (inter alia) as true or false?

2) Directives

(19) a. Can you get me some coffee?b. Don't touch that!c. It would be bettter if you reconsidered your position.

- the illocutionary point is to get the hearer to do a certain action. - the direction of fit: world-to-words - make the world fit the words- the expressed psychological state: want/desire- the propositional content is always that the hearer H does

some future action - should be controllable (within the power of the hearer),

Q: What about questions?

- characteristic PF verbs for this class are ask, order, command, request, beg, plead, pray, entreat, invite, permit, advise, dare, defy, challenge, insist

NB. Searle insists that he is classifying illocutionary acts, not verbs. The PF verbs advise, suggest, tell - can be used in either assertive or directive speech acts

(20) a. She advised us that there had been a mistake.b. She advised us to arrive early.c. She suggested that we should arrive early.d. She suggested that there had been a mistake.e. She told us to arrive early.f. She told us that there had been a mistake.

3) Commissives

(21) I promise to do it.

- the illocutionary point is to commit the speaker (in some varying degrees) to some future action,

- the direction of fit: world-to-word- the expressed psychological state : intention (the speaker expresses the

intention that the he will do the act a)

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- the propositional content is always that the speaker S does some future action.

- prototypical PF verbs: promising, threatening, offering, vowing, swear

Q: Directives vs Commissives – similarities/differences?

4) Expressives

(22) a. I congratulate you on winning the raceb. I thank you for helping me.c. I am sorry for being lated. Ouch/Damn!

- the illocutionary point is to express the Speaker’s attitude/psychological state to a certain state of affairs referred to in the propositional content

- prototypical cases: thank, apologise, welcome, congratulate, condole, deplore.

Q: is there a direction of fit for expressives?

'In performing an expressive, the speaker is neither trying to get the world to match the words nor the words to match the world, rather the truth of the expressed proposition is presupposed.' (Searle)

- a variety of different psychological states: gratitude, admiration, regret

5) Declarations

(23) a. I find you guilty as charged.b. I now pronounce you man and wife.c. I appoint you chairman.d. War is hereby declared.

Q: this class corresponds to Austin's class of .................................. (?)

- the successful performance of the illocutionary act creates a new reality - brings about the correspondence between the propositional content and reality,

- direction of fit: the performance of a declarative brings about a fit by its very successful performance - if I successfully perform the act of declaring a state of war, then war is on

direction of fit - both word-to-world and world-to-words- they have no expressed psychological state- they rely heavily on extralinguistic conventions- PF verbs: call, declare, baptize, define, name, appoint, elect, pronounce

Q: SAs and classes of speech acts in (24)?

(24) a. A date is a job-interview that lasts all night.b. You are fired.c. I want you to put Hank Wiggen on the transplant list.d. I resign.e. He needs a new kidney.f. I excommunicate you.g. I’ll speak to my friend at the Daily Mail about your

incompetence!h. I deplore the heavy use of cars by members of our club.i. Isn’t he great?

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