Formal ontology for discourse analysis of a corpus of court interpreting

Babel ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-618
Author(s):  
Adam Pease ◽  
Jennifer Cheung Pease ◽  
Andrew K. F. Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Order Logic ◽  
New Method ◽  
Formal Ontology ◽  
Higher Order Logic ◽  
Semantic Relationships ◽  
Court Interpreting

Abstract We develop a new method of discourse analysis using speech act theory and formal ontology. The method constitutes an attempt to make discourse analysis more formal and repeatable. We apply the method to a corpus of bi-lingual, interpreted legal dialogue, focusing on the speech act of clarification and its component acts. While discourse analysis is primarily a qualitative tool, it can be applied quantitatively by counting certain types of discourse, such as clarification speech acts. Dialogues are still analysed, utterances are classified as speech acts and their semantic relationships are qualitatively assessed. Subjectivity of human analysis is minimised using a new method of discourse analysis that employs a formal ontology. The ontology is stated in higher-order logic making the annotation of the corpus more objective, formal and repeatable than prior research.

Speech acts and conversational sequencing

1994 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Brassac
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
Conversational Analysis ◽  
Conversational Interactions ◽  
The One

The question of the use of speech act theory in accounting for conversational sequencing is discussed from the point of view of the explanation of linguistic interaction. On the one hand, this question lies at the heart of the opposition between conversational analysis and discourse analysis. On the other, it dominates the discussion around a text by Searle called "Conversation". After summarizing what is at stake in the debate, I focus on the positions of two authors, Dascal and Van Rees, who favor the idea of a possible (and necessary) combination of illocutionary logic and the analysis of conversational interactions. My own position consists in taking into account the new elements that have recently enriched illocutionary logic (particularly the integration of perlocution through the notion of satisfaction conditions) within the framework of an essentially dialogical position. The proposed approach is in agreement with the theses of these two authors and complements them with elements that satisfy their demands.

New Work on Speech Acts

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
New Work ◽  
Half Century ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Current Thinking ◽  
Semantics And Pragmatics ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Relationship

The essays collected in this book represent recent advances in our understanding of speech acts-actions like asserting, asking, and commanding that speakers perform when producing an utterance. The study of speech acts spans disciplines, and embraces both the theoretical and scientific concerns proper to linguistics and philosophy as well as the normative questions that speech acts raise for our politics, our societies, and our ethical lives generally. It is the goal of this book to reflect the diversity of current thinking on speech acts as well as to bring these conversations together, so that they may better inform one another. Topics explored in this book include the relationship between sentence grammar and speech act potential; the fate of traditional frameworks in speech act theory, such as the content-force distinction and the taxonomy of speech acts; and the ways in which speech act theory can illuminate the dynamics of hostile and harmful speech. The book takes stock of well over a half century of thinking about speech acts, bringing this classicwork in linewith recent developments in semantics and pragmatics, and pointing the way forward to further debate and research.

Sexual Harassment, Speech Acts, and Public Secrets in U.S. Higher Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Debenport
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Discursive Space ◽  
Online Conversations ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Discursive Representations

This chapter draws on data from U.S. higher education to analyze the ways that the language used to describe sexual harassment secures its continued power. Focusing on two features viewed as definitional to sexual harassment, frequency and severity, the discussion analyzes three sets of online conversations about the disclosure of abuse in academia (a series of tweets, survey responses, and posts on a philosophy blog) from grammatical, pragmatic, and semiotic perspectives. Unlike most prior research, this chapter focuses on the language of victims rather than the intentions of harassers. The results suggest that speech act theory is unable to account fully for sexual harassment without accepting the relevance of perlocutionary effects. Using Gal and Irvine’s (2019) model of axes of differentiation, the chapter demonstrates how opposing discursive representations (of professors, sexual harassers, victims, and accusers) create a discursive space in which it becomes difficult for victims to report their harassers.

scholarly journals Uttering geographies: Speech acts, felicity conditions and modes of existence

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1124-1140
Author(s):  
Miles Ogborn
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Human Speech ◽  
Everyday Talk ◽  
Modes Of Existence

The geographies of speech has become stuck in a form of interpretation which considers the potentially infinite detail of spoken performances understood within their equally infinitely complex contexts. This paper offers a way forward by considering the uses, critiques and reworkings of J.L. Austin’s speech act theory by those who study everyday talk, by deconstructionists and critical theorists, and by Bruno Latour in his AIME (‘An Inquiry into Modes of Existence’) project. This offers a rethinking of speech acts in terms of power and space, and a series of ontological differentiations between forms of utterances and enunciations beyond human speech.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Speech Acts in the Inaugural Address of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the President of the Republic of Ghana on January 7, 2021

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
John Demuyakor
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Inaugural Address ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
The Republic

Speech acts as an important element during communication, because it explains the thoughts of the speaker(s). A speech act is more about what is performed when uttering words and not about individual words or sentences that are known to form the basic elements of human communication. An attempt to do something through speaking is what is known as a speech act and a lot of things can be done through speaking. A speech act is studied under speech act theory and is found in the domain of pragmatics. Using a qualitative research design, the key objective of this study is to analyze the types of speech acts adopted in the inaugural address of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo as the President of the Republic of Ghana for his second term on the 7th January 2021. This study analyzed the Inaugural Address using Searle’s theory of speech act as a theoretical framework with emphasis on Searle’s five categories of speech act. The study showed that out of a total of 74 locutionary / Statements in the inaugural address,assertive acts are 40.5% of the utterances, commissive acts are 25.6%, while directive, expressive and declarative have small portions, of 13.5%, 12.2%, and 8.2% respectively.

scholarly journals An Investigation on How University Students’ View Lecturers’ Usage of Speech Acts in ELT context

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-43
Author(s):  
Mutiara Shasqia ◽  
Aulia Anggraini
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Specific Time ◽  
Illocutionary Acts ◽  
Communication Context ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Perlocutionary Effect

Teachers and lecturers alike understand that they must consciously use a variety of speech acts to force students to follow their instructions and be motivated to learn on their own. This paper reports the findings of a study designed to investigate the notion of the perlocutionary effect of university students in the classroom resulted from lecturers’ illocutionary acts. The acts were then analyzed the illocutionary act of the lecturers’ talk or speech during specific time using Austin’s speech act theory. This present study built its investigation from data collection on both lecturers and university students through interview and field notes. This study manage to reveals that lecturers freely use speech acts of persuading, angering, and commanding. This study believes that illocutionary acts will still have happened in our interaction's life or communication in many-many context including classroom interaction between lecturer-students communication context.

scholarly journals T/V Pronouns and FTAs in the Works of Sir Thomas Malory: Medieval Politeness and Impoliteness in Directives, Expressives, and Commissives

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-176
Author(s):  
Malwina Wiśniewska-Przymusińska
Keyword(s):  
Middle English ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Sir Thomas Malory ◽  
King Arthur ◽  
Potential Influence ◽  
Second Person ◽  
Pragmatic Research ◽  
Thomas Malory

Abstract Middle English second person pronouns thou and you (T/V) are considered to be among the means employed by medieval speakers to express their attitudes towards each other. Along with face-threatening acts, the use of these pronouns could indicate power relations or solidarity/distance between the interactants (Taavitsainen & Jucker 2003; Jucker 2010; Mazzon 2010; Bax & Kádár 2011, 2012; Jucker 2012). Using the tools available in pragmatic research, this paper attempts to provide an analysis of selected fragments from The Works of Sir Thomas Malory (Vinaver 1948 [1947]), analysed through the lens of Searle’s speech act theory (1969, 1976). The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the usage of T/V pronouns in polite or impolite contexts depends on the speech act in which they appear or not. Secondly, it looks at the presence of face-threatening acts (FTAs) and their potential influence on polite or impolite pronoun usage. Lastly, the analysis looks at the usage of FTAs within specific speech acts. The fragments used in this article were chosen from five chapters of Malory’s text: The Tale of King Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere, The Morte Arthur, The Noble Tale, and Tristram de Lyones.

scholarly journals SPEECH ACTS ANALYSIS OF DONALD TRUMP’S SPEECH

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Nura Siti Mufiah ◽  
Muhammad Yazid Nur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Illocutionary Acts ◽  
Illocutionary Act ◽  
Inaugural Speech ◽  
Descriptive Qualitative

This research deals with the types of illocutionary acts in Donald Trump’s Inaugural Speech. The research concerns with illocutionary act produced by Donald Trumps as a President of American. The aim of this research was to analyze the types of illocutionary speech act which was dominantly used in that speech. This research applied descriptive qualitative method and speech act theory by Yule. There were 63 utterances and the percentage of utterances were Representative 46%, Expressive 11%, Directive 16%, Commissive 12,7%, and Declarative 14,3%. The result showed that Donald Trump assert to the audience about the nation will be.It is found that Trump’s speech acts in his speech are intended as statement of fact and assertion. Disscussion of hopes implied in Trump’s speech acts. As seen on the table above, it can be seen that Trump hoped that his audiences would be persuaded to act 

scholarly journals TINDAK TUTUR DALAM PROSES JUAL BELI DI PASAR TRADISIONAL SURAKARTA

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ririn Linda Tunggal Sari ◽  
Sumarlam Sumarlam ◽  
Dwi Purnanto
Keyword(s):  
Formal Methods ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Note Taking ◽  
Cooperative Principle ◽  
Recording Technique ◽  
Traditional Markets ◽  
Purchase Process

<p>The objectives of this research are: to describe the forms of speech acts and to show the most dominant speech act and the reasons of its use; and to describe and define the politeness principle found in the the goods sale and purchase process at traditional markets in Surakarta.</p><p>This research used the descriptive qualitive method with the pragmatics approach. Its sources were conversations or dialogues. The data of the research were utterances and their contexts which contain speech acts and which apply the cooperative principle in the goods sale and purchase process at traditional markets in Surakarta, namely: <em>Pasar Gedhe</em> market, <em>Pasar Klewer</em> market, <em>Pasar Ledoksari</em> market, <em>Pasar Nusukan </em>market, and <em>Pasar Mojosongo</em> market. The collection of the data used the listening method. The data were collected through tapping, uninvolved conversation observation, recording technique, and note-taking techniques. They were analyzed by using the means-end techique. The result of the analysis was presented with informal and formal methods.</p><p>There are five types of speech act employed by the sellers and the buyers to express their intentions, namely: utterances, (b) verdictive utterances, (c) directive utterances, (d) commissive utterances, and phatic utterances<em>.</em> The most dominant speech act used in the goods sale and purchase process at traditional markets in Surakarta is commisive utterances as indicated by 88 data. In relation to the cooperative principle, in the goods sale and purchase process at traditional markets in Surakarta some speech acts adhere to the cooperative principle, but some violate it. The adherence to and violence of the cooperative principle are balanced in term of frequency i.e. 95 data for each. The latter is due to the intentions of the sellers and the buyers to show their politeness.</p><p>There are applications of the speech act theory, the cooperative principle, and the politeness in the dialogues between the sellers and the buyers in the the goods sale and purchase process at traditional markets in Surakarta</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Keywords:    </strong>Speech act, cooperative principle, sale and purchase process, pragmatics</p>

scholarly journals A Review of Some Speech Act Theories Focusing on Speech Acts by Searle (1969)

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
Veronica Saragi ◽  
Sikin Nuratika ◽  
Fransiska Fransiska ◽  
Maya Yolanda ◽  
Niki Ardiyanti
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Communication Studies ◽  
Conversational Analysis ◽  
John Searle ◽  
Cornell University ◽  
Christ Church ◽  
Almost All

Before John Searle wrote the book of Speech Acts, he wrote an article about “What is a Speech Act?” (in Philosophy in America, Max Black, ed. (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1965), 221–239). He was born in Denver in 1932. He spent some seven years in Oxford, beginning as an undergraduate in the autumn of 1952 with a Rhodes Scholarship, and concluding as a Lecturer in Philosophy at Christ Church. He has spent almost all of his subsequent life as Professor of Philosophy in Berkeley according to Smith (2003). This article aims to review the speech act theories by Searle (1969) to know what the theories of speech acts according to him to aid researchers understand more on how to apply it in real social life. Moreover, this article’s references are accurate (valid) and they well argued. This article is highly recommended for the philosopher, specialists and analysts in the field of pragmatics, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics and conversational analysis, communication studies who have a significant part in this study. Therefore, this paper seen the speech act theories by Searle (1969) will be more effective if we know and understand more about the speech act theories by Searle (1969) to use it in real social life.

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