scholarly journals Utterance meaning and syntactic ellipsis

1997 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Stainton
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Semantic Type ◽  
Contextual Features

Speakers often use ordinary words and phrases, unembedded in any sentence, to perform speech acts—or so it appears. In some cases appearances are deceptive: The seemingly lexical/phrasal utterance may really be an utterance of a syntactically eplliptical sentence. I argue however that, at least sometimes, plain old words and phrases are used on their own. The use of both words/phrases and elliptical sentences leads to two consequences: 1. Context must contribute more to utterance meaning than is often supposed. Here's why: The semantic type of normal words and phrases is non-proppositional, even after the usual contextual features are added (e.g., reference assignment and disambiguation). Yet an utterance of a word/phrase can be fully propositional. 2. Often, a hearer does not need to know the exact identity of the expression uttered, to understand an utterance. The reason: Typically, words/phrases in context will sound the same, and mean the same, as some elliptical sentence token.

Speech Acts in Discourse Context

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craige Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Language Game ◽  
Illocutionary Force ◽  
Semantic Type ◽  
Discourse Context ◽  
Semantics And Pragmatics ◽  
Consensus View ◽  
Grammatical Mood ◽  
The Relationship

This essay sketches an approach to speech acts in which mood does not semantically determine illocutionary force. The conventional content of mood determines the semantic type of the clause in which it occurs, and, given the nature of discourse, that type most naturally lends itself to a particular type of speech act, i.e. one of the three basic types of language game moves—making an assertion (declarative), posing a question (interrogative), or proposing to one’s addressee(s) the adoption of a goal (imperative). There is relative consensus about the semantics of two of these, the declarative and interrogative; and this consensus view is entirely compatible with the present proposal about the relationship between the semantics and pragmatics of grammatical mood. Hence, the proposal is illustrated with the more controversial imperative.

Force and Conversational States

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Murray ◽  
William B. Starr
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Language Game ◽  
Illocutionary Force ◽  
Semantic Type ◽  
Grammatical Mood

This essay sketches an approach to speech acts in which mood does not semantically determine illocutionary force. The conventional content of mood determines the semantic type of the clause in which it occurs, and, given the nature of discourse, that type most naturally lends itself to serving as a particular type of speech act, that is, to serving as one of the three basic types of language game moves-making an assertion (declarative); posing a question (interrogative); or proposing to one’s addressee(s) the adoption of a goal (imperative). This type of semantics for grammatical mood is illustrated with the imperative.

scholarly journals A comparative study of formulaic expressions in textbooks of Turkish as a foreign language

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nahide Arslan ◽  
Mustafa Mavaşoğlu
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Contextual Features

The aim of this study was to examine, in a comparative way, formulaic expressions used in textbooks of Turkish as a foreign language and to determine in which contexts and how often they are included in these textbooks. Survey model was used to obtain data from three textbooks of Turkish as a foreign language (İstanbul A1-A2, İzmir A1-A2 ve Yeni Hitit A1-A2). Formulaic expressions in these books were collected then analyzed in terms of their structural, functional, semantic and contextual features. 193 expressions that met criteria of being formulaic expressions were determined as sub-categories in the textbooks and workbooks and linked to 21 speech acts that were grouped as main categories. Results showed that textbooks may have difficulties in providing a balanced representation of interrelated formulaic expressions, a number of formulaic expressions cannot be included in textbooks although they are frequently used in everyday life and informational contents about speech acts and formulaic expressions in textbooks can be represented being carried into workbooks but they are not reinforced as they are less used in workbooks. Based on these results, suggestions were made both for authors of future textbooks and workbooks of Turkish as a foreign language and authors of future studies concerning formulaic expressions and Turkish as a foreign language.

Revisited interpretation of Ta’ārof

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 712-738
Author(s):  
Mojde Yaqubi
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Effective Factors ◽  
Contextual Features ◽  
Working Out

Abstract Speech acts used in doing ta’ārof (Iranian system of politeness) have been conceptualized in terms of both positive (i.e. sincere or genuine) and negative (i.e. ritual or ostensible) meanings. This study aimed to revisit the interpretation of the negative meaning by concentrating on ta’ārof (ritual) offers produced by characters in Iranian films. First, these items were identified and distinguished from their genuine counterparts based on the strategies used in their structures and analysing their contextual features respectively. Then, the researcher proposed a model in which she adopted the notion of Leech’s (1983) meta-implicature (indirect implicature) to explicate the negative meaning of ta’ārof offers. She grouped a series of effective factors in working out these meta-implicatures. Finally, a tentative hierarchy of stages for identification and interpretation of ta’ārof offers in Iranian films were proposed.

"Let's do lunch sometime": An analysis of ostensible speech acts

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen E. Link ◽  
Roger J. Kreuz ◽  
Jackie Soto
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts

Orientalist Speech-acts and Israeli Middle East Studies: Cautions and Criticisms of Edward Said Beyond the Battle of Ideas

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-237
Author(s):  
Eyal Clyne
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Edward Said ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Academic World ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Theories ◽  
Middle East Studies

Drawing on speech acts theory, this article discusses the illocutionary and perlocutionary forces of discursive practices with which certain academic circles seek to discredit the Saidian ‘Orientalism’ framework. Identifying the unusual value attached to Said as object of attachment or detachment, desirability and exceptionality, this analysis turns away from deliberations about ‘orientalism’ as a party in a battle of ideas, and studies common cautionary statements and other responses by peers as actions in the social (academic) world, that enculture and police expectations. Cautioning subjects about this framework, or conditioning its employment to preceding extensive pre-emptive complicating mitigations, in effect constructs this framework as undesirable and ‘risky’. While strong discursive reactions are not uncommon in academia, comparing them to treatments of less-controversial social theories reveals formulations, meanings and attentions which are arguably reserved for this ‘theory’. Conclusively, common dismissals, warnings and criticisms of Said and ‘Orientalism’ often exemplify Saidian claims, as they deploy the powerful advantage of enforcing hegemonic, and indeed Orientalist, views.

Pragmatic instruction in L2-Russian

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-95
Author(s):  
Daniele Artoni ◽  
Valentina Benigni ◽  
Elena Nuzzo
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Written Discourse ◽  
Instructional Treatment ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
National Corpus ◽  
Pragmatic Instruction

Over the last three decades, a growing number of studies have investigated the effects of instruction on the acquisition of pragmatic features in L2. The bulk of this research has focused mainly on the teaching of English as a second/foreign language. However, instructional pragmatic studies in L2-Russian are lacking. The main purpose of our study is to contribute towards filling this gap by analysing the effects of pragmatic instruction on the acquisition of two speech acts by Italian learners of Russian. Furthermore, we aim to explore whether the Multimodal Russian Corpus (MURCO), a multimedia subcorpus of the Russian National Corpus, can be an effective tool for teaching speech acts in L2-Russian. Our research was composed of one experimental group (n = 18) and one control group (n = 11); each was composed of two intact classes of Italian university students at an intermediate level of L2-Russian, who were pre- and post-tested using a written discourse completion task. The experimental group was subjected to a programme of pragmatic instruction – eight thirty-minute MURCO-based lessons devoted to requests and advice, while the control group was taught according to the standard syllabus, that is, with no pragmatic instruction. The results revealed that the use of the target pragmatic features varied significantly in the experimental group, but not in the control group, thus showing a general positive effect of the instructional treatment based on the MURCO corpus. However, some limitations were identified with regard to the usability of this tool by teachers and learners.

Speech Acts by the Governor Candidates of North Sumatera in Political Debates

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidya Dwi Amalia Zati ◽  
Sumarsih Sumarsih ◽  
Lince Sihombing
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Direct Speech ◽  
Dominant Type ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
The Way ◽  
Descriptive Qualitative

The objectives of the research were to describe the types of speech acts used in televised political debates of governor candidates of North Sumatera, to derive the dominant type of speech acts used in televised political debates of governor candidates of North Sumatera and to elaborate the way of five governor candidates of North Sumatera use speech acts in televised political debates. This research was conducted by applying descriptive qualitative research. The findings show that there were only four types of speech acts used in televised political debates, Debat Pemilukada Sumatera Utara and Uji Publik Cagub dan Cawagub Sumatera Utara, they were assertives, directives, commissives and expressives. The dominant type of speech acts used in both televised political debates was assertives, with 82 utterances or 51.6% in Debat Pemilukada Sumatera Utara and 36 utterances or 41.37% in Uji Publik Cagub dan Cawagub Sumatera Utara. The way of governor candidates of North Sumatera used speech acts in televised political debates is in direct speech acts, they spoke straight to the point and clearly in order to make the other candidates and audiences understand their utterances.   Keywords: Governor Candidate; Political Debate; Speech Acts

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