scholarly journals Questioning speech acts

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 53-70
Author(s):  
Jess H.-K. Law ◽  
Haoze Li ◽  
Diti Bhadra

We investigate the sentence-final particle ho from Cantonese, which can stack on topof other sentence-final particles indicating various types of speech acts. We argue that ho is ahigher level question operator that operates at the level of speech acts. More concretely, it takesa speech act (assertion or question) and returns a new interrogative speech act asking whether theinput speech act can be felicitously performed by the addressee. We take the presence of thiskind of higher level question operator in natural language as novel evidence that a mechanism foroperating on speech acts is needed. Building on Farkas and Bruce (2009), Rawlins (2010), Bledinand Rawlins (2017), we develop a mechanism in the style of Update Semantics for operating onspeech acts.Keywords: speech acts, sentence-final particles, Cantonese, update semantics.

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Ting-Chi Wei

AbstractThis article proposes a pro analysis for split questions (SQs) in Chinese, dissimilar to the biclausal account employing focus movement and deletion in Arregi 2010 and the one employing the silent head in Kayne 2015 and Tang 2015. SQ consists of a wh-clause and a tag clause. We argue that the entire SQ is an information/confirmation-seeking question, represented by a Speech Act Phrase (SAP)-shell structure (Speas and Tenny 2003; Oguro 2017, etc.) with wh-clause in its specifier and the tag in its complement. The tag of Chinese SQ is a base-generated clause, [pro (copula) tag ma/ne], composed of an empty subject pro, an optional copula, a tag, and a final particle, instead of being derived from a fully-fledged structure parallel to the wh-part akin to those of English and Spanish SQs. Such a pro analysis overcomes difficulties encountered in the other accounts regarding the distribution of the final particles and their clause-typing, the optionality of the copula, the ubiquitous uses of tag, the connectivity effects, and the island-insensitivity. Analytically, two seeming variants of SQ imply that the derivation of an SQ depends on whether its tag moves and whether a copula exists.


2021 ◽  
pp. 157-168
Author(s):  
Lawrence M. Solan

This chapter explores the relationship between how natural language expresses degrees of certainty in the truth of an assertion on the one hand, and how the law handles this issue on the other. This discussion focuses, in particular, on the hearsay doctrine and on the linguistic elements identified as “evidentials:” expressions that include information about how speakers came to know the assertions they make. The hearsay rule bars certain kinds of speech acts from serving as legal evidence, in particular, assertions that report what another person earlier said, and which are offered to express the truth about the events at issue in a case. The author links the law governing hearsay in terms of speech act theory, a connection also drawn by the philosopher John Langshaw Austin, who observed that statements offered to prove the fact of the speech act rather than the truth of the matter asserted are admissible.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (06) ◽  
pp. 1850026
Author(s):  
Kyoungman Bae ◽  
Youngjoong Ko

The application of deep learning techniques in natural language processing tasks has been increased in recent years. Many studies have used the deep learning techniques to obtain a distributed representation of features. In particular, the convolutional neural network (CNN) with the distributed representation have subsequently been shown to be effective for the natural language processing tasks. This paper presents how to apply the CNN to speech-act classification. Then we analyze the experimental results on two issues, how to solve two problems about sparse speech-acts in train data and out of vocabulary, and how to utilize the advantages of CNN in the speech-act classification. As a result, we obtain the significant improved performances when CNN is applied to the speech-act classification.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-81
Author(s):  
Sayyora Azimova ◽  

This article is devoted to the pragmatic interpretation of the illocutionary action of the speech act “expression of refusals”. The article discusses different ways of reflecting cases of denial. This article was written not only for English language professionals, but also for use in aggressive conflicts and their pragmatic resolution, which naturally occur in the process of communication in all other languages


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-231
Author(s):  
Sayyora Azimova ◽  

This article is devoted to the pragmatic interpretation of the illocutionary action of the speech act“expression of refusals”. The article discusses different ways of reflecting cases of denial. This article was written not only for English language professionals, but also for use in aggressive conflicts and their pragmatic resolution, which naturally occur in the process of communication in all other languages


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evi Jovita Putri

<p>The research entitled Directive Speech Act Seen on Family 2.0 Drama Script Written by Walter Wykes purposes to describe and uncover the types of form and intended meaning of directive speech act on that drama script. This descriptive research uses pragmatic approach and theory. The collecting and analysing data are focused on the using of declarative, imperative, and interrogative sentences in the text of drama. The forms of those sentences will be analysed to find out the types of form of directive speech act, while the context of those sentences will be used to analyze the intended meaning of directive speech act uttered by speakers. The results of the research are found that, first, there are two types of the form of directive speech acts, direct directive speech acts and indirect directive speech acts. Direct directive speech acts are represented by imperative sentence without subject; imperative sentence with let; and negative imperative sentence. Meanwhile the indirect directive speech acts are represented by declarative sentence statement; declarative sentence if clause; negative declarative sentences; and interrogative sentences. Second, the intended meanings seen on drama script of Family 2.0 are command, prohibition, request, treat, and persuasion. It can be concluded that, the most frequent intended meaning appeared in directive speech acts on this script is command by the use of imperative forms. Then, the declarative and interrogative forms are used to request something by adults charaters; in contrast the kids characters use them to command and prohibit the hearer.<strong></strong></p><strong>Keywords: </strong> family 2.0, pragmatic, speech act, directive, form and intended meaning


SUHUF ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-342
Author(s):  
Fathur Rosyid

Abstrak Kata Kunci: Pragamtik, Tindak Tutur, Implikatur, Kisah Sayyidah Maryam   Kisah Sayyidah Maryam dalam al-Qur’a>n merupakan salah-satu kisah yang menarik dikaji dengan pendekatan pragmatik. Hal ini disebabkan, secara tekstual, beliau adalah publik figur yang fenomenal, bahkan mengalahkan status sosial perempuan lainnya, sehingga namanya terdokumentasikan dalam satu surat khusus yang populer dengan sebutan ”Surat Maryam”. Kecuali itu, kisah tersebut juga termasuk kisah yang kaya dengan nuansa konteks. Sementara posisi ilmu prgamatik sendiri  merupakan disiplin keilmuan yang mengkaji satuan bahasa dari sudut pandang relasi antara konteks linguistik yang bersifat diadik dan konteks non-linguistik yang bersifat triadik. Penelitian ini hendak mengungkap dua hal; Pertama, apa yang dimaksud pragmatika al-Qur’a>n?. Kedua, bagaimana bentuk aplikasi pragmatik tindak tutur dan implikatur terhadap fragmentasi kisah kelahiran Sayyidah Maryam dalam al-Qur’an?. Tujuan kedua pertanyaan tersebut untuk memahami konsep prgamtika al-Qur’an, juga untuk mengungkap bentuk tindak tutur dan implikatur fragmentasi kisah kelahiran Sayyidah Maryam. Penelitian ini menghasilkan kesimpulan; Pertama, pragmatika al-Qur’an adalah suatu disiplin ilmu yang mengkaji al-Qur’a>n dari sudut pandang relasi antara konteks kebahasaan dengan konteks non-kebahasaan. Kedua, tindak tutur fragmentasi kisah kelahiran Sayyidah Maryam yang terdapat dalam Qs. A<li ‘Imra>n (03): 36, lokusinya berupa kalimat informatif, sementara illokusinya merupakan bentuk kalimat asertif yang bermakna mengeluh. Adapun implikaturnya sebagai pelajaran, bahwa jika segala sesuatu telah dipasrahkan sama Allah swt. maka tidak pantas mencari kesalahan atas peraturan yang telah ditetapkan-Nya.               Abstract Keywords: Pragamtik, Speech Acts, implicatures, Story of Sayyidah Maryam   The story of Sayyidah Maryam in the al-Qur'a>n is one-on-one interesting stories studied with a pragmatic approach. This is due, textually, he is a public figure who is phenomenal, even beating out other women's social status, so the name is documented in a special letter that is popularly known as "Surah Maryam". Except that, the story also included a story rich with nuances of context. While the position pragamatic science itself is a scientific discipline that examines unit of language from the perspective of the relationship between linguistic context that is both dyadic and non-linguistic context that is triadic. This research seeks to reveal two things; First, what is meant pragmatic al-Qur'a>n?. Second, how the application form pragmatics of speech acts and implicatures to fragmentation birth story of Sayyidah Maryam in the al-Qur'a>n?. The second purpose of these questions to understand the concept pragamtic al-Qur'a>n, as well as to reveal the shape of speech acts and implicatures fragmentation of the birth story of Sayyidah Maryam. This research resulted in the conclusion; First, the pragmatics of the al-Qur’a>n is a discipline that examines al-Qur'a>n from the viewpoint of the relationship between linguistic context with non-linguistic context. Second, the speech act fragmentation birth story of Sayyidah Maryam contained in Qs. A<li 'Imra>n (03): 36, locutionary acts be informative sentence, while illocutionary acts an assertive form meaningful sentences complaining. The implicature as a lesson, that if everything was handled the same God, it is inappropriate to find fault with the regulations set his.


Author(s):  
Craige Roberts

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.


Author(s):  
Sarah E. Murray ◽  
William B. Starr

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.


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.


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