scholarly journals A Speech Acts Analysis of English COVID-19 News Headlines

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 22-37
Author(s):  
Mothana N. H. Almarsomi ◽  
Juma’a Q. Hussein
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
News Website ◽  
The World ◽  
News Headlines ◽  
Special Language

News headlines are key elements in spreading news. They are unique texts written in a special language which enables readers understand the overall nature and importance of the topic. However, this special language causes difficulty for readers in understanding the headline. To illuminate this difficulty, it is argued that a pragmatic analysis from a speech act theory perspective is a plausible tool for a headline analysis. The main objective of the study is to pragmatically analyze the most frequently employed types of speech acts in the news headlines covering COVID-19 in Aljazeera English website. To this end, Bach and Harnish's (1979) Taxonomy of Speech Acts has been adopted to analyze the data. Thirty headlines have been collected from Aljazeera English news website. The findings have shown that constatives and directives occur more frequently than commissives. Other types, like acknowledgments, effectives and verdictives are not employed. The study has concluded that to pay a special emphasis on COVID-19 as an issue that preoccupied and endangered the world, headline writers of Aljazeera website uses specific speech acts, constatives and directives, more frequently than others. This makes it clear that using specific speech acts in writing headlines is an effective way for inspiring readers to easily understand the intended message.

scholarly journals Speech Acts of the Congregational Sermons of the Grand Ayatollah AL- Sistani (2014-2016)

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (40) ◽  
pp. 589-604
Author(s):  
Ahmed Fleih Hassan ◽  
Ali M. Gharab Al-Mejdawy
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Clear Idea

          This study investigates the speech acts of  the congregational sermons of the Grand Ayatollah Al:Sistani  2014-2016 , by using a pragmatic analysis. It aims to investigate how these sermons are influential and affective in the society reformation . In order to achieve this study, there are certain hypotheses that have been hypothesized  to get a clear  idea about the study  presented. One of these hypotheses is that congregational sermons have a great impact on societies in all aspects of life , particularly the Islamic societies .This study is  carried out by using Searle’s contributions to speech act theory presented by felicity conditions (1969) and the classification of speech act types (1975).

scholarly journals A Pragmatic Analysis of Margaret Ogola’s the River and the Source and I Swear by Apollo

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. p88
Author(s):  
Nicholas Onyango Oloo ◽  
Prof. Francis OwinoRew ◽  
Dr. Robert Onyango Ochieng’
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Verbal Interactions ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Analytical Research ◽  
Conversational Turns

This paper aims at interrogating the significance of pragmatics in analyzing Margaret Ogola’s two novels; The River and the Source (1994) and I swear by Apollo (2002). The researcher analyses the characters’ conversational turns in the novels using Austin (1962) and Searle 1969 Speech Act Theory. The study employs an analytical research design using a mixed method data analysis. The findings indicate that every utterance used by a character performs three simultaneous acts namely; a locutionary, an illocutionary and perlocutionary. In addition, the data shows that every utterance produced by a character in the novels could be categorized under one of the five major categories speech acts proposed by Searle (1969); representatives, expressive, directives, commisives or declarations. The study found that the representatives are the most dominant in both novels while declarations the least. The study also reveals that each major speech act contains a wide range of sub acts or illocutionary forces which are distinguished based on their felicity conditions. The study therefore proposes that pragmatic analysis be adopted as an effective tool in the analysis of the characters’ verbal interactions in novels. In addition, further research could be conducted on pragmatic analysis of novels by other writers.

A Pragmatic Analysis of Names and Naming in Igarra (Etuno)

2021 ◽  
pp. 56-69
Author(s):  
OREMEYI ABIOLA SANNI ◽  
GIDEON ABIOYE OYEDEJI ◽  
MARY JUMMAI KWASU
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Language Survival ◽  
Speech Act Analysis ◽  
Yoruba Language ◽  
The Invisible

The study examines the Pragmatic meanings of names and naming in Igarra (Etuno). Data gathered from Igarra (Etuno) names have been purposely selected for Speech Act analysis because of their assertive, penetrating and incisive messages. Specifically, the Speech Act theory which consists of locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts was applied in the data analysis. The ‘invisible meaning’ of the selected names were analysed using the pragmatic and linguistic tools of context and speech acts. It has been observed that Igarra people previously preferred names sourced from other languages especially Yoruba language but there have been shifts in attitude because of the realization that Igarra (Etuno) names are as meaningful as names from other climes. Another significant reason is the fact that Igarra people have now recognized the importance of preserving Etuno language. The study investigated the pragmatic implications of the names by exploring the reasons and circumstances of the selected names. The names were purposively selected from families and friends. For ease of analysis, the data were grouped according to different circumstances surrounding the names. The findings from this study showed that Igarra names do not only identify a person but also communicate so much about the circumstances surrounding the person’s birth. The study concludes that names perform several speech acts like informing, requesting, questioning or expressing gratitude which are reflective of the emotional link or expectations of the giver of the name. The study recommends that names and naming should indeed have cultural inkling and should reflect the situational nuances about their birth. This will aid language survival.

scholarly journals A Pragmatic Analysis of Names and Naming in Igarra (Etuno)

2021 ◽  
pp. 56-69
Author(s):  
OREMEYI ABIOLA SANNI ◽  
GIDEON ABIOYE OYEDEJI ◽  
MARY JUMMAI KWASU
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Language Survival ◽  
Speech Act Analysis ◽  
Yoruba Language ◽  
The Invisible

The study examines the Pragmatic meanings of names and naming in Igarra (Etuno). Data gathered from Igarra (Etuno) names have been purposely selected for Speech Act analysis because of their assertive, penetrating and incisive messages. Specifically, the Speech Act theory which consists of locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts was applied in the data analysis. The ‘invisible meaning’ of the selected names were analysed using the pragmatic and linguistic tools of context and speech acts. It has been observed that Igarra people previously preferred names sourced from other languages especially Yoruba language but there have been shifts in attitude because of the realization that Igarra (Etuno) names are as meaningful as names from other climes. Another significant reason is the fact that Igarra people have now recognized the importance of preserving Etuno language. The study investigated the pragmatic implications of the names by exploring the reasons and circumstances of the selected names. The names were purposively selected from families and friends. For ease of analysis, the data were grouped according to different circumstances surrounding the names. The findings from this study showed that Igarra names do not only identify a person but also communicate so much about the circumstances surrounding the person’s birth. The study concludes that names perform several speech acts like informing, requesting, questioning or expressing gratitude which are reflective of the emotional link or expectations of the giver of the name. The study recommends that names and naming should indeed have cultural inkling and should reflect the situational nuances about their birth. This will aid language survival.

Dire, Médire, Dédire

2020 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-259
Author(s):  
Stephen H. Fleck
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Pierre Bourdieu ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
The World ◽  
Everyday World ◽  
World Champion ◽  
Historical Moment ◽  
Courtroom Testimony

Abstract The article analyzes the triviality of Austin’s version of everyday-world speech act theory (which explicitly excluded fictional uses of language) in favor of its specific value for investigation of fictionality, invoking ideas of Pierre Bourdieu and Émile Benveniste. Noting the thematic prominence in the Misanthrope of two of Austin’s favorite examples of speech acts, for marriage (“I do”) and courtroom testimony (“I swear to tell the truth . . . ”), the article examines the work’s dramatic ambiguities in relation to Austin’s theory—and in particular, its shortcomings. Molière thus articulates the profoundly divided nature of Alceste indicated by Donneau de Visé (“ridicule”/“juste”), Rousseau (“un homme droit, sincère, estimable,” but also facing the world as “un personnage ridicule”), and recently by Georges Forestier and Claude Bourqui (the melancholic, jealous lover vs. the philosophe misanthrope, the world champion of sincerity), permanently at war with himself, in a war he is bound to lose. The article concludes that Molière constructs much of the famously conversational dramatic texture and indeterminate conclusion not through “successful” speech acts, but rather through failed ones; a reflection, too, of the rapidly transforming social values of the play’s historical moment.

Types of Speech Acts

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Hanks
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Propositional Content ◽  
Truth Conditions ◽  
Sharp Distinction ◽  
The World

Classical speech act theory, in the tradition of Austin and Searle, is based on a picture of propositional content due to Frege. This picture takes propositions to be the primary bearers of truth conditions, and it incorporates a sharp distinction between content and force. In this paper I defend an alternative picture of propositional content, on which the primary bearers of truth conditions are the actions we perform in thinking and speaking about the world. Propositions are types of these actions, and they inherit their truth conditions from them. This picture abandons the distinction between content and force and it leads to a three-way distinction between different kinds of propositions. Here I explore the consequences of this alternative picture for the nature and taxonomy of speech acts.

A Pragmatic Analysis of Names and Naming in Igarra (Etuno)

2021 ◽  
pp. 56-69
Author(s):  
OREMEYI ABIOLA SANNI ◽  
GIDEON ABIOYE OYEDEJI ◽  
MARY JUMMAI KWASU
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Language Survival ◽  
Speech Act Analysis ◽  
Yoruba Language ◽  
The Invisible

The study examines the Pragmatic meanings of names and naming in Igarra (Etuno). Data gathered from Igarra (Etuno) names have been purposely selected for Speech Act analysis because of their assertive, penetrating and incisive messages. Specifically, the Speech Act theory which consists of locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts was applied in the data analysis. The ‘invisible meaning’ of the selected names were analysed using the pragmatic and linguistic tools of context and speech acts. It has been observed that Igarra people previously preferred names sourced from other languages especially Yoruba language but there have been shifts in attitude because of the realization that Igarra (Etuno) names are as meaningful as names from other climes. Another significant reason is the fact that Igarra people have now recognized the importance of preserving Etuno language. The study investigated the pragmatic implications of the names by exploring the reasons and circumstances of the selected names. The names were purposively selected from families and friends. For ease of analysis, the data were grouped according to different circumstances surrounding the names. The findings from this study showed that Igarra names do not only identify a person but also communicate so much about the circumstances surrounding the person’s birth. The study concludes that names perform several speech acts like informing, requesting, questioning or expressing gratitude which are reflective of the emotional link or expectations of the giver of the name. The study recommends that names and naming should indeed have cultural inkling and should reflect the situational nuances about their birth. This will aid language survival.

scholarly journals Analysing Zakir Naik’s Illocutionary Acts in His Speech about Islam’s View on Terrorism & Jihad

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 51-55
Author(s):  
Khannisa Annahlia ◽  
Edward Edward ◽  
Mohammad Fauzi
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Method ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
Sensitive Topics ◽  
Illocutionary Acts ◽  
The World ◽  
International Audience

Zakir Naik is an infamous Indian preacher who conveys the meaning of Qur’anic verses on today’s social media, primarily using English to reach the widest international audience. The study aims to find out the dominant types of illocutionary acts and functions of speech acts in his speech on terrorism and jihad in Islam’s perspective. This mixed method study uses quantitative and qualitative data from his lecture on “Islam and Jihad”, analysing the data with Searle’s (1986) speech act theory. This study contributes to the pool of linguistics knowledge on the delivery of sensitive topics by detailing how an English as a second language (ESL) speaker conveys religious beliefs to the world.

scholarly journals Analysing Speech Acts in Buhari’s Address at the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Innocent Sourou Koutchadé
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
General Theme ◽  
Illocutionary Acts ◽  
The World ◽  
Un General Assembly

This article aims at examining the language of a political speech through the linguistic theory of pragmatics. The focus of the study is, specifically, to identify speech acts used in Buhari’s address at the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.  Such an analysis is meant to emphasize the way the Nigerian president conveyed his intentions and his country’s priorities in line with the general theme of the Assembly. The paper has adopted Searle’s (1969) speech act theory. The identification of illocutionary acts in the speech through a tabulated statistics shows that there are 52.56% of representative acts, 19.23% of directive acts, 16.66% of expressive acts, 11.53% of commissive acts and  00% of declaration acts. The findings reveal the dominance of representative illocutionary acts showing that Buhari has mainly expressed his beliefs regarding the theme of the assembly and the priorities of his country. Directive acts are used to make suggestions whereas commissives are used to point out the challenges to be taken up by Buhari and his audience and expressives reflect his psychological state while addressing the world leaders. The paper concludes that this study of speech acts has made it easy to comprehend the message of the Nigerian president in his address. 

THEORY OF SPEECH ACTS AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCES: PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE ILLOCUTIVE ACT “EXPRESSION OF REFUSALS”

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-81
Author(s):  
Sayyora Azimova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Pragmatic Interpretation

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

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document