‘Speech acting’ – ‘acting’ in speech

There are cases when the hearer fails to recognize the speaker’s intentions and he therefore wrongly interprets the speaker’s utterance. This misunderstanding may lead to funny situations and hence it is often an unfailing source for various jokes.

This picture suggests that the speaker (the man in this case) has uttered a question asking how the woman’s day was. The context and other circumstances are not specified, but let’s suppose that their conversation takes place somewhere in the office and that they are colleagues. The man obviously meant his question just as a polite conventional formula with a rather phatic function (speech used to share feelings or to establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or ideas), not wanting to know any other details. The woman takes him aback a bit since she starts giving him a lot of unsolicited information. She obviously did not catch the intentions behind his words and therefore the man, surprised at her extensive answer, carefully reminds her that she was only supposed to say ‘Fine.’ The communication is uncomfortable for him. The illocutionary act he uttered was not recognized by the woman. The question we should logically ask is ‘Why?’.Men and women happen to have different interactional styles and misunderstandings occur because they are not aware of them.She even compares the differences in the way men and women talk to already discussed cross-cultural differences. And thus it is possible to see this example as an analogy to that French-American interpretation of the ‘Mais vous ne comperenez pas! case. The woman is as if from different cultural milieu and she therefore misinterprets the man’s question.

Speakers can perform actions while making utterances

Situation: At work, boss has great deal of power.You're fired → more than just a statement, actually ends your employmentOther examples:You're so fantastic (compliment)You're welcome (acknowledgement of thanks)You're not serious! That’s not true! (expression of surprise)

Conversation analysisSummons--answerA: Can I get some help here? B: On my way.Offer--refusal Sales clerk: May I help you find something? Customer: No thank you, I'm just looking.Compliment--acceptanceA: Your hair looks very lovely today. B: Thank you. I just had it cut.

Listening is one of the subjects studied in the discipline of conversation analysis.It does not mean simply maintaining a polite silence while you are rehearsing in your mind the speech you are going to make the next time you can grab a conversational opening. Nor does listening mean waiting alertly for the flaws in the other fellow’s argument so that later you can mow him down. Listening means trying to see the problem the way the speaker sees it – which means not sympathy, which is feeling for him, but empathy, which is experiencing with him. Listening requires entering actively and imaginatively into the other fellow’s situation and trying to understand a frame of reference different from your own. This is not always an easy task.

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“But a good listener does not merely remain silent. He asks questions. However, these questions must avoid all implications (whether in tone of voice or in wording) of skepticism or challenge or hostility. They must clearly be motivated by curiosity about the speaker’s views.”(S.I. Hayakawa, “How to Attend a Conference.” The Use and Misuse of Language, ed. by S.I. Hayakawa. Fawcett Premier, 1962)

A speech event is an activity in which participants interact via language in someconventional way to arrive at some outcome.- may include one obvious central speech act- may include other utterances leading up to and subsequently reacting to that central actionA: Oh, Mary, I’m glad you’re here.B: What’s up?A: I can't get my computer to work. → the request is the whole speech event,B: Is it broken? not a single speech act.A: I don’t think so.B: What’s it doing? → no actual request is madeA: I don’t know. I’m useless with computers.B: What kind is it?A: It’s a Mac. Do you use them?B: Yeah.A: Do you have a minute?B: Sure.A: Oh, great- the question ‘Do you have a minute?’ could be characterized as a pre-request, allowing the hearer to say that she’s busy or that she has to be somewhere else.- the response ‘Sure’ is taken to be an acknowledgement not only of having time available, but a willingness to perform the unstated action.

We use the term speech act to describe actions such as ‘requesting,’ ‘commanding,’ ‘questioning,’ or ‘informing.’ We can define a speech act as the action performed by a speaker with an utterance. If you say, I’ll be there at six, you are not just speaking, you seem to be performing the speech act of ‘promising.’ “When an interrogative structure such as Did you . . .? Are they . . .? or Can we . . .? is used with the function of a question, it is described as a direct speech act. For example, when we don’t know something and we ask someone to provide the information, we usually produce a direct speech act such as Can you ride a bicycle?“Compare that utterance with Can you pass the salt? [Here] we are not really asking a question about someone’s ability. In fact, we don’t normally use this structure as a question at all. . . . This is an example of an indirect speech act.”(G. Yule, The Study of Language. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006)

“Several categories of speech acts have been proposed, viz. directives (speakers try to get their listeners to do something, e.g. begging, commanding, requesting), commissives (speakers commit themselves to a future course of action, e.g. promising, guaranteeing), expressives (speakers express their feelings, e.g. apologizing, welcoming, sympathizing), declarations (the speaker’s utterance brings about a new external situation, e.g. christening, marrying, resigning) . . ..”(D. Crystal, Dictionary of Linguistics. Blackwell, 1997)

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The speaker normally expects that his or her communicative intention will be recognized by the hearer – both speaker and hearer are helped by the circumstances surrounding the utterance.These circumstances (including other utterances) are called the speech event.The tea is really cold!

Situation A: On a wintry day, the speaker reaches for a cup of tea, believing that it has been freshly made, takes a sip, and produces the utterance → complaintSituation B: On a really hot summer’s day the speaker is being given a glass of iced tea, takes a sip, and produces the utterance → praiseNo simple utterance-to-action correspondence is possible!!!

Classificationdeclarations: - speech acts that change the world via their utterance- the speaker has to have a special institutional role, in a specific situationPriest: I now pronounce you husband and wifeReferee: You’re outJury Foreman: We find the defendant guilty→ the speaker changes the world via wordsrepresentatives:- speech acts that state what the speaker believes to be the case or not- statements of fact, assertions, conclusions and descriptions are all examples of the speaker representing the world as he/she believes it isThe earth is flatChomsky didn’t write about peanutsIt was a warm sunny day→ the speaker makes words fit the world (of belief)expressives: - speech acts that state what the speaker feels- they express psychological states and can be statements of pleasure, pain, likes, dislikes, joy, sorrow ...I’m really sorryCongratulations!Oh yes, great, mmmmm!!→ the speaker makes words fit the world (of feeling)directives: speech acts that speakers use to get someone else to do something- they express what the speaker wants, they are commands, orders, requests, suggestions and can be positive or negativeGimme a cup of coffee. Make it blackCould you lend me a pen, please?Don’t touch that→ the speaker attempts to make the world fit the words via the hearercommissives: speech acts that speaker use to commit themselves to some future action- they express what the speaker intends, they are promises, threats, refusals, pledges- they can be performed by the speaker alone, or by as a member of a groupI’ll be backI’m going to get it right next timeWe will not do that→ the speaker undertakes to make the world fit the words via the speaker

SummarySpeech act type Direction of fit Form (S = speaker, X = situation)Declarations words change the world S causes XRepresentatives make words fit the world S believes X

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Expressives make words fit the world S feels XDirectives make the world fit words S wants XCommissives make the world fit words S intends X

Direct and Indirect speech actsThere is a typical pattern in English whereby asking a question about the hearer’s assumed ability (‘can you’, ‘could you’) or future likelihood with regard to doing something (‘will you’, ‘would you’) normally counts as a request to actually do that something.Could you pass the salt?Would you open this?Indirect speech acts are generally associated with greater politeness than direct speech acts.The door is there.This simple declarative sentence (6) in the form of statement can be interpreted in at least two ways. It can be either understood literally as a reply to the question ‘Where is the way out?’ or possibly ‘Where is the door?’ or it can be taken as an indirect request to ask somebody to leave. The sentence has thus two illocutionary forces which, even if they are different, have a common proposition (content). The former case is called a direct speech act, the latter an indirect speech act. It depends on the speaker and on the contextual situation which one he will choose to convey in his speech.

Exercises1) Classify the following speech acts 1 I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse (Mario Puzo) commissive 2 I baptize this baby John declarative 3 Better remain silent and be thought a fool, than open your mouth and remove all possible doubt (Chinese proverb) directive 4 If I’d known I was gonna live that long, I’d have taken better care of myself (Eubie Blake) expressive 5 I came, I saw, I conquered (Julius Caesar)

2) Many English verbs can be used to perform several different speech acts.For each of the following verbs, determine the different speech acts each expresses. Note any special appropriateness conditions which apply. agree - grant - urge - curse - swear  - applaud - conclude - guarantee - adoptChoose two illocutionary acts and give three different locutions which would express each act.Congratulate - request - apologize - warn - thank.

Read the following utterances and then (i) Specify two possible illocutionary forces for each.(ii) Provide a situation for each illocution

(a) Is this your coat on the floor?(b) I can’t hear a word.(c) I’ll tell your father.(d) I had a flat tyre(e) It is seven o’clock(f) It is getting quite late.(g) It is raining outside.

For each of the utterances below1) name the speech act performed2) describe two of its felicity conditions

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3) decide whether the speech act is direct or indirect and explain in terms of sentence structure

a) Can you make your bed?b) Have a safe journey.c) Where do you live?d) I wonder what happened to Mary.e) I hear there's a fire in the next building.f) Enjoy yourselfg) Can you people at the back hear me?h) Is this the new dress you bought yesterday for 5000 SR?i) Where is your book?

For each of the following utterance name the speech act performed. Describe two of its felicity conditions.

(a) Where’s the book?(b) I promise I’ll come tonight.(c) I name this ship the queen Elizabeth.(d) Don’t smoke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx2IsEi4DxY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_9hm-N3KDM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsUUKzUkpcw

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