Presentation topic speech acts and speech events types of speech acts; felicity conditions; speech events

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITYFACULTY OF ENGLISHTOPIC: Speech acts and speech events: Types of speech acts; Felicity conditions; Speech events ID’ Class:231_ENTH2931_01Supervisor: Dương Thị Hồng T

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH

MEMBER LIST AND ASSESSMENT

- Performative

- Constative

2 Nguyễn Đình Tú 21D170190 K57N2 2 Speech acts

2.1 DefinitionFollow up

3 Trần Thị Ngọc Ánh

(Secretary)

21D170105 K57N1 2.2 Types of speech acts

2.2.1 Austin's classificationa) Verdictives

b) Exercitivesc) Commissivesd) Behabitivese) Expositives

4 Nguyễn Thị Thanh

Hòa

21D170208 K57N3 2.2 Types of speech acts

2.2.2 Searle's classificationa) Commissives

b) Directivesc) Declarationsd) Expressivese) Representatives

5 Nguyễn Thị Hương 21D170258 K57N4 2.3 Felicity conditions

2.3.1 DefinitionExercise

6 Phạm Thị Duyên 21D170109 K57N1 2.3.2 Types of Felicity

conditionsa) Preparatory condition

b) Sincerity conditionc) Essential conditiond) Propositional content

7 Trần Mỹ Hạnh 21D170159 K57N2 2.4 Direct and Indirect

speech acts

8 Ngô Thị Thùy Linh 21D170305 K57N5 3 Speech events

3.1 Definition3.2 Components of speech event

9 Đỗ Trà My 21D170128 K57N1 3.3 Example > Examples

CONCLUTION

TABLE OF DISCUSSION I.

INTRODUCTION 5

II DEVELOPMENT 6

1 Utterance 6

1.1 Definition 6

1.2 Meaning of utterances 6

2 Speech acts 7

2.1 Definition 7

2.2 Types of speech acts 10

2.3 Felicity conditions 15

2.4 Direct and Indirect speech acts 18

3 Speech event 21

3.1 Definition 21

3.2 Components of speech event 22

3.3 Example 24

III CONCLUSION 27

REFERENCES 28

I INTRODUCTION

A speech act is a part of pragmatics where there are certain aims beyond the words

or phrases when a speaker says something Speech acts are acts that refer to the actionperformed by produced utterances People can perform an action by saying something.Through speech acts, the speaker can convey physical action merely through words andphrases The conveyed utterances are paramount to the actions performed In regard toEnglish as a foreign language, there are things to consider It is easy for the speakers orlisteners to determine the intended meaning of utterances if they are spoken in the mothertongue Factors such as idiomatic expressions and cultural norms do not function asbarriers to determining the intended meaning We are attuned in everyday conversationnot primarily to the sentences we utter to one another, but to the speech acts that thoseutterances are used to perform: requests, warnings, invitations, promises, apologies,predictions, and the like Recognition of the significance of speech acts has illuminatedthe ability of language to do other things than describe reality To help guide you in theright direction, group 5 of us would like to discuss the topic: “Speech acts and speechevents: Types of speech acts; Felicity conditions; Speech events”

- Promises: When someone says, "I promise to do it," they are not just saying they

will do something; they are committing to doing it, and the utterance itselfconstitutes the promise

- Commands: If someone says, "Please close the door," they are not just describing

a state of the world; they are issuing a command, and the act of speaking is whatmakes it a command

- Marriage Vows: During a wedding ceremony, when a person says, "I do," they

are not merely stating a fact; they are actively getting married by making thatdeclaration

Performative Verbs: Performative utterances often involve specific verbs known asperformative verbs, which explicitly indicate the performative nature of the statement.Examples of performative verbs include "promise," "declare," "order," "request," and

"apologize."

Illocutionary Force: Performative utterances have illocutionary force, which meansthey are meant to produce a particular effect or bring about a specific outcome Forexample, an apology is meant to express remorse and seek forgiveness, and this isachieved through the act of apologizing

Constative Utterance

Descriptive Function: Constative utterances, in contrast, serve primarily to describe

or report facts, events, or states of affairs When someone makes a constative utterance,their primary aim is to convey information and represent the world as they perceive it.Example:

- Statements of Fact: "The Earth orbits the Sun."

- Narrations: "She went to the store and bought some groceries."

- Descriptions: "The room is painted blue.

Lack of Illocutionary Force: Constative utterances lack the same kind ofillocutionary force found in performative utterances They do not inherently bring about

an action or commitment; rather, they provide information or make claims about realityTruth Value: Constative utterances can be evaluated in terms of their truth value.That is, they can be judged as true or false based on whether they accurately represent thestate of affairs they describe

2 Speech acts

2.1 Definition

2.1.1 What is Speech acts?

A speech act is an utterance that serves a function in communication We performspeech acts when we offer an apology, greeting, request, complaint, invitation,compliment, or refusal…

A speech act, then, is best described as “in saying something, we do something”,(but not physically) such as when a minister says, “I now pronounce you husband andwife”

A speech act might contain just one word, as in "Sorry!" to perform an apology, orseveral words or sentences: "I’m sorry I forgot your birthday I just let it slip my mind." Speech acts include real-life interactions and require not only knowledge of thelanguage but also appropriate use of that language within a given culture In a speech act,words are used to do something, not just to say something

John L Austin, a British philosopher, first introducedspeech act theory in his 1959 book “How to Do Thingswith Word” This published series of lectures defined histheory about performatives This is a type of speech inwhich a person's words are causing something to happenand not just making a statement Rather than simplydescribing or stating facts, some words perform anaction or create something new For example, when bothpeople in a marriage ceremony say "I do," they arecausing the marriage to happen Other examples ofperformatives include naming a ship and making a bet.Example:

Greeting: "Hello, Sarah How's your day been so far?"

Request: "Could you please email me the report by the end of the day?"

Complaint: "I've called customer support three times this week, and my issue stillisn't resolved."

Invitation: "We're planning a picnic this Saturday, would you like to join us at thepark?"

Compliment: "You did an excellent job on the presentation today, it was veryinformative."

Refusal: "I appreciate the offer, but I can't make it to the concert on Friday night."2.1.2 Kind of meanings

In speech act theory, utterances have two kinds of meaning:

Propositional meaning (also known as locutionary meaning) This is the basicliteral meaning of the utterance which is conveyed by the particular words andstructures which the utterance contains There are two types of locutionary act:Utterance acts: where something is said (or a sound is made) and which may nothave any meaning For example: Oh! or Huh? - is an utterance (communication isnot intended - it is just a sound caused by surprise.)

Propositional acts: where a particular reference is made Example: "The brownship" (something is referenced, but no communication may be intended)

Illocutionary meaning (also known as illocutionary force): are the real actionswhich are performed by the utterance, where saying equals doing, as in betting,believing, daring, warning, etc The performance of an act in which something issaid (vs the general act of saying something) The illocutionary force is thespeaker's intent

Example: informing, ordering, warning, undertaking

Example: "I promise to pay you back"- is an illocutionary act (it intends tocommunicate)

The illocutionary meaning of "I promise to pay you back" is the speaker promises topay something for the hearer in the future

2.2.1 Austin's classification

Austin (1975) establishes five categories of speech act based on broad classes ofillocutionary force They are as follows: Verdictives, Exercitives, Commissives,Behabitives and Expositives

a) Verdictives

Verdictives are acts (formal or informal) in which a verdict, estimate or appraisal(as acquitting, reckoning, assessing, diagnosing) is given, usually by someone in aposition of power to give that appraisal Verdictive is a judicial act, it refers to issues oftruth and falsity

Example: Announcement of a Meeting Opening:

"I would like to announce that the meeting is now open."

"By the decision of the leadership team, the meeting is officially declared open."

→ In this example, the declaration of the meeting's opening is a verdictive action,and it inaugurates a formal event - the meeting By uttering these sentences, the speakercreates a new social reality, announcing that the meeting has commenced and invitingeveryone to participate

b) Exercitives

Exercitives are dealing with the giving of a decision in favor of or against a certaincourse of action, or advocacy of it

Exercitives involve the exercise “of powers, rights, or influence.” Austin’s examples

of exercitives include “appointing, urging, warning…”

Example: Making a Bet:

Speaker A: "I bet you $20 that it's going to rain tomorrow."

Speaker B: "You're on! I accept your bet."

→ In this example, Speaker A is not merely stating a belief or making a claim; theyare performing an exercitive speech act by initiating a bet By saying, "I bet you $20,"Speaker A is offering a wager, and Speaker B's response, "I accept your bet," confirms theacceptance of the bet This utterance is not just conveying information; it is an action thatbinds both parties to a financial agreement based on the outcome of the weather.c) Commissives

Commissives commit the speaker to an action or intention They include promises aswell as mental commitments like taking one side of an argument

Example: Making a Promise:

Speaker A: "I promise I will help you move next weekend."

Speaker B: "Thank you! That means a lot to me."

→ In this example, Speaker A is making a commitment or promise to assist Speaker

B in moving This is a commissive speech act, as Speaker A is expressing their intention

to perform a specific action in the future, and Speaker B acknowledges and appreciatesthe commitment

d) Behabitives

Behabitives comprise reaction to a person's behavior and describe attitudes tosomeone else’s behavior There are obvious connections with both stating or describingwhat our feelings are and expressing

The action of a behabitive is the adoption of an attitude towards the social behavior

of others, and Austin's examples are “apologizing, congratulating, commending,condoling, cursing, and challenging”

It is not always easy to say what is or is not a behabitive, and Austin himself wasless than clear on them, admitting that the category seems a little too "miscellaneous"Example: Describing Behavior:

Speaker A: "She behaved admirably during the crisis, remaining calm and helpingothers."

Speaker B: "Yes, her conduct was truly commendable."

→ In this example, Speaker A is using behabitives to describe someone's behaviorduring a crisis Phrases like "behaved admirably" and "conduct was commendable" areused to evaluate and describe the person's actions in a specific situation Behabitives areoften used to express opinions and judgments about how someone conducts themselves invarious circumstances

e) Expositives

Austin acknowledges the broad scope of this category, but moves on to describingthe even vaguer expositives, which he defines as “making plain how our utterances fit intothe course of an argument or conversation, how we are using words, or, in general, areexpository”

Expositives are used in acts of exposition involving the expounding of views, theconducting of arguments, and the clarifying of usages and of references

Examples are 'I reply', 'I argue', 'I concede', 'I illustrate', 'I assume', 'I postulate'”.2.2.2 Searl’s classification

Generally, searl’s classification is part of the type of speech There are five types ofgeneral functions performed by speech acts: commissives, directives, declarations,representatives, and expressives

a) Commissive

Commissives are those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to commit themselves

to some future action They express what the speaker intends There are some signals thatrelate to commissive: promises, threats, refusals, pledges, and, as shown in All of themcan be performed by the speaker alone, or by the speaker as a group member

In using a commissive, the speaker undertakes to make the world fit the words (viathe speaker)

Example: I will be back in the afternoon —> expressing the “promise” that thespeaker will come back

Leave me alone or I will call the police —> expressing the “ threat” The threat isperformed at “ call the police” It means that the police represent power, which makespeople have to implement

b) Directive

Directives are those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to get someone else to dosomething They express what the speaker wants They are commands, orders, requests,suggestions ,and as illustrated in They have both positive and negative meanings

In using a directive, the speaker attempts to make the world fit the words (via thehearer)

Example: Please, take a seat

When I choose to buy an apartment, the first priority in my mind is that theapartment has a ceiling air conditioner —> expressing “requests”

Why don’t we go outside to enjoy dinner? —> expressing “ suggestion”

c) Declaration

Declarations are those kinds of speech acts that change the state of affairs in theworld

The speaker has to have special institutional role, in a specific context, in order toperform a declaration appropriately.

In using declaration, the speaker change the world via words

Eample: Priest: As of right now, you and she are legally wed

—> expressing of Priest changes the state in social of two people

Referee: You are out

d) Expressive

Expressives are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker feels Theyare apologize, complaints, thank you, congratulations, pleasure, like, dislike, joy orsorrow

Expressives can be caused by something the speaker does or the hearer does, butthey are about the speaker’s experience

In using an expressive, the speaker makes words fit the world (of feeling)

Example: A: Mom, I won the first prize of English Contest

Example: This building is Ocean Park.

Pham Nhat Vuong is a person who is rich and have multi-assets

Table notice:

X = situation

Representatives make words fit the world S believes X

Directives make the world fit the words S wants X

Commissives make the world fit words S intends X

2.3 Felicity conditions

2.3.1 Definition

In speech act theory, felicity conditions are the conditions which must be fulfilledfor a speech act to be satisfactorily performed or realized In other words, in order for anutterance to achieve its illocutionary force, certain conditions must be met Theseconditions relate to the conversational and situational context and the roles, abilities andbeliefs of the speaker and listener

Example “I sentence you to two years of prison!”

If the speaker was not a judge in a court, this performance would be inappropriate.For example, the felicity conditions necessary for promises are:

Example: “The students promised their teacher to do their homework”

1 The sentence is used which states a future act of the speaker

Meaning: The students will do their homework