Chapter 12 - Talk and Action

Question 1

What are the 3 basic types of sentences?

Answer 1

question, exclamation, declarative,

Question 2

what is the basic sentence type in L?

Answer 2

declarative - principle use of L is to describe states of affairs

Question 3

The meaning of utterances can be described in terms of

Answer 3

their truth or falsity

Question 4

What’s the difference between sentences and utterances?

Answer 4

sentences - what we write in, has a subject

utterance - units of spoken conversation = how we speak (hardly ever speak in complete sentences)

Question 5

How do we classify utterances?

Answer 5

• Length (for child's speech)
• Structure (grammatical)
- active/passive
- statement-question-request
• Semantic or logical structure
• Function= In terms of what sentences do → A.k.a The functional approach

Question 6

Monological speech is

Answer 6

• a one sided dialogue (like a lecture) highly marked in normal conversational settings
  DIALOGUE = unmarked variety - give and take

Question 7

what are the functions of a conversation

Answer 7

o Establish relationships
o Achieve cooperation
o Keep channels open for further relationships

Question 8

What are the four types of utterances?

Answer 8

1) Constative utterances
2) Ethical propositions
3) Phatic Utterances
4) Performative utterances (added by john austin)

Question 9

What are constative utterances?

Answer 9

Stating things/ making propositions: “today is monday”
• Connected with events in a possible world
• Can be said to be true or false

Question 10

What are ethical propositions?

Answer 10

• Ex. “Big boys don’t cry”
• can’t be said to be true or false, can be either
• Purpose = to serve as guides to behaviour

Question 11

What are phatic utterances?

Answer 11

• Ex. “How are you?”
- contentless, unemotional
-completely non-threatening
• Open communication channels, acknowledge other speaker
• do not convey meanings, Aimless gossip
• fulfill a social function: atmosphere of sociability

Question 12

What did Malinowski propose ?

Answer 12

The concept of a phatic communion

-A type of speech in which ties of union are created by a mere exchange of words.

Question 13

Who was John Austin

Answer 13

• He proposed the 4th kind of utterances - performatives (the 5 kinds)

• focused on how speakers realize their intentions in speaking
• He developed the felicity conditions

Question 14

who was John Searle

Answer 14

• further developed John Austin’s Ideas but focused on how the listener interprets the message

• developed the 6 ways of making requests
• Developed the term uptake

Question 15

What were Austin’s arguments?

Answer 15

• Regular conversation is made up of commands, exclamations, questions etc.
• Sentences look like declaratives but don’t make statements
- Therefor he proposed performative utterances

Question 16

What are Performative utterances

Answer 16

• Subset of declaratives, neither true nor false
  • Ex. I promise to take a taxi home – you are performing an act with your words – making a commitment
  • Performance utterance is actually doing something
  Ie. Saying “I do” could mean getting married which changes relationships/ conditions in the real world

Question 17

What are typical performatives? example.

Answer 17

• Grammatical form:
- First person Subject “I do”
- A verb in the present tense
- May include the word ‘hereby’
o Example “I hereby request that you leave my property”
- once this is said person has a legal obligation to leave

Question 18

What is important regarding Performatives?

Answer 18

• They are not “true or false” the important thing is whether they work or not.

Question 19

What does Felicitous vs. infelicitous mean?

Answer 19

Felicitous: A performative that works
Infelicitous: A performative that does NOT work

Question 20

What are the Felicity conditions suggested by Austin?

Answer 20

1) Conventional procedure (who must say and do what, in what circumstances)
2) Proper execution of this procedure to completion
3) Necessary thoughts, feelings and intentions are present in all parties

Question 21

What are less explicit performatives that we use every day?

Answer 21

• ‘I promise’, ‘I apologize’, ‘I warn you’
• Share many characteristics of explicit performatives
• But lack any associated conventional procedure

Question 22

What are Austin’s five types of performatives?

Answer 22

1)Verdictives : giving a verdict, estimate, gtade or appraisal
“ We find the accused guilty”
2) Excercitives: The exercising of powers, rights, or
“ I pronounce you husband and wife”
3) Commisives : promising or undertaking and committing one to do something
“ I hereby bequeath”
4) Behabtives: apologizing, congratulating blessing
e.g. “I apologize”
5) Expositives: making utterances fit into an argument or exposition
e.g. “I argue”

Question 23

The value of a speech act is independent from

Answer 23

the actual words & of their grammatical arrangement

Question 24

What are the 3 aspects of a speech act

Answer 24

1) utterance = locution
2) Intention = Illocutionary force > Illocutionary act
3) The effect on listener = Perlocutionary act (perlocution) (raising hand)

Question 25

• To be successful, an illocutionary act must:

Answer 25

1) Be correctly uttered with its conventional meaning 2) Satisfy a truth condition 3) The hearer should recognize the truth of 1) and 2)

Question 26

What is uptake (Searle)?

Answer 26

How the hearer perceives a particular utterance to have the force it has

Question 27

What are the 5 rules to promise making proposed by Searle?

Answer 27

1) The propositional content rule: words predict future action e.g. “I promise that I will grade the final exam” 2) , 3) The preparatory rules: - must believe that he can do what's promised - both parties must want the act done - not normally done/expected 4) The sincerity rule: Requires the promiser to intend to perform the act, i.e. placed under some kind of obligation 5) The essential rule: -the uttering of the words counts as undertaking an obligation to perform the action

Question 28

What are the two types of rules discussed in class

Answer 28

Constitutive rules - conditions for illocutionary acts, doing one thing means or implies something else (rules for sports or games) regulative rules: Laws and legistations set by government and tell what is right and what is wrong

Question 29

Can we have a conversation without having a prior | agreement about the principles of exchange?

Answer 29

no

Question 30

Conversations are possible because we recognize :

Answer 30

- common goals | - specific ways of achieving these goals

Question 31

In a conversation, there are constraints that limit:

Answer 31

◦ speakers : what they can say | ◦ listeners : what they can infer

Question 32

Who is Grice?

Answer 32

- Studied speech acts and proposed "The cooperative principle" and the 4 Gricean Maximes

Question 33

List the 4 Gricean Maximes?

Answer 33

- Quantity - Quality - Relation - Manner

Question 34

What is the Maxime of Quantity?

Answer 34

- Make your contribution as informative as required (Not too much or too little information)

Question 35

What is the Maxime of Quality?

Answer 35

- What you say has to be true, do not say what you believe to be false - Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

Question 36

What is the Maxime of Relation?

Answer 36

- Must be a relation between the answer and the question

Question 37

What is the Maxime of Manner?

Answer 37

- Avoid obscurity of expression - Avoid ambiguity - Be brief - Be orderly (rushed into arms and opened the door - out of order)

Question 38

What is the theory of implicature?

Answer 38

- Implication of any utterance means much more than the direct meaning of the words - Assuming that the speaker still intends to be cooperative, the listeners looks for meaning other than that which is said. - You can imply things without directly saying them

Question 39

What is the cooperative principle?

Answer 39

Grice - "The overriding principle in conversation" ◦ mutual engagement , mutually beneficial, mutual understanding we WANT to communicate to achieve a common GOAL ◦ This assumption explains why: - speech errors are unnoticed - we find meaning in illogical, untrue, unrelated statements - Explains Metaphors, sarcasm, overstatement, understatements etc.

Question 40

Is cooperation a rule that cannot be broken?

Answer 40

NO - Cooperation is variable and is not a rule - Following a maxim is a choice

Question 41

How can a speaker choose to be uncooperative with respect to maximes?

Answer 41

A speaker can choose to… ◦ ‘violate’ a maxim (giving unrelated answer - politician) ◦ ‘opt out’ of a maxim (say nothing) ◦ deal with a ‘clash’ of maxims (regardless of what we say a maxim will be violated) ◦ ‘flout’ a maxim (Special efffects - metaphors, sarcasm)

Question 42

Can Faces vary according to | circumstances

Answer 42

YES

Question 43

What is Face-work

Answer 43

o Presenting faces to each other o Trying to protecting our own face o While protecting the other’s face

Question 44

How might one choose to be uncooperative with respect to faces?

Answer 44

o By refusing to accept someone’s face (do not believe the role someone claims to be) o By denying a right to a face o By challenging someone’s face

Question 45

What are 3 ways to generate conversational implicatures?

Answer 45

1. Observe 2. Violate (speaker violates a maxim on purpose hoping that the hearer will not notice - lying) 3. Flout

Question 46

What are implicatures

Answer 46

interpretations of utterances as having a different meaning than what they actually are

Question 47

What is opting out? example?

Answer 47

Opting out "that’s confidential" - refusing to answer

Question 48

What are clashing maximes?

Answer 48

When regardless of what you say a maxime will be violated For example, You don’t know the precise answer so because you don’t want to violate the maxim of Quality you violate maxim of Quantity: say too little - "Sometime on wednesday..."

Question 49

What is Flouting

Answer 49

◦ deliberate ◦ an invitation to find a new meaning ◦ associated with rhetorical effects A: Tehran's in Turkey, isn't it? B: Uh-huh, and Boston's in Armenia.

Question 50

What are searles 6 ways of making requests?

Answer 50

1) Hearer’s ability: ◦ E.g. ‘Can you submit the last assignment online please?’ 2) Speaker’s wish or desire ◦ E.g. ‘I would like you to submit the assignments on time.’ 3) Hearer actually doing something ◦ E.g. ‘All students will henceforth wear suits in our class’; ‘Aren’t you going to wear a suit to 2S03?’ 4) Hearer’s willingness : o E.g. ‘Would you like to write a reference letter for me?’ 5) The reasons for doing something: o E.g. ‘You’re standing on my foot’ 6) Combinations: o E.g. ‘I would appreciate it if you could make less noise’