Week 4: Speech Acts and Communication

Question 1

Communicative function processing

Answer 1

Happens at ~150ms for word plus gesture (~210ms for just gestures)

Suggests instantaneous parallel processing, not serial

Stronger activity for requesting vs naming (frontocentral regions, sensorimotor?)

Question 2

Aspects of linguistic actions in language games

Answer 2

1) Linguistic forms
2) Speech act types
3) Non-linguistic actions, objects and scenes
4) Action sequences
5) Commitments and common ground
6) Communicative strategies and principles

Question 3

Linguistic forms & speech act types

Answer 3

Many:many relationship

Can’t derive function from form

‘Do you really need to put your feet on the table?’

Question 4

Three levels of speech acts

Answer 4

Locutionary act (uttering a propositional sentence)

Illocutionary act (using the utterance with an intended goal)

Perlocutionary act (achieving a specific effect on the listener)

Question 5

Canonical speech acts

Answer 5

Speech act label + proposition + utterance

Peter states that it is hot BY uttering the sentence “It is quite hot”

Question 6

By-relationship in complex speech acts

Answer 6

‘By-chains’ (A1 → A2 → … → Ai) can be used to describe complex action structures.

Question 7

How many speech act types are there?

Answer 7

Wittgenstein: loads
Austin: a set number that can be systematised
Searle: 5

Question 8

Searle’s 5 speech act types

Answer 8

Assertives
Directives
Commissives
Expressives
Declarations

Question 9

Dialogue game theory

Answer 9

Proposes a ‘commitment store’ for each partner

A dialogue becomes unacceptable if there is a contradiction between speech act and any commitment in the store.

Question 10

Grice’s conversational maxims

Answer 10

Quality
Quantity
Relation
Manner

Question 11

Brain signatures of common ground

Answer 11

Indexed by N400

Question 12

Brain signatures of communicative function

Answer 12

Early, parallel processing of e.g. naming vs requesting