week 8- speech acts Flashcards
what are the two levels included in speaker meaning?
Utterance meaning –what the sentence means in context Communicative intention (‘force’) –what the speaker intends by using those words
what is logical positivism?
- Sentences only meaningful if conform to truth conditions
- So we need to develop an ideal language
- But then all interpersonal meaning is meaningless!
- John Austin (1911-1960)
what are the two types of utterances
- Constatives(statements) can be judged true or false
* Performatives perform actions (do things with words)
what are some performative verbs?
•I deny, I promise, I object, I apologise, I protest, I quit, I resign •I name (this…), I sentence you, I baptise you, I bet you, I pronounce (you…)
what are the Appropriateness (Felicity) Conditions for doing things with words?
i) There must be a conventional procedure having a conventional effect (situation)
(ii) The circumstances and persons must be appropriate, as specified in the procedure (participants)
(iii) The procedure must be executed correctly and completely (execution)
(iv) The person must have the requisite thoughts, feelings or intentions (when appropriate to the act) (sincerity)
define infelicitous
unfortunate; inappropriate
define felicitous
well chosen or suited to the circumstances
what is a explicit performative
Explicit performatives usually contain a performative verb which is apparent to the other party. It bears a clear cut meaning. In the utterance; “I promise to study,” there is a clear performative verb which is “promise”. The utterance in that case should be declarative. I
what is an implicit performative
- The only way to understand that this is a performative utterance is by realizing the real intention behind that utterance.
- Here the context plays an important role in determining the intention of the interlocutor because the utterance does not bear a cut clear meaning as in the explicit performatives
Perlocutionary act
Bringing about an effect on the audience (‘uptake’)
Locutionary Act
Uttering a sentence in context with a given sense and reference (‘utterance’)
Illocutionary Act
Making a statement, promise, apology etc. through the conventional force of the utterance (‘speech act’)
Imperative
command- Be nice, Joe!
Declarative
statement- Joe is nice
Interrogative
question- Is Joe nice?