语用学Chapter 7 Speech act theory陈新仁何自然何伟.pdfVIP

Chapter Seven Speech Act Theory Speech Act Theory Originated with the British philosopher John Austin in the late 50’s of the 20th century Challenged the so-called “descriptive fallacy” Further developed by other scholars, particularly J. Searle Contents  I. Words and Deeds  II. Properties of an explicit performative utterance  III. Reasons for collapse of Austin’s performative hypothesis  IV. Locution, Illocution, and Perlocution  V. Searle’s Indirect Speech Act Theory  VI. Classification of speech acts I. Words and Deeds There seems to be no clear-cut boundary between speaking and acting. Rather, saying is sometimes acting. Alternatively, words are British philosopher, part of deeds. John Austin (1911- 1960) E.g. When we congratulate someone by saying “Congratulations!”. It means as much as giving him or her a pat on the back or the thumbs-up sign. However，this action needs to be performed in accordance with social conventions and institutions. In other words, the circumstance must be appropriate. We don’t say “congratulations” to the one who have failed in the exam. Constative vs. Performative Constative: describing a portion of some facts or states of affairs; aiming at referring something or expressing something. –I go to the park every Sunday. Performative: saying itself accomplishing a certain action, affecting, or changing the world in some way; to do sth. Performative verbs: name, bet, etc.  I do.  I name this ship Queen Elizabeth. Compare the following four sentences and pick out the performatives. I go walking in the park every day. I teach English. I make apologize. I suggest you not smoking. Understanding of Speech Acts Speech acts