Language and LinguisticsLanguage and Linguistics

Unit 5 Language Function 2: Unit 5 Language Function 2: Doing Things With LanguageDoing Things With Language

Presented By: Jia Lin (Dana)

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Did you think about it? Within a culture, people

tend to share common metaphors.

Idioms and idiomatic expressions are often based on these common metaphors.

Reading traditional stories, using dictionaries and encyclopedias can help language learners learn them.

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Unit 5 Objectives

Understand more of the functions that language fulfills in the social world.

Recognize that saying the correct thing requires awareness of appropriateness and circumstances.

Learn some terms related to speech acts. Develop the ability to analyze common

speech acts.

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Unit 5 OverviewD o ing Th ing s w ith L an g uage

T a sks1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ,5

1 S a ying Is D o ing

R e v ie wD iscu ss ion

T a sks1 , 2 , 3 , 4

2 T h in g s W e D o R itu a llya n d F orm a lly

T a sks1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5

3 T h in g s W e D oE ve ryd ay

W a rm -upE xe rc ise

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Warm-up Exercise

See how many different meanings you can put into the word “cabbage” or baicai. Say the word with different intonations and gestures to help your partner understand each meaning. Write down separate meanings as full sentences after you have identified them.

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Warm-up Exercise

You could say “cabbage” as a request (give me some cabbage), a remark (look, there’s some cabbage), a question (is that cabbage?), or to express your feelings (oh no, eating cabbage again), etc. Have you observed small children making rich use of such one-word utterances?

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1Saying is Doing

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Key Terms

psychological component intention interpretation locutionary act illocutionary act perlocutionary act direct/indirect

...referring to the mind

...part of a larger whole

...aim or purpose

...an explanation of sth.

...vocal part of speech act

...what a speaker is doing

...the speaker’s intended effect

...with or without a verb showing intention

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Analyzing a greeting.

A man might introduce himself with an expression like “Hello, I’m John”.

What do you think his intentions might be?

Is it likely that he has no intention?

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Psychological and vocal components of a greeting.

The psychological component includes his intention, which might be to attract her attention or simply to be polite.

There are several possible interpretations of his motive, based on his psychological state.

The vocal component would include physical aspects of his articulation and the structure of his utterance.

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Psychological component. “Why don’t you come

have dinner with us?” With your partner,

discuss the possible psychological components behind this question.

What if the speaker is not Chinese? Does it matter if she is or not?

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Vocal component. Vocal components tend

to be the same, regardless of culture or personality.

All speakers will generate air, modify its flow to form speech sounds and arrange words in a meaningful order.

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Parts of a speech act.

A speech act includes the following vocal components:– the phonic act (produce air and noise)– the phonetic act (form speech sounds and

words)– the rhetic act (organize words into a

meaningful and grammatical utterance)

These are all part of a locutionary act.

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Parts of a speech act.

A speech act often has more than one psychological component.

The illocutionary act refers to what the speaker is doing by means of the utterance. For example, a person who says “Hello, my name is...” is performing an illocutionary act of introduction.

The perlocutionary act refers to the intended effect of the utterance. For example, when you introduce yourself you probably intend that the other person remember you. But they may not.

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List the illocutionary acts.

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What he said:

What he was doing:

Her response:

What she was doing:

How are things? ? Not bad. And

you? ?

Sorry about that! ? It’s okay. ?

Put that away! ? All right. ?

What did you do that for? ? Because. ?

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List the illocutionary acts.

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What he said:

What he was doing:

Her response:

What she was doing:

How are things?

greetingNot bad. And

you?greeting

Sorry about that!

apologizing It’s okay. forgiving

Put that away! ordering All right. complying

What did you do that for?

criticizing Because. arguing

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Direct and indirect illocutionary acts.

If performed directly, a verb is used to specify the kind of act. Examples:– I order you to put that

away! (order)– Congratulations on

your promotion. (congratulate)

– I declare this day a holiday. (declare)

If performed indirectly, no such verb is used to define the act. Examples:– You know that you

shouldn’t be late. (criticize)

– Think it over. (suggest)– I didn’t mean to hurt

you. (apologize)

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Perlocutionary acts. The perlocutionary act refers to the

intended effect on the listener or the desired result of a speech act.

For example, you might warn a friend that eating too much mutton (yangrou) will cause her to to have an allergic reaction (shanghuo). You warn her in order to spare her discomfort. What she does next is up to her.

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List the perlocutionary acts.

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What she said:

She said it in order to:

His response:

He said it in order to:

Can I help you? ? I’m not sure. ?

What are your symptoms? ?

A sore throat and

coughing.?

This medicine may help. ? Okay, I’ll

take it. ?

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List the perlocutionary acts.

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What she said:

She said it in order to:

His response:

He said it in order to:

Can I help you?

attract his attention

I’m not sure.give himself more time

What are your symptoms?

find out what he needs

A sore throat and

coughing.

allow her to find the right

product

This medicine may help.

convince him to buy it

Okay, I’ll take it.

get her to complete the

sale

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Key Concepts

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Task 1 An anatomy of saying something... A speech act has both psychological and vocal components.

Task 2 Come to terms with terminology... Locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts.

Task 3 Understand the illocutionary act... Illocutionary acts refer to what we do when we say something.

Task 4 Understand the perlocutionary act... Perlocutionary acts refer to the intended effect.

Task 5 Activity summary... Make sure that you can explain the main points.

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2Things We Do Ritually

and Formally

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Key Terms

ritual formal ceremony insincere violate authorized procedure secular

...order or procedure for a custom

...concerned with outward form, polite

...an event characterized by ritual

...not expressing genuine feeling

...break (rules), treat with disrespect

...having the right or authority

...the order in which things are done

...not religious, ordinary business

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Ritual use of language. During formal

ceremonies such as graduation, special utterances are used.

The same words are used and the same actions are performed each time.

So, we can say that a graduation ceremony is characterized by ritual.

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A wedding ceremonyincludes ritual.

Weddings involve a lot of ceremony (formal custom) and ritual (procedures). Thoughts and feelings are also involved.

The person conducting the ceremony (priest or ceremony master) makes sure that proper procedure is used.

To do so, he must perform a number of ritual illocutionary acts.

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Compare weddings: Asian. In East Asian weddings,

the ceremony master lets the bride and bridegroom know what to do next.

Respect is paid to heaven, earth, parents and each other.

The couple may also cross arms and drink wine as part of the ritual before going home.

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Compare weddings: European.

The priest asks the man and then the woman if each is willing to love, honor and care for each other according to God’s arrangement.

Rings are exchanged and a certificate is signed.

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Compare wedding ceremonies.Asian European

Participants ? ?Who conducts ceremony ? ?

Procedure ? ?

What is said ? ?How marriage is completed ? ?

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Compare wedding ceremonies.

Asian European

Participantscouple, parents, ceremony master

couple, bride’s father, priest

Who conducts ceremony

ceremony master (secular)

priest (religious) or judge (secular)

Procedure bow in worship make promises

What is said commands questions, answers

How marriage is completed

couple crosses arms & drinks, goes home

sign certificate

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What are the four essential features of ritual illocutionary acts?

The right persons... someone to conduct the ceremony as well as participate.

The right words... proper ritual language adds dignity to the ceremony.

The right feelings or thoughts... proper sentiment prevents an act from being insincere or “false”.

The right procedure... ensures that the act concludes successfully, achieving its goals.

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Cultural influence on ritual. European cultural ideas

about marriage include mutual love, religion and an authorized place such as a church or registry office.

How does culture affect Chinese weddings?

What are the consequences when cultural norms are violated?

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Key Concepts

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Task 1 Analyze the ritual use of language... Proper use of formal language is part of ritual and ceremony.

Task 2 Discover features of ritual illocutionary acts... Four essential aspects of ritual illocutionary acts. Example: weddings.

Task 3 Make a contrast... Compare weddings for common features and cultural differences.

Task 4 Activity summary... Understand the influence of language on ritual and ceremony. Be aware of cultural meanings behind language.

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3Things We Do Everyday

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Key Terms

apology compensation chunk cause-perspective speaker-perspective victim-perspective lead-in hedge

...statement of regret (sorry)

...a way to offset damages

...thick piece of sth.

...consider the reason

...consider the speaker

...consider the one hurt (victim)

...speech used before a request

...expression used to reduce risk

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Why apologize?

An apology is a way to minimize or prevent hurt feelings.

Sometimes an apology is simply a ritual. Examples?

Compare apologies that are personal and impersonal.

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A personal apology. What are some causes

for an apology to a close friend or family member?

How would you go about saying sorry?

How would you expect the other person to respond?

With your partner, role-play an apology.

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An impersonal apology.

“Dear customer: We regret to inform you...”

Have you ever received an apology from a business?

Did you receive compensation?

How did you feel afterwards? Satisfied?

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Apologizing divided into 4 chunks.

1. Cause... the reason for the apology, usually some form of harm to the victim.

2. Apologize... offender feels regret (mental) and admits wrongdoing (verbal).

3. Accept... victim lets go of the hurt (mental) by minimizing the damage (verbal).

4. Follow-up... carry on as though nothing has happened. The relationship is restored.

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Explain each “chunk” in the process of apologizing.

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“Xiao Zhang, you are late!”

“Sorry, I was working on that report until 2 am.”

“Well then, I can understand why you slept in.”

“See you at the meeting.”

CAUSE CAUSE

APOLOGIZEAPOLOGIZE

ACCEPTACCEPT

FOLLOW-UP FOLLOW-UP

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Let’s have a debate. Which is worse:

apologizing too much or too little?

Use some situations from p. 186 (Task 2). In which cases is an apology really necessary?

Why is it bad never to apologize (p. 187)? Why is it bad to say sorry too much?

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Perspectives towards apologies. A light offense can usually be covered by a simple

apology (“sorry” “excuse me”). A serious offense may require a more extensive

apology (“so sorry, it won’t happen again”). Apologizing from the cause-perspective... give a

reason for what happened (“I slept in”). Apologizing from the speaker-perspective... express

regret, admit fault, offer compensation (“I’ll make up for it”).

Apologizing from the victim-perspective... request the victim’s forgiveness (“please don’t be angry”).

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From the cause, speaker or victim-perspective?

1. “I’ve upset you.”

2. “I’m so clumsy.”

3. “He suddenly cut in front of me and I couldn’t avoid him.”

4. “I didn’t know about this rule.”

5. “I’ll do better next time.”

6. “Can you please just forget about it?”

1. Victim

2. Speaker

3. Cause

4. Cause

5. Speaker

6. Victim

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Requesting divided into 4 chunks.

1. Cause: a prior event is the reason for the request.

2. Request: the first person considers how to ask (mental), then makes the request (verbal).

3. Response: the second person thinks it over (mental) and replies (verbal).

4. Follow-up: the second person performs the requested action and is thanked.

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Advice on making requests. What makes some requests

easier to fulfill than others?

An indirect request is usually more polite than a direct imperative (command).

Giving the person a way to refuse reduces the pressure.

Examples?

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Lead-ins and refusals to requests. A lead-in may be a

compliment or question designed to make someone more willing to fulfill a request.

If the lead-in is too long, the listener may feel pressured or manipulated.

Why is it so difficult to directly refuse a request?

What are some examples of polite refusals?

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How “hedges” are used. A hedge can be used to soften or weaken a

strong statement. Hedges protect a speaker from being challenged,

questioned or contradicted. Hedges are often used in academic and scientific

writing to avoid making a statement that cannot be proven.

It’s always safer to tell someone “I think this idea will make money” than to assert that “this idea will make money” and be proven wrong!

Other examples?

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Assertions vs. hedges.

“These pills will make you lose weight.”

“You can trust him.”

“This rock is 6 million years old.”

“It’s delicious.”

“These pills can help you lose weight (if you exercise and don’t eat too much).”

“I believe that you can trust him.”

“We estimate that this rock is probably 6 million years old.”

“I think it’s pretty tasty.”

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Key Concepts

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Task 1 Analyze apologies... An apology can be divided into 4 chunks or parts, reasons for apologies.

Task 2 Ways of apologizing... Three perspectives from which one can apologize.

Task 3 Analyze requests... A request can be divided into 4 chunks. Polite lead-ins and refusals.

Task 4 Learn to use hedges... How and why clever people use hedges rather than assertions.

Task 5 Activity summary... Make sure that you can explain the main points.

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Unit 5 Review Questions

What are the 3 acts that a person performs while saying something?

What are the 4 essential parts of a ritual? What sort of language makes it easier for

a victim to accept an apology? Fulfill a request?

What is a verbal “hedge”?

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Progress Report & Assignment 2

0102030405060708090

100

SSPR4

Ass't2

Unit 4Unit 5Unit 6

You should now be able to do ALL of the 5th Progress Report.

You should also be able to answer 2/3 of the questions for Assignment 2.

Have you read through the questions?

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Something to think about... Apologies and requests

are common functions in language.

Yet, a clumsy apology or request can damage relationships.

How can language learners learn to perform these speech acts successfully?

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Additional Reading

Locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts... The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language 121.

Examples of ceremonies and rituals... The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language 49-50.

Direct and indirect speech acts... http://www.ohiou.edu/~linguist/soemarmo/exercises/pragma.htm

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It’s time for YOUR questions.

Are there still any areas of difficulty?

Do you have any questions about concepts or their application?

Thank you for your participation.

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