Semantics: interpersonal meaning (speech act)

It's about semantics

1. S e m a n t i c s I n t e rpersonal meaning

2. S p e e c h A c t Actions speak louder than words’ is a well-known proverb . B u t w e will show how, to a large extent, speec h is action, and that language can actually be used to do things.

3. When a speaker, in appropriate circumstances, makes an utterance containin g a referring expression, he carries out a certain act, an act of referring . Referring is typically a linguistic act, but we shall see that it is possible t o carry out all sorts of other acts using language. We will start with anothe r obviously linguistic act, that of stating or asserting.

4. An ACT of ASSERTION is carried out when a speaker utters a declarativ e sentence (which can be either true or false), and undertakes a certain responsibility, or commitment, to the hearer, that a particular state o f affairs, or situation, exists in the world

5. E x a m p l e If I say, ‘Simon is in the kitchen’, I assert to my hearer that in the real world a situation exists in which a person named Simon is in a room identified by the referring expression the kitchen.

6. The DESCRIPTIVE FALLACY is the view that the sole purpose of makin g assertions is to DESCRIBE some state of affairs. E x a m p l e According to the Descriptive Fallacy view, my only purpose in uttering ‘Simon is in the kitchen’ would be to describe a particular state of affairs, and nothing more.

7. P r a c tice Would the main purpose of making the following assertions normally be simply to describe some existing state of affairs in the world? (1) ‘There is a wasp in your left ear’ Yes / No (2) ‘Someone has broken the space-bar on my typewriter’ Yes / No (3) ‘This gun is loaded’ Yes / No (4) ‘You are a fool’ Yes / No (5) ‘I love you’ Yes / No

8. An important part of th e meaning of utterances is what speakers DO by uttering them. Acts such a s teasing, insulting, etc. are aspects of utterance meaning and not of sentence meaning. We reinforce this conclusion below.

9. P r a c tice Take a sentence such as There’s a piece of fish on the table. (1) Could this sentence be uttered as a means of complaining to a waiter in a restaurant that a table had not been cleared properl y ? Yes / No (2) Could it, in other circumstances, be uttered to warn one’s husband or wife not to let the cat in the kitchen? Yes / No (3) Could it, in still other circumstances, be uttered to reassure one’s husband or wife that his or her lunch has not been forgotten? Yes / No

10. P r a c tice Could it, in a different situation, be used to incriminate a child who had raided the refrigerator ? Yes / No (5) Are individual sentences generally identifiable with single specific acts that are carried out by uttering them? Yes / No

11. many actions can actually be performed with words. Now we will look at some actions, usually, but not always, involving human objects, that can be performed either by physical means, such as a gesture, or by making an appropriate utterance.

12. P r a tice (1) Can you congratulate someone by a pat on the back, or a hug? Yes / No (2) Can you congratulate someone by uttering ‘Well done’ Yes / No (3) Can you bid at an auction by nodding? Yes / No (4) Can you bid at an auction by saying ‘Eleven pounds’? Yes / No (5) Can you promise someone something by a nod? Yes / No (6) Can you promise someone something with an utterance beginning ‘I promise . . .’? Yes / No

13. the distinction between performative utterances (and sentences) and constative utterances (and sentences). A PERFORMATIVE utterance is one that actually describes the act that it performs, i.e. it PERFORMS some act and SIMULTANEOUSLY DESCRIBES that act.

14. E x a m p l e ‘I promise to repay you tomorrow’ is performative because in saying it the speaker actually does what the utterance describes, i.e. he promises to repay the hearer the next day. That is, the utterance both describes and is a promise. By contrast, the utterance ‘John promised to repay me tomorrow’, although it describes a promise, is not itself a promise. So this utterance does not simultaneously do what it describes, and is therefore not a performative.

15. P r a c tice (1) If I say to you, ‘I warn you not to come any closer’, do I, by so saying, actually perform the act of warning you not to come any closer? Yes / No (2) Does the utterance ‘I warn you not to come any closer’ describe an act of warning by the speaker? Yes / No (3) Is the utterance ‘I warn you not to come any closer’ a performative utterance? Yes / No

16. P r a c t ice (4) If Sam says to Rachel, ‘I admit that I took 50p from the coffee money’, does he, by so saying, actually perform the act o r admitting that he took the money? Yes / No (5) And does Sam’s utterance describe an act of admission? Yes / No (6) Is ‘I admit that I took 50p from the coffee money’ performative? Yes / No

17. P r a c tice (7) If someone says, ‘I’m trying to get this box open with a screwdriver’, does that utterance itself constitute an act of trying to open a box with a screwdriver? Yes / No (8) Is ‘I’m trying to get this box open with a screwdriver’ performative? Yes / No

18. A CONSTATIVE utterance is one which makes an ASSERTION (i.e. it is often the utterance of a declarative sentence) but is NOT performative. E x a m p l e ‘I’m trying to get this box open with a screwdriver’ is a constative utterance, because it makes an assertion about a particular state of affairs, but is not performative, i.e. the utterance does not simultaneously describe and perform the same act.

19. P r a c tice Are the following utterances performative (P) or constative (C)? (1) ‘I name this ship Hibernia’ P / C (2) ‘I believe in the dictatorship of the Proletariat’ P / C (3) ‘I admit I was hasty’ P / C (4) ‘I think I was wrong’ P / C (5) ‘I hereby inform you that you are sacked’ P / C (6) ‘I give you supper every night’ P / C

20. A PERFORMATIVE VERB is one which, when used in a simple positive present tense sentence, with a 1st person singular subject, can make the utterance of that sentence performative

21. E x a m p l e Sentence is a performative verb because, for example, ‘I sentence you to be hanged by the neck’ is a performative utterance. Punish is not a performative verb because, for example, ‘I punish you’ is not a performative utterance.

22. P r a c tice Are the following performative verbs, or not? (1) apologize Yes / No (2) authorize Yes / No (3) argue Yes / No (4) condemn Yes / No (5) squeal Yes / No

23. performative utterances contain a performative verb, and many have 1st person singular subjects and are in the present tense. But there are exceptions to this pattern .

24. P ractice Some of the following utterances are exceptions to the statement that all performative utterances have 1st person singular subjects. Which utterances are the exceptions? (Indicate your answer by underlining the exceptions.) (1) ‘You are hereby forbidden to leave this room’ (2) ‘All passengers on flight number forty-seven are requested to proceed to gate ten’ (3) ‘I suggest that you see a psychiatrist as soon as possible’ (4) ‘This ship is called Titanic’ (5) ‘We thank you for the compliment you have paid us’

25. the most reliable test to determine whether an utterance is performative is to insert the adverbial word hereby immediately before the verb and see if the modified utterance is acceptable.

26. P r a c tice Can hereby be acceptably inserted in the space indicated in the following utterances? (1) ‘I ( ) give notice that I will lock these doors in sixty seconds’ Yes / No (2) ‘Listeners are ( ) reminded that BBC wireless licences expire on April 4th’ Yes / No (3) ‘It ( ) gives me great pleasure to open this building’ Yes / No (4) ‘I ( ) warn you not to talk to my sister again’ Yes / No (5) ‘I ( ) believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth’ Yes / No

27. If a sentence can be accompanied by hereby without seeming odd, then the utterance of that sentence (in normal circumstances) constitutes a performative utterance.

28. P r a c tice Indicate whether the following sentences are odd or not odd. (1) I hereby warn you that you will fail Odd / Not odd (2) They hereby warn her that she will fail Odd / Not odd (3) I hereby promised him that I would be at the station at three o’clock Odd / Not odd (4) The management hereby warn customers that mistakes in change cannot be rectified once the customer has left the counter Odd / Not odd (5) Spitting is hereby forbidden Odd / Not odd (6) I hereby sing Odd / Not odd