Statistics Object Types for Performance Monitoring in GSM Mobile Networks
‘Speech acting’ – ‘acting’ in speech
There are cases when the hearer fails to recognize the speaker’s intentions and he therefore wrongly interprets the speaker’s utterance. This misunderstanding may lead to funny situations and hence it is often an unfailing source for various jokes. This picture suggests that the speaker (the man in this case) has uttered a question asking how the woman’s day was. The context and other circumstances are not specified !ut let’s suppose that their conversation takes place somewhere in the office and that they are colleagues. The man o!viously meant his question just as a polite conventional formula with a rather phatic function (speech used to share feelings or to establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or ideas) not wanting to know any other details. The woman takes him a!ack a !it since she starts giving him a lot of unsolicited information. "he o!viously did not catch the intentions !ehind his words and therefore the man surprised at her extensive answer carefully reminds her that she was only supposed to say #$ine.’ The communication is uncomforta!le for him. The illocutionary act he uttered was not recognized !y the woman. The question we should logically ask is #%hy&’. 'en and women happen to have different interactional styles and misunderstandings occur !ecause they are not aware of them. them. "he even compares the differences in the way men and women talk to already discussed cross cultural differences. nd nd thus it is possi!le to see this example as an analogy to that $rench merican interpretation of the #'ais vous ne comperenez pas* case. The woman is as if from different cultural milieu and she therefore misinterprets the man’s question. "peakers can perform actions while making utterances "ituation+ t work !oss has great deal of power. You're fired more than just a statement actually ends your e mployment mployment ,ther examples+ You're so fantastic (compliment) You're welcome (acknowledgement of thanks) You're not serious! That’s not true! (expression of surprise) →
Conversation analysis Summons--answer + -an get some help here& Offer--refusal "ales clerk+ 'ay help you find something& Compliment--acceptance + 2our hair looks very lovely today.
/+ ,n my way. way. -ustomer+ 0o thank you 1m just looking. /+ Thank you. just had it cut.
3istening is one of the su!jects studied in the discipline of conversation analysis. t does not mean simply maintaining a polite silence while you are rehearsing in your mind the speech you are going to make the next time you can gra! a conversational opening. 0or does listening mean waiting alertly for the flaws in the other fellow’s argument argument so that later you can mow him down. 3istening means trying to see the pro!lem the way the speaker sees it 4 which means not sympathy which is feeling is feeling for him him !ut empathy empathy which is experiencing with with him. 3istening requires entering actively and imaginatively into the other fellow’s situation situation and trying tr ying to understand a frame of reference different from your own. This is not always an easy task.
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6/ut a good listener does not merely remain silent. 7e asks questions. 7owever these questions must avoid all implications (whether in tone of voice or in wording) of skepticism or challenge or hostility. They must clearly !e motivated !y curiosity a!out the speaker’s views.8 (".. 7ayakawa 67ow to ttend a -onference.8 The se and isuse of "anguage ed. !y ".. 7ayakawa. $awcett 9remier 5:;<)
speech event is an activity in which participants interact via language in some conventional way to arrive at some outcome. - may include one o!vious central speech act - may include other utterances leading up to and su!sequently reacting to that central action #$ Oh% ary% &’m glad you’re here ($ )hat’s up* #$ & can't get my computer to wor+ the request is the whole speech event ($ &s it bro+en* not a single speech act. #$ & don’t thin+ so ($ )hat’s it doing* no actual request is made #$ & don’t +now &’m useless with computers ($ )hat +ind is it* #$ &t’s a ac ,o you use them* ($ Yeah #$ ,o you hae a minute* ($ Sure #$ Oh% great - the question #=o you have a minute&’ could !e characterized as a prerequest allowing the hearer to say that she’s !usy or that she has to !e somewhere else. - the response #"ure’ is taken to !e an acknowledgement not only of having time availa!le !ut a willingness to perform the unstated action. →
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%e use the term speech act to descri!e actions such as #requesting’ #commanding’ #questioning’ or #informing.’ %e can define a speech act as the action performed !y a speaker with an utterance. f you say &’ll be there at six you are not just speaking you seem to !e performing the speech act of #promising.’ 6%hen an interrogative structure such as ,id you * #re they * or Can we * is used with the function of a question it is descri!ed as a direct speech act . $or example when we don’t know something and we ask someone to provide the information we usually produce a direct speech act such as Can you ride a bicycle* 6-ompare that utterance with Can you pass the salt* >7ere? we are not really asking a question a!out someone’s a!ility. n fact we don’t normally use this structure as a question at all. . . . This is an example of an indirect speech act .8 (@. 2ule The Study of "anguage. -am!ridge Aniv. 9ress
6"everal categories of speech acts have !een proposed viz. directies (speakers try to get their listeners to do something e.g. !egging commanding requesting) commissies (speakers commit themselves to a future course of action e.g. promising guaranteeing) expressies (speakers express their feelings e.g. apologizing welcoming sympathizing) declarations (the speaker’s utterance !rings a!out a new external situation e.g. christening marrying resigning) . . ..8 (=. -rystal ,ictionary of "inguistics. /lackwell 5::C)
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The speaker normally expects that his or her communicative intention will !e recognized !y the hearer 4 !oth speaker and hearer are helped !y the circumstances surrounding the utterance. These circumstances (including other utterances) are called the speech event. The tea is really cold! "ituation + ,n a wintry day the speaker reaches for a cup of tea !elieving that it has !een freshly made takes a sip and produces the utterance complaint "ituation /+ ,n a really hot summer’s day the speaker is !eing given a glass of iced tea takes a sip and produces the utterance praise 0o simple utterancetoaction correspondence is possi!le*** →
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Classification declarations+ - speech acts that change the world via their utterance - the speaker has to have a special institutional role in a specific situation .riest$ & now pronounce you husband and wife /eferee$ You’re out 0ury 1oreman$ )e find the defendant guilty the speaker changes the world via words representatives+- speech acts that state what the speaker !elieves to !e the case or not - statements of fact assertions conclusions and descriptions are all examples of the speaker representing the world as heDshe !elieves it is The earth is flat Choms+y didn’t write about peanuts &t was a warm sunny day the speaker makes words fit the world (of !elief) expressives+ - speech acts that state what the speaker feels they express psychological states and can !e statements of pleasure pain likes dislikes joy sorrow ... &’m really sorry Congratulations! Oh yes% great% mmmmm!! the speaker makes words fit the world (of feeling) directives+ speech acts that speakers use to get someone else to do something - they express what the speaker wants they are commands orders requests suggestions and can !e positive or negative 2imme a cup of coffee a+e it blac+ Could you lend me a pen% please* ,on’t touch that the speaker attempts to make the world fit the words via the hearer commissives+ speech acts that speaker use to commit themselves to some future action - they express what the speaker intends they are promises threats refusals pledges - they can !e performed !y the speaker alone or !y as a mem!er of a group &’ll be bac+ &’m going to get it right next time )e will not do that the speaker undertakes to make the world fit the words via the speaker →
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Summary Speech act type =eclarations Fepresentatives
Direction of fit words change the world make words fit the world
Form (S spea!er" # situation$ " causes E " !elieves E
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Hxpressives =irectives -ommissives
make words fit the world make the world fit words make the world fit words
" feels E " wants E " intends E
Direct and %ndirect speech acts There is a typical pattern in Hnglish where!y asking a question a!out the hearer’s assumed a!ility (#can you’ #could you’) or future likelihood with regard to doing something (#will you’ #would you’) normally counts as a request to actually do that something. Could you pass the salt* )ould you open this* ndirect speech acts are generally associated with greater politeness than direct speech acts. The door is there This simple declarative sentence (;) in the form of statement can !e interpreted in at least two ways. t can !e either understood literally as a reply to the question #%here is the way out&’ or possi!ly #%here is the door&’ or it can !e taken as an indirect request to ask some!ody to leave. The sentence has thus two illocutionary forces which even if they are different have a common proposition (content). The former case is called a direct speech act the latter an indirect speech act. t depends on the speaker and on the contextual situation which one he will choose to convey in his speech. &xercises 5) -lassify the following speech acts 5 ’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse ('ario 9uzo) commissie < !aptize this !a!y Iohn declaratie G /etter remain silent and !e thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all possi!le dou!t (-hinese prover!) directie J f ’d known was gonna live that long ’d have taken !etter care of myself (Hu!ie /lake) expressie K came saw conquered (Iulius -aesar)
<) 'any Hnglish ver!s can !e used to perform several different speech acts. $or each of the following ver!s determine the different speech acts each expresses. 0ote any special appropriateness conditions which apply. agree grant urge curse swear applaud conclude guarantee adopt -hoose two illocutionary acts and give three different locutions which would express each act. -ongratulate request apologize warn thank. Fead the following utterances and then (i) "pecify two possi!le illocutionary forces for each. (ii) 9rovide a situation for each illocution (a) s this your coat on the floor& (!) can’t hear a word. (c) ’ll tell your father. (d) had a flat tyre (e) t is seven o’clock (f) t is getting quite late. (g) t is raining outside. $or each of the utterances !elow 5) name the speech act performed <) descri!e two of its felicity conditions
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G) decide whether the speech act is direct or indirect and explain in terms of sentence structure a) !) c) d) e) f) g) h) i)
-an you make your !ed& 7ave a safe journey. %here do you live& wonder what happened to 'ary. hear there1s a fire in the next !uilding. Hnjoy yourself -an you people at the !ack hear me& s this the new dress you !ought yesterday for KBBB "F& %here is your !ook&
$or each of the following utterance name the speech act performed. =escri!e two of its felicity conditions. (a) (!) (c) (d)
%here’s the !ook& promise ’ll come tonight. name this ship the queen Hliza!eth. =on’t smoke.
