How to do things with words
CAS LX 502 • Language as a social function. • — I bet you $1 you can’t name the Super Tuesday states. —You’re on. • I ate a sandwich. • I promise to get up early and vote. 7a. Speech acts • I need the day off. Ch. 8 • I (now) pronounce you man and wife. • I hereby sentence you to 90-days probation.
• May I have the salt?
GA RI, MD, CT, MN, VT, OH, MA, CA, NY,
Conventional sentence types Austin (1955/1962/1975)
• Declarative. (Assertion) • A traditional view of meaning in language at the time • I seem to have forgotten my umbrella. (which we will explore in more depth) revolved around the assumptions that: • Interrogative. (Question) • The basic sentence type is declarative. • Where did I leave it? • The main use of language is to describe states of affairs • Imperative. (Order/Request) • The meaning of utterances can be described in terms of truth and falsity (or the situations in which an utterance would be • Go find my umbrella! true/false). • [ Optative. (Wish) ] • However, there are many sentence types and usages that • If only I had my umbrella! cannot really be said to be “true” or “false”. This seems to cover only declaratives, and not even all of them.
Performative utterances Felicity
• Certain utterances actually perform an act. • Generally speaking: • I promise that I will do my homework. • A1. There must be an accepted conventional procedure having a certain conventional effect, the procedure to • I hereby declare this meeting adjourned. include the uttering of certain words by certain persons in certain circumstances… • A2. The particular persons and circumstances must be • For performative utterances, whether they appropriate for the invocation of the particular are true or not is not at issue; rather, we procedure invoked… might ask whether they work (felicitous) or • B1. The procedure must be executed by all the not (infelicitous). participants correctly… • B2. …and completely… • Misfire, abuse, …
1 Three elements of a speech act Categorization of speech acts
• Locutionary act: speaking/writing a grammatical • Searle (1976): utterance. • Representatives. Commit to the truth of expressed proposition • Asserting, concluding, … Illocutionary act: action intended by the speaker. • • Directives. Attempts to get addressee to do something • Perlocutionary act: effect intended by the speaker. • Demanding, questioning, requesting, … • Commissives. Commit to a future course of action • Promising, threatening, offering, … • Arrest that man! • Expressives. Express a psychological state • Urging, advising, … • Thanking, apologizing, congratulating, … • Persuading, … • Declarations. Effect immediate changes in the institutional state of affairs. • Christening, firing, marrying, …
Defining speech acts à la Searle Defining speech acts à la Searle
• Schema: • Schema: • Preparatory condition(s) • Preparatory condition(s) • Propositional condition(s) • Propositional condition(s) • Sincerity conditions(s) • Sincerity conditions(s) • Essential condition(s) • Essential condition(s) • Promising (by S to H of A via P using E): • Questioning (by S to H via P using E): • Prep1: H would prefer S’s doing A to his not doing A and S • Prep1: S does not know the missing information. believes H would prefer S’s doing A to not doing A. • Prep2: It is not obvious to S and H that H will provide the • Prep2: It is not obvious to both S and H that S will do A in the information without being asked. normal course of events. • (Prop: No condition, any proposition.) • Prop: In expressing that P, S predicates a future act A of S. • Sinc: S wants the missing information. • Sinc: S intends to do A • Ess: The act counts as an attempt to elicit this information from H. • Ess: the utterance E counts as an undertaking to do A.
Overriding convention: Implicit v. explicit performatives indirect speech acts • I hereby promise to pay you 35 euros. • Can you pass the spinach? • I’ll give you 35 euros. • Why don’t you go find your teddy bear? • (a promise, not a prediction or a statement). • Direct act: question, indirect act: request. • I must ask you to leave. • Direct act: statement, indirect act: order/request • It’s a fuzzy line. • It’s freezing in here. • Direct act: statement, indirect act: request • So how do we know which one is meant?
2 How we understand indirect Literal and non-literal speech acts • Can you pass the spinach? • Searle: reasoning from • (Please) pass the spinach. • Felicity conditions • I wish you wouldn’t tap your pencil. • Context • (Please) stop tapping your pencil. • Principles of cooperative conversation • Are you going to eat your peas? • Can you pass the salt? (Quantity) • (Please) eat your peas. • I wish you wouldn’t tap your pencil. (Relation) • Requesting (by S to H of A) • Convention: • Prep: H is able to perform A. Are you capable of passing me the salt? • Sinc: S wants H to do A. • Perception of the direct act: • Prop: S predicates a future act A of H. Yes indeed. • Ess: Counts as an attempt by S to get H to do A.
Why be indirect?
• Close the window. • Can you close the window? • I don’t suppose you could close the window, could you? • I wonder if you’d mind closing the window. • It’s rather chilly in here.
• Diminishing threats to face (worthiness, autonomy). • I’d love to go, but I have to wash my hair, I have a headache, and it’s my mother’s birthday. Maybe another time.
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