PRAGMALINGUISTICS FORM of PROMISE in BARACK OBAMA SPEECHES

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Proposed By NIKEN WARDIANI SUWANDI A320090155

SCHOOL OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION MUHAMMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF SURAKARTA 2013

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Narna Agus Wijayanto, P,hD.

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Nama Dra. Dwi Haryanti, M-Hum.

NIK 477

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Nama Niken Wardiani Suwandi

NIM A320 090 155

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Judul Skripsi Pragmalinguistics Fomr of Promise in Barack Obama Speeches

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Agus Wijayanto, Ph.D Dra- Dwi M. Hum. PRAGMALINGUISTICS FORM of PROMISE in BARACK OBAMA SPEECHES

Niken Wardiani Suwandi (A 320 090 155)

Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

NIKEN WARDIANI SUWANDI. A 320 090 155. PRAGMALINGUISTICS FORM of PROMISE in BARACK OBAMA SPEECHES . RESEARCH PAPER. MUHAMMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF SURAKARTA. 2013.

The study aims to describe the pragmalinguistics forms of promising utterances in Barack Obama speeches. The object of this study is promising utterance in five speeches of Barack Obama. This research belongs to qualitative research. In analyzing the promising utterance, the researcher described the pragmalinguistics forms of promising utterance; identified and discussed illocutionary acts of promising utterance and drawing conclusion and suggestion based on the analysis. Based on the pragmalinguistics form of promising utterances, the writer finds 36 data of constantive form (the percentage is 92%) and 3 data of pervormative form of promising utterance the percentage is 8% ). Keywords: pragmatics, promising utterance, speech act

A. Introduction

Pragmalinguistics is a branch of pragmatics in linguistics study. Leech

(1983:11) states that “Pragmalinguistics is the study of "particular resources which a given language provides for conveying illocutions”. According to

Cenzo (2007) “Pragmalinguistics refers to the ability use linguistic elements to perform speech acts”.

There are many functions of language in daily life such as to give speech, announces, speak, tell, etc. Presidents usually use speech to explain their argument, ideas and point of view relating to occurrences in their country. Barack Husein Obama is one of president that delivers his idea by using speech. The writer is interested to study of promising utterances made by Barack Obama in his speech. Promising utterance is a statement for somebody to do an action in the future.

There are limited research about promising utterance such as Rahayu

(2009), Yulianti (2010), Pudjilestari (2012), Laval and Bernicot (2004) and astington (1987). Even though there are many studies of promising utterance, there is no research about promising utterance in Barack Obama speech.

However there was research about Barack Obama but it was only in Barack

Obama Campaign. That research was conducted by Rahayu (2009). This study is to continue the research from Rahayu (2009) that focus to Barack Obama

Speech. Barack Obama Speech here is delivered after Obama was elected as

President of United States. This is a proof that after becoming President of

1 2

United States, Obama still given promise to his citizen or public. So the writer conducted this research.

The background of Obama Speech is very interesting to be studied, because Barack Obama is first African- American president. He brings new idea to America government. His idea sometimes is controversial. So it makes he becomes a light ray in public of America. His plan for America is different from the other especially from Republic party. So it is very interesting to be studied. Second his point of view in politic is very interesting. America has improvement such as in economic, education, health, etc. From his speech in

Congress on Jobs in 2011, he gave fresh idea for America. His idea is welcomed by American. He will create more jobs for American. Small businesses will get a tax cut. He will get more projects for jobs in America.

Third Obama is a well- known person as president of America. Many persons are very interesting to him. Many people give attention to him. So what he said in speech is very interesting thing to talk. .Finally some of his statement in speech is promise. Many people have different interpretation to his statement in speech. So this study is conducted to make its clear the interpretation of his statement.

There are some researchers that conducted study about pragmatics analysis about speech and promising utterance. They are as follows:

Rahayu (2009) also conducted a study about speech that entitled A

Socio-Pragmatics analysis of Promising Utterance in Barack Obama

Campaign Speechs. The method of this research is qualitative research.

The result of the analysis shows that one form of utterance occurred in

Barack Obama’s Speeches that is declarative sentence, the intentions of promising utterance are giving response, stating purpose, assuring, persuading, describing, inviting and requesting and the reasons of employing promising utterances are showing attention, regret, cooperative, responsibility, relationship, mercy, affection, and prestige.

Yulianti (2010) conducted research about Promising Utterance in the

Novel of Twilight that analyzed by translation analysis. The results show that the translation variation of language forms of promising utterances are word translated to word, word translated to phrase, positive declarative sentence translated to positive declarative sentence, negative declarative sentence translated to negative declarative sentence, positive declarative sentence translated to negative declarative sentence. The implicature found are conventional and conversational implicature and also in the form of equivalent and non- equivalent. The politeness strategies of directive utterance are Bald on Record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off- record strategies.

Pudjilestari (2012) conducted a study entitled A Socio- Pragmatics

Analysis on Promising Utterance in Some Movie Manuscripts. The results of this research are there are three kinds of sentence (declarative sentence, imperative sentence and interrogative sentence), there are five intentions of the speaker (to assure, to command, to request, to affirm and to describe), and there are eight reason of the speaker (showing responsibility, showing angry, showing relationship, showing affection, showing hope, showing teasing, showing misunderstanding and showing attention.

The other researchers are Bernicot and Laval (2004) conducted research about Speech Acts in Children : the Examples of Promises. The importance of the promise fulfillment preparatory condition is in the comprehension of promises. Preparatory condition is satisfied facilitate the comprehension of promise utterances for the three-year-olds and the six- year-olds. For promise comprehension tested by means of non-verbal behavior, it was shown here that in addition to considering the sincerity condition, mastered from the age of 5. we had to consider the preparatory condition mastered about the age 9 or 10. Speaker’s beliefs and listener’s desires are two important elements for the children’s comprehension of promises. This research is also to investigate the role of linguistic form in the promise-making statement by comparing statements with verbs in the future tense to statements with other verb forms.

Astington (1987) conducted a study entitled Children's understanding of the speech act of promising. This study is for 5 - 13 years olds of children and adults. The result of this study is 9 years of age children could distinguish between promising and predicting in terms of the speaker's responsibility for the outcome. 11 and 13 year olds of children correctly said the speaker did not promise in cases of predicting, but only a few of them were correct for asserting. Even older children said the speaker did not promise when the promise was unfulfilled. Children do not think of promising as simply a speech act.

The other researchers are Delaney and Gibbs (2009) conducted a research about Pragmatic factors in making and understanding promises.

The results from this study showed that the first two of Searle's conditions are extremely important to maintain if a promise is to be made or understood. However, it appears that people can make promises about actions that would be performed in the normal course of events. As such, these studies support the idea that promises do not by themselves obligate a speaker, but are used to reaffirm previously existing, and often unstated, obligations.

Laval and Bernicot (1999) conducted a study entitled How French

Speaking Children Understand Promises: the Role of Future Tense. The results of this study are the 3 and 6 years olds based their interpretation of the promises primarily on the contextual of the communication situation, after the age of 6 years, the children began to rely on temporal markers in

the utterances whenever the immediate future tense was used and promise specific contextual information was lacking and the nine years olds always based their interpretation of the promises on temporal cues in the utterance.

From the previous study above, All of previous studies have similarity to this study. The similarity is all of previous studies and this research analyze promising utterance. But there is also difference between each research. From Rahayu’s study, the difference is her research using socio-pragmatics to analyze the data. The data source of Rahayu’s research is only in Barack Obama Campaign speech. But this research, the data source are five speeches of Barack Obama after he is elected in 2009. So it makes this research difference. Yulianti’s research is using translation analysis to analyze the data. Pudjilestari have conducted research about promising utterance in some movie manuscripts using socio-pragmatics. It makes different to the other previous study. The other researchers are Bernicot and Laval conducted research about promising but the data is children and adults using speech act theory. Asington also conducted research that the data is children to understand promises using speech acts theory. Delaney and Gibbs conducted research about promising utterance but the data source is people in institution. The similarity to this research is using pragmatic approach. The last previous study is Laval and Bernicot that conducted research about promising utterance and the data source is French children. But the promise here has role, the role is using future tense. So from all of previous studies this study is difference from each other. 1. Problem Statement What are the pragmalinguistic forms of promising utterances in Barack

Obama speeches?

B. Literary Review

Pragmalinguistics is a branch of pragmatics in linguistics study.

Leech (1983:11) states that “Pragmalinguistics is the study of "particular

resources which a given language provides for conveying illocutions”.

According to Cenzo (2007) “Pragmalinguistics refers to the ability use

linguistic elements to perform speech acts”.

Kiseleva (in Prucha, 1983:44) states that pragmalinguistics investigates

some of the following:

“ (a) the pragmatics properties of speech expressions (i.e. , the use of words, constructions, utterances) as well as units of the language system at various levels (morphemes, words, word combinations, sentences), (b) the rules and regularities of the pragmatic functioning of language units in speech and above all, (c) in typical extralinguistic situations, (d) with respect to typical social aims and tasks, (e) with respect to typical social and physical types of subject (speakers)and receivers”.

“Promising utterance is a statement to tell somebody that we will definitely do or not to do something. Promising something is committing someone to do it” (Egner, 2002:3). According to Mey (1993:116) “promises are actually given without the verb to promise ever coming to play”.

Promising utterance include to the speech act and classify to the comissives utterance. Searle (in Mey, 1993:116) states that “promise is something count as something only in within a specified set of rules”. So it has specific condition to call it is promise. The condition that can be called as promise are:

Condition 1 : The condition must obtain for input and output. It means that the

speaker must know what they utter with the language.

Condition 2 : The promise must have content. So the speaker knows what they

must do after speaking the promise and the hearer knows the

intention of the promise.

Condition 3 : The content must have to do in the future. It means there is

action from the speaker in the future because promise cannot

happen in the past.

Condition 4 : What being to be promise must have the advantage from the

promise.

Condition5 : The content of the promise must not be something which clearly

is going to happen anyway.

Condition6 : the promise has to do with the honesty of the promise in

performing the act of promising.

Condition7 : A promise intends to put him/her under the obligation of

performing the act of promising.

Condition8 : The language must apply condition where the promisee

understands the situation of promising utterance. the promise

have effect to the promise.

Condition9 : The sentence uttered must have semantical rules of the language

to make promise.

According to Austin, promise can be stated either though performative or constantive:

Performative is utterances that are used to do things or perform acts.

Peccei (1999:45) states that “Performative is some utterances that not only

perform speech act but also describe the speech act itself”. Speakers have to use pervormative verb to produce explicit performative. Pervormative verbs is such as promise, swear, pledge,etc.

For examples of performative:

I pomise I will be there tomorrow.

I swear that she will come.

I pledge I will visit you in the hospital.

According to Levinson (1983:244) “the structure in English: “I

(hereby) V per you (that) S” where V per is a performative verb and S’ is a complement sentence”.

Constative is utterances that can be verified as true or false. These utterances were typically in the form of assertions or statements. According to

Peccei (1999:47) “Constative can be used to perform illocution but it is not similar with performative”. Speakers did not use pervormative verbs to perform constative.

For examples:

I will be there tomorrow.

I will bring your book.

I will visit you in the hospital.

C. Research Method This is qualitative research which involves no statistical analysis; it is associated with hypothesis generating and developing an understanding.

Qualitative research is a research which the results non- numerical. The

researcher uses descriptive which is conducted by collecting the data, classifying the data and analyzing them without making general conclusion.

The object of this study is promising utterance in five speeches of

Barack Obama. They are Obama speech on the Deficit (April 13rd 2011),

Remarks by the President on Ending the War in Iraq (October 21st 2011) ,

Obama speech to Congress on Jobs (September 8th 2011), President Obama’s

Election Night Speech (November 7th 2012), President Barack Obama's 2012 election night victory speech in Chicago (November 7th 2012) and President

Obama’s Speech on Gun Control and Reform (Desember 19th 2012). The researcher focuses in the promising utterances that found in Barack Obama speeches.

The data will be analyzed in this research are promising utterances, which can be found in the five speeches of Barack Obama. The Source of the data in this research are speeches of Barack Obama. They are Obama speech on the Deficit (April 13rd 2011), Remarks by the President on Ending the War in Iraq (October 21st 2011) , Obama speech to Congress on Jobs (September

8th 2011), President Obama’s Election Night Speech (November 7th 2012),

President Barack Obama's 2012 election night victory speech in Chicago

(November 7th 2012) and President Obama’s Speech on Gun Control and

Reform (Desember 19th 2012).

In conducting this study, the writer uses documentation method. It is a method of data collection by investigating the written things such as books, magazines, documents, and many others. The function of this method is to

look for the data in the nature of documentation. In other words, it is to get the

data relating to and supporting Obama’s speeches. The steps of collecting data

are as follows:

1. Browsing in the Internet.

2. Reading the Obama’s speeches.

3. Selecting the materials.

4. Sorting the related materials purposively.

From the collected data, the writer analyses the data. The data in this

research are analyzed by using descriptive method, and the writer uses non-

statistic analysis to analyze the data. The writer conducts the data analysis

with the following procedures:

1. Describing the pragmalinguistics forms of promising utterances in Barack

Obama speeches.

2. Identifying and discussing locutionary acts and illocutionary acts of

promising utterances in Barack Obama speeches.

3. Drawing conclusion and suggestion based on the data analysis.

D. Research Findings and Discussion

Based on the data analysis about promising utterance in five

speeches of Barack Obama, the writer can find, as follows:

a. The Pragmalinguistics form of promising utterance

All of promising utterances in Barack Obama speech have their own form.

The speeches are Obama speech on the Deficit (April 13rd 2011), Remarks

by the President on Ending the War in Iraq (October 21st 2011) , Obama

speech to Congress on Jobs (September 8th 2011), President Obama’s

Election Night Speech (November 7th 2012), President Barack Obama's

2012 election night victory speech in Chicago (November 7th 2012) and

President Obama’s Speech on Gun Control and Reform (Desember 19th

2012). From the analysis above, the writer can show that most of his utterance in his speeches used the word “we. We refer to Obama,

American people and Obama’s office. It means that in his government he always involve American people as citizen in America to work together for solving problem in America. He is not individualistic person. Obama also involve both Democrat and Republic party to cover problem and to run governance in United States of America. Obama wanted to close to his citizen. So there is no gap between government and citizen. He believed a good government will be run well because the team works between government and citizen.

Based on Austin, there are two kinds’ form of pragmalinguistics of promising utterance, they are performative form and constantive form. The detailed information of the analysis can be seen from the table below:

Pragmalinguistics Data Number Percentage

Form

Pervormative 1, 12 and 36 8%

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13,

Constantive 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 92%

22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29,

30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38

and 39

From 39 data numbers analysis, the researcher found 3 numbers of performative forms of promising utterance. 36 numbers of data analyses are constantive form of promising utterances. It can be concluded that

Obama only used few word of prerformative verb. In the other, Obama used constantive form of promising utterance. It means that as a number one person in Uniten States of America, Obama did not need to say that, he promised, he pledged or he swear to show his promise to his citizen.

His citizen would understand by using constantive form of promising utterance that Obama uttered a promise to his citizen. It is the same powerful because he is a president in America.

Promising utterance is a statement to tell someboday that we will definitely do or not to do something. According to Austin promise can be stated as performative form and constantive form of promising utterance.

Performative form of promising utterance refers to an utterance that is used to do things or perform acts. Speaker has to do perfom act if they will promise someone and make sure the hearer. Speaker has to use performative verb to produce explicit promise. Pervormative verbs are promise, pledge, and swear. Constantive is an utterance that can be verified as true or false statement. Speaker can produce promise by using constantive form. But constantive form did not use performative verb.

Speaker can use auxiliary verb such as will. If speakers use contantive form of promising, their promise would not powerful. Therefore, performative form is more powerful than constantive form to produce promising utterance. The hearer would feel convinced, if the speaker uses performative form of promising utterance.

Based on the research findings, the writer can shown that the mostly form of promising utterance in five speeches of Barack Obama are constantive form. Contantive form is majority form in Obama speeches.

There are 36 data that the forms are constantive form. It means that Barack

Obama did not deliver powerful promise to the public. It can be concluded that Obama would fulfill his promise or not to the public because constantive form of promising utterance is not powerful to show promise.

It can be shown in his speech when he elected twice in 2012. His speeches in that election have the same promise when he still became president of

America period 2009- 2012. Obama stated that he would reduce deficit in

America by using his plan and program. Until two decades of his governance, his promise is still the same. It shows that deficit as a big problem was faced by American people. Most of Barack Obama’s promise can be verified as true or false statement. Therefore, his promise can or not to be fulfilled.

Then Only 3 data are performative form. It is included to performative form of promising utterance because Barack Obama used performative verb when he uttered his promise such as pledge and

promise. As president of United States of America, Barack Obama had

charismatic when he delivered his speech in front of American people

especially and public generally. Whether he used performative or

constantive form, his promise still had power to show his idea to public

because he is president of America, the number one person in America.

Although, his peformative form of promising utterance is only 3

utterances, he still had power to assure and affirm with his promise to his

citizen because he elected again in 2012 general election.

E. Conclusion

There is two form of promising utterance in five speeches of Barack Obama, which are constantive form and performative form. Five speeches of Barack Obama here are Obama speech on the Deficit (April 13rd 2011), Remarks by the President on Ending the War in Iraq (October 21st 2011) , Obama speech to Congress on Jobs (September 8th 2011), President Barack Obama's 2012 election night victory speech in Chicago (November 7th 2012) and President Obama’s Speech on Gun Control and Reform (Desember 19th 2012). Although the data is speech and the data analyzing is promising utterance, it is understandable that the mostly form of promising utterances is constantive form. It means that as president Barack Obama will not use verb promise, swear or pledge to deliver his promise to American people and public people. He can show and deliver his promise by using word will that it is included to true and false statement in constantive form. As president of United States of America, he did not need to use performative verb because his utterance has power. But his promise can be fulfilled or not. There is also performative form of promising utterance but only three data. It aimed to make sure his citizen.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Akhimien. 2006. The Speech Act Theory. Vol. 3: 748-756 Astington, Janet W.1987. Children's understanding of the speech act of promising. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bernicot, Josie and Laval, Virgine. 2004. Speech Acts in Children : the Examples of Promises.UK: Palgrave. DelaneSy, Suzanne M and Gibbs, Raymond W. 2009. Pragmatic factors in making and understanding promise. California: Routledge. Egner, Inge. 2002. The Speech act of Promising in an Intercultural Perspective. SIL International. Finch, Geofrrey. 2000. Linguistics Term and Concepts. UK: Palgrave. Fromkin, Victoria, et al. 1999. An Introduction to Language. Australia. Harcourt. Huford, James R., and Heasley, Brendan. 1990. Semantics: A Coursebook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Laval, Virgine and Bernicot, Josie. 1999. How French Speaking Children Understand Promises: the Role of Future Tense. UK: Palgrave. Leech, Geoffrey. 1983. Principles of Pragmatics. London: Longman. Levinson, Sephen C. 1983. Pragmatics. Cambrigde : Cambridge University Perss. Mey, Jacob L. 1993. Pragmatics an Introduction.Cambridge : Blackwell. Peccei, Jean Stilwell. 1999. Pragmaticcs. London and New York: Routledge. Pudjilestari, Herdini. 2012. A Socio- Pragmatics Analysis on Promising Utterance in Some Movie Manuscripts. Unpublished Research Paper. Surakarta: Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta. Purcha, Jan. 1983. Pragmlinguistics: East European Approaches. USA: John Benjamins B.V. Rahayu, Siti. 2009. A Socio-Pragmatics analysis of Promising Utterance in Barack Obama Campaign Speechs. Unpublished Research Paper. Surakarta: Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta. Trosborg, Anna. Interlanguage Pragmatics: Requestd, Complaints and Apologies. Berlin: Mounton de Gruyter. Yule, George. 2006. The Study of Language. Cambrigde: Cambrigde University Perss. Yulianti. 2010. Promising Utterance in the Novel of Twilight. Unpublished Research Paper. Surakarta: Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta.

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