英语语用学言语理论Speech Act Theory.pptVIP

1.1 General Definition A speech act in linguistics and the philosophy of language is an utterance that has performative function in language and communication. The contemporary use of the term goes back to J. L. Austins development of performative utterances and his theory of locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts. John Langshaw Austin (March 26, 1911[1] – February 8, 1960) was a British philosopher of language, born in Lancaster and educated at Shrewsbury School and Balliol College,Oxford University. 1.4 Austin’s Work 1. Words and Deeds 《言与行》（1952） According to J.Austin, there seems to be no clear-cut boundary between speaking and acting. Rather, saying is sometimes acting. Alternatively, to put it in another way, words are part of deeds. 2. How to Do Things with Words 《如何以言行事》（1962） Performative utterances （施事话语）are statements not verifiable (not true or false), aiming at performing a certain act.. (Austin 1962) The term “speech acts” was initially invented to portray the actions accomplished via performative utterances. In its later broad sense, speech acts also cover actions performed by utterance that are not strictly performative. Now, speech acts are considered to be the basic or minimal units of linguistic communication. A locutionary act is the act of uttering words, phrases, clauses. It is the act of conveying literal meaning by means of syntax lexicon and phonology. An illocutionary act is the act of expressing the speaker’s intention. It is the act performed in saying something. A perlocutionary act is the act performed by or resulting from saying something. it is the consequence of, or the change brought about the utterance. (Austin 1962) Among the three acts, the illocutionary act is what linguists have been studying all along, which involves many psychological and social factors, of which we are still more or less in the dark. So the illocutionary act is what