Sexual Harassment, Speech Acts, and Public Secrets in U.S. Higher Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Debenport
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Discursive Space ◽  
Online Conversations ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Discursive Representations

This chapter draws on data from U.S. higher education to analyze the ways that the language used to describe sexual harassment secures its continued power. Focusing on two features viewed as definitional to sexual harassment, frequency and severity, the discussion analyzes three sets of online conversations about the disclosure of abuse in academia (a series of tweets, survey responses, and posts on a philosophy blog) from grammatical, pragmatic, and semiotic perspectives. Unlike most prior research, this chapter focuses on the language of victims rather than the intentions of harassers. The results suggest that speech act theory is unable to account fully for sexual harassment without accepting the relevance of perlocutionary effects. Using Gal and Irvine’s (2019) model of axes of differentiation, the chapter demonstrates how opposing discursive representations (of professors, sexual harassers, victims, and accusers) create a discursive space in which it becomes difficult for victims to report their harassers.

New Work on Speech Acts

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
New Work ◽  
Half Century ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Current Thinking ◽  
Semantics And Pragmatics ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Relationship

The essays collected in this book represent recent advances in our understanding of speech acts-actions like asserting, asking, and commanding that speakers perform when producing an utterance. The study of speech acts spans disciplines, and embraces both the theoretical and scientific concerns proper to linguistics and philosophy as well as the normative questions that speech acts raise for our politics, our societies, and our ethical lives generally. It is the goal of this book to reflect the diversity of current thinking on speech acts as well as to bring these conversations together, so that they may better inform one another. Topics explored in this book include the relationship between sentence grammar and speech act potential; the fate of traditional frameworks in speech act theory, such as the content-force distinction and the taxonomy of speech acts; and the ways in which speech act theory can illuminate the dynamics of hostile and harmful speech. The book takes stock of well over a half century of thinking about speech acts, bringing this classicwork in linewith recent developments in semantics and pragmatics, and pointing the way forward to further debate and research.

scholarly journals Uttering geographies: Speech acts, felicity conditions and modes of existence

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1124-1140
Author(s):  
Miles Ogborn
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Human Speech ◽  
Everyday Talk ◽  
Modes Of Existence

The geographies of speech has become stuck in a form of interpretation which considers the potentially infinite detail of spoken performances understood within their equally infinitely complex contexts. This paper offers a way forward by considering the uses, critiques and reworkings of J.L. Austin’s speech act theory by those who study everyday talk, by deconstructionists and critical theorists, and by Bruno Latour in his AIME (‘An Inquiry into Modes of Existence’) project. This offers a rethinking of speech acts in terms of power and space, and a series of ontological differentiations between forms of utterances and enunciations beyond human speech.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Speech Acts in the Inaugural Address of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the President of the Republic of Ghana on January 7, 2021

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
John Demuyakor
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Inaugural Address ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
The Republic

Speech acts as an important element during communication, because it explains the thoughts of the speaker(s). A speech act is more about what is performed when uttering words and not about individual words or sentences that are known to form the basic elements of human communication. An attempt to do something through speaking is what is known as a speech act and a lot of things can be done through speaking. A speech act is studied under speech act theory and is found in the domain of pragmatics. Using a qualitative research design, the key objective of this study is to analyze the types of speech acts adopted in the inaugural address of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo as the President of the Republic of Ghana for his second term on the 7th January 2021. This study analyzed the Inaugural Address using Searle’s theory of speech act as a theoretical framework with emphasis on Searle’s five categories of speech act. The study showed that out of a total of 74 locutionary / Statements in the inaugural address,assertive acts are 40.5% of the utterances, commissive acts are 25.6%, while directive, expressive and declarative have small portions, of 13.5%, 12.2%, and 8.2% respectively.

scholarly journals An Investigation on How University Students’ View Lecturers’ Usage of Speech Acts in ELT context

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-43
Author(s):  
Mutiara Shasqia ◽  
Aulia Anggraini
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Specific Time ◽  
Illocutionary Acts ◽  
Communication Context ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Perlocutionary Effect

Teachers and lecturers alike understand that they must consciously use a variety of speech acts to force students to follow their instructions and be motivated to learn on their own. This paper reports the findings of a study designed to investigate the notion of the perlocutionary effect of university students in the classroom resulted from lecturers’ illocutionary acts. The acts were then analyzed the illocutionary act of the lecturers’ talk or speech during specific time using Austin’s speech act theory. This present study built its investigation from data collection on both lecturers and university students through interview and field notes. This study manage to reveals that lecturers freely use speech acts of persuading, angering, and commanding. This study believes that illocutionary acts will still have happened in our interaction's life or communication in many-many context including classroom interaction between lecturer-students communication context.

scholarly journals T/V Pronouns and FTAs in the Works of Sir Thomas Malory: Medieval Politeness and Impoliteness in Directives, Expressives, and Commissives

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-176
Author(s):  
Malwina Wiśniewska-Przymusińska
Keyword(s):  
Middle English ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Sir Thomas Malory ◽  
King Arthur ◽  
Potential Influence ◽  
Second Person ◽  
Pragmatic Research ◽  
Thomas Malory

Abstract Middle English second person pronouns thou and you (T/V) are considered to be among the means employed by medieval speakers to express their attitudes towards each other. Along with face-threatening acts, the use of these pronouns could indicate power relations or solidarity/distance between the interactants (Taavitsainen & Jucker 2003; Jucker 2010; Mazzon 2010; Bax & Kádár 2011, 2012; Jucker 2012). Using the tools available in pragmatic research, this paper attempts to provide an analysis of selected fragments from The Works of Sir Thomas Malory (Vinaver 1948 [1947]), analysed through the lens of Searle’s speech act theory (1969, 1976). The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the usage of T/V pronouns in polite or impolite contexts depends on the speech act in which they appear or not. Secondly, it looks at the presence of face-threatening acts (FTAs) and their potential influence on polite or impolite pronoun usage. Lastly, the analysis looks at the usage of FTAs within specific speech acts. The fragments used in this article were chosen from five chapters of Malory’s text: The Tale of King Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere, The Morte Arthur, The Noble Tale, and Tristram de Lyones.

scholarly journals SPEECH ACTS ANALYSIS OF DONALD TRUMP’S SPEECH

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Nura Siti Mufiah ◽  
Muhammad Yazid Nur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Illocutionary Acts ◽  
Illocutionary Act ◽  
Inaugural Speech ◽  
Descriptive Qualitative

This research deals with the types of illocutionary acts in Donald Trump’s Inaugural Speech. The research concerns with illocutionary act produced by Donald Trumps as a President of American. The aim of this research was to analyze the types of illocutionary speech act which was dominantly used in that speech. This research applied descriptive qualitative method and speech act theory by Yule. There were 63 utterances and the percentage of utterances were Representative 46%, Expressive 11%, Directive 16%, Commissive 12,7%, and Declarative 14,3%. The result showed that Donald Trump assert to the audience about the nation will be.It is found that Trump’s speech acts in his speech are intended as statement of fact and assertion. Disscussion of hopes implied in Trump’s speech acts. As seen on the table above, it can be seen that Trump hoped that his audiences would be persuaded to act 

scholarly journals TINDAK TUTUR DALAM PROSES JUAL BELI DI PASAR TRADISIONAL SURAKARTA

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ririn Linda Tunggal Sari ◽  
Sumarlam Sumarlam ◽  
Dwi Purnanto
Keyword(s):  
Formal Methods ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Note Taking ◽  
Cooperative Principle ◽  
Recording Technique ◽  
Traditional Markets ◽  
Purchase Process

<p>The objectives of this research are: to describe the forms of speech acts and to show the most dominant speech act and the reasons of its use; and to describe and define the politeness principle found in the the goods sale and purchase process at traditional markets in Surakarta.</p><p>This research used the descriptive qualitive method with the pragmatics approach. Its sources were conversations or dialogues. The data of the research were utterances and their contexts which contain speech acts and which apply the cooperative principle in the goods sale and purchase process at traditional markets in Surakarta, namely: <em>Pasar Gedhe</em> market, <em>Pasar Klewer</em> market, <em>Pasar Ledoksari</em> market, <em>Pasar Nusukan </em>market, and <em>Pasar Mojosongo</em> market. The collection of the data used the listening method. The data were collected through tapping, uninvolved conversation observation, recording technique, and note-taking techniques. They were analyzed by using the means-end techique. The result of the analysis was presented with informal and formal methods.</p><p>There are five types of speech act employed by the sellers and the buyers to express their intentions, namely: utterances, (b) verdictive utterances, (c) directive utterances, (d) commissive utterances, and phatic utterances<em>.</em> The most dominant speech act used in the goods sale and purchase process at traditional markets in Surakarta is commisive utterances as indicated by 88 data. In relation to the cooperative principle, in the goods sale and purchase process at traditional markets in Surakarta some speech acts adhere to the cooperative principle, but some violate it. The adherence to and violence of the cooperative principle are balanced in term of frequency i.e. 95 data for each. The latter is due to the intentions of the sellers and the buyers to show their politeness.</p><p>There are applications of the speech act theory, the cooperative principle, and the politeness in the dialogues between the sellers and the buyers in the the goods sale and purchase process at traditional markets in Surakarta</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Keywords:    </strong>Speech act, cooperative principle, sale and purchase process, pragmatics</p>

scholarly journals IMPROVING LANGUAGE POLITENESS OF DYAH GALIH AGUNG SENIOR AND JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 262-279
Author(s):  
Rahmadsyah Rangkuti ◽  
Zulfan Zulfan
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Social Relationship ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Junior High ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Junior High School Students ◽  
School Students

This article analyzes the strategy for language politeness of Dyah Galih Agung Senior and Junior High School students, Deli Serdang District, which is realized through the use of speech acts. Every speaker should have knowledge on language politeness. Pragmatically speaking, language politeness is related and realized in speech acts. Speakers should understand speech contexts of their utterance and meanings contained in it. Some utterances may hurt the listeners but with choosing and using proper dictions and applying politeness, it will not hurt the listeners. The data collected using observation and conversation method (Sudaryanto, 2017) and then analyzed using Searle’s speech act theory (1979) and Leech’s politeness principles (2014). The findings show that the students in Dyah Galih Agung Senior and Junior High School, Deli Serdang District, use assertive, directive, commissive, and expressive speech act. Regarding the strategy for language politeness, the students use direct speech act more than indirect one which is influenced by the close social relationship among them. The findings also show that the application of Leech’s politeness strategy (2014) is able to improve the students’ language politeness ability.    

Asymmetrical Conversations

2019 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-418
Author(s):  
Claudia Bianchi
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Social Position ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
Mitchell Green

According to Mitchell Green, speech act theory traditionally idealizes away from crucial aspects of conversational contexts, including those in which the speaker’s social position affects the possibility of her performing certain speech acts. In recent times, asymmetries in communicative situations have become a lively object of study for linguists, philosophers of language and moral philosophers: several scholars view hate speech itself in terms of speech acts, namely acts of subordination (acts establishing or reinforcing unfair hierarchies). The aim of this paper is to address one of the main objections to accounts of hate speech in terms of illocutionary speech acts, that is the Authority Problem. While the social role of the speaker is the focus of several approaches (Langton 2018a, 2018b; Maitra 2012; Kukla 2014; Green 2014, 2017a, 2017b), the social role of the audience has too often been neglected. The author will show that not only must the speaker have a certain kind of standing or social position in order to perform speech acts of subordination, but also the audience must typically have a certain kind of standing or social position in order to either license or object to the speaker’s authority, and her acts of subordination.

What is an indirect speech act?

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-84
Author(s):  
Jörg Meibauer
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Illocutionary Force ◽  
Indirect Speech ◽  
Indirect Speech Acts ◽  
Getting Lost ◽  
Indirect Speech Act

Abstract The notion of an indirect speech act is at the very heart of cognitive pragmatics, yet, after nearly 50 years of orthodox (Searlean) speech act theory, it remains largely unclear how this notion can be explicated in a proper way. In recent years, two debates about indirect speech acts have stood out. First, a debate about the Searlean idea that indirect speech acts constitute a simultaneous realization of a secondary and a primary act. Second, a debate about the reasons for the use of indirect speech acts, in particular about whether this reason is to be seen in strategic advantages and/or observation of politeness demands. In these debates, the original pragmatic conception of sentence types as indicators of illocutionary force seems to have been getting lost. Here, I go back to the seemingly outdated “literal force hypothesis” (see Levinson 1983: 263–264) and point out how it is still relevant for cognitive pragmatics.

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