IV.间接言语行为理论Indirect Speech Acts

Pragmatics-Teaching Plan (5)

IV. Indirect Speech Acts

4.1 Primary and Secondary Illocutionary Acts

4.2 Inferential Process of Indirect Speech Acts

4.3 Searle’s Researches on Indirect Directives

4.3.1 Six Groups of Indirect Directives

4.3.2 Basic Ideas about Indirect Directives

4.3.2.1 Idiomatic, but not Idioms

4.3.2.2 Coexistence of the Indirect Directive Act and the Literal Illocutionary Act

4.3.3 Interpretation of Indirect Directives in terms of Speech Acts Theory

4.4 Some Problems in Searle’s Pattern of Indirect Speech Analysis

4.5 An Extended Analysis of Indirect Commissives

Readings:

Searle, J. R. Indirect speech acts [A]. P. Cole & J. Morgan (eds.) Syntax and Semantics 3: Speech Acts.

New York : Academic Press, 1975.

Searle, J. R. Expression and Meaning: Studies in the Theory of Speech Acts [M]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979.

Huang Yan. 2009: 4.6 Indirect Speech Acts

He Zhaoxiong, 2011: 3.3 Indirect Speech Acts

涂靖. Irony言语行为的研究[J]. 四川外语学院学报, 2004, (4).

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朱晓姝. 中美学生抱怨言语行为的差异研究[J]. 西外学报, 2008, (1): 51-55.

黄永红. 对言语行为“道歉”的跨文化研究[J]. 解放军外国语学院学报, 2001, (5): 33-36.

吴淑琼et al. 英汉批评言语行为策略对比研究[J]. 外语教学, 2004, (2): 22-25.

周启强, 白解红. 原型范畴与间接指令[J]. 外语与外语教学, 2004, (12): 1-4.

刘森林. 语用策略与言语行为[J]. 外语教学, 2003, (5): 10-15.

赵英玲，李洁芳. 虚假邀请(ostensible invitation)言语行为的语用研究[J]. 哈尔滨工业大学学报(社科版), 2004, (7)..

Isaac, E. A. Ostensible Invitation [J]. Language in Society, 1999, (19)

Song Yuan. On the Probing Speech Act in English Talk Shows —A Case Study of Oprah Show [D].

South-central University for Ethnic Communities, 2010.

(英语脱口秀中的打探言语行为研究—以欧普拉脱口秀为个案)

IV. Indirect Speech Acts

4.1 Primary and Secondary Illocutionary Acts

Searle (1975: 60) initiated the notion of indirect speech act to indicate the illocutionary act which is performed indirectly by way of performing another.

In some cases, what people say (locutionary act / literal meaning) are in consistence with what they do (illocutionary act), as in Example (1):

(1) A: What’s your name?

B: My name is Julia.

B’s utterance is a direct reply to A’s question about her name. What B says is in complete agreement with what she intends to say. Indirect usage of speech is not involved here.

But frequently, what people actually say do not agree with what they intend to say / what they do, as in Example (2):

(2) It’s cold in here.

If the speaker’s intention is only to inform the hearer of the temperature at the location and time of speaking and nothing else, his speech is direct. If, however, the speaker’s intention is, by virtue of telling the hearer of his own feelings about the temperature, to get the hearer to do something like closing the window, switching on the air-conditioner, his speech is indirect. In latter case, through this utterance, the speaker simultaneously performs two illocutionary acts: an assertive (陈述) and a directive (指令). He indirectly performs the illocutionary act of directive by means of performing the illocutionary act of assertive.

Searle (1975) assigned the two terms, primary illocutionary act and secondary illocutionary act, respectively to the two illocutionary acts performed simultaneously in indirect speech acts. Primary illocutionary act, such as the directive act in (2), represents the real intention of the speaker; secondary illocutionary act, such as the assertive act in (2), is another illocutionary act performed in order to perform the primary illocutionary act. The secondary illocutionary act coincides with the literal meaning of sentence whereas the primary illocutionary act means more than the literal meaning (The speaker performs the secondary illocutionary act by way of uttering a sentence, the literal meaning of which is such that its literal utterance constitutes a performance of that illocutionary act).

4.2 Inferential Process of Indirect Speech Acts