What would you think if I told you that words themselves are actions? Probably you would say that words are units of languages which mean something and can be spoken or written. Also, you would think that a group of them could have a particular meaning when used together and you would be right. But there is something else behind words, let me tell you that, according to the linguist J.L Austin, words are divided into two categories: "Constatives" and "Performatives".
First of all, let us try to understand what a speech act is. When someone says something, this person is considered it as an action. For example, "I forgive you" means to stop feeling angry with the other person, or when you say "I love you for ever", it means promising. These actions include all of these functions: ordering, apologizing, warning, sentencing, among others. Words not only bring about actions, sometimes words themselves are actions.
Are you one of those persons who revises the weather forecast before going out? Or do you look at the price tag before buying something? If you do so, you have seen that sometimes they are not probable to be true. What would happen if the weather changed during the day and you did not take your umbrella? You would be completely wet. In this case, we can say that the headline on the news about the weather was false because it has proven to be incorrect. On the other hand, if the price tag says $58, so it costs $58 and the statement is true. On this theory of speech acts, Austin claims that constatives are sentences that describe something as true or false.
As I said before, words are actions, and also they meant to inspire actions. For instance, a blue trash bin that says "recycle" rather than conveying a message, it acts on the people who see it. There is a strong chance that you start recycling. Alternatively, some statements are not implicity followed. One instance could be, somebody using his mobile phone in a bank knowing that it is forbidden. Bearing this in mind, it seems that there are certain "Felicity Conditions" which are needed to enact a statement, such as, authority, being clear and understood, etc. These sentences which denote actions are called performatives.
Finally, we must always remember that it is really necessary to respect the power of words. They are not just units of languages, but also they describe and command and it is our perception of them that takes an important rol in our lives.
George Yule has worked as an English teacher in Britain, Canada, Jamaica, and Saudi Arabia. He has also taught Applied Linguistics in the Universities of Edinburgh, Hawaii, Louisiana State and Minnesota. He is the author of several books with Oxford University Press, including Pragmatics , Explaining English Grammar , Focus on the Language Learner and The Study of Language. On his latter book, the author presents information in bite-sized sections, clearly explaining the major concepts in linguistic, from how children learn language to why men and women speak differently through all the key elements of language. These are my study notes on the last three chapters of this book: CHAPTER 18: "REGIONAL VARIATION IN LANGUAGE" The Standard Language: It is an idealized variety associated with administrative, commercial and educational centers, regardless of region. If we think of Stardard English, it is the variety we normally try to teach to those who want to lear
Fine. Good strategy of involving the audience in the text by asking us questions, There is a mistake in this sentence (Is it passive or active?): "When someone says something, this person is considered it as an action." The word "persons" exists though used in legal contexts or in Human Rights.
ResponderEliminar