Handout 10 Perlo illo - for semantics course | Tài liệu tham khảo Tiếng Anh ( TA8 ISW) | Đại học Hoa Sen

English Semantics Assoc. Prof. Tô Minh Thanh, PhD.
Handout 10. Perlocutions (hành động xuyên ngôn) and illocutions (hành động tại ngôn)
[Hurford, Heasley & Smith, Unit 22, 2007: 269-280]
Entry test Answer the following questions
(1) Which of the fol owing acts can be performed through the use of language? Underline your
choices. kicking, asserting (khẳng định, xác nhận), warning (cảnh báo, cảnh cáo),
promising (hứa), running, referring (chỉ, nói đến), insulting (sỉ nhục, lăng mạ)
(2) Which of the following statements is correct? Circle your choice.
(a) There are no acts which can be performed either linguistically
(e.g. with an utterance) or non-linguistically (e.g. with a gesture).
(b) There are no acts which cannot be performed linguistically.
(c) Some acts can be performed either linguistically or non-linguistically.
Một số hành động có thể được thực hiện bằng lời hoặc không bằng lời.
(3) Can the same sentence be uttered on different occasions to perform different acts? Yes / N o
Cùng một câu có thể được nói ra vào các dịp khác nhau để thực hiện các hành động khác nhau?
(4) Is the sentence I hereby COMMAND you to teach first-year Semantics performative (P),
constative (C), or neither (N)? P / C / N
Comment Unit 22 shows how the notion of speech acts (hành động bằng lời) could provide
a link between the senses of declarative and non-declarative sentences (câu trần
thuật và câu không thuộc loại trần thuật). To start with, imperative and interrogative
sentences (câu mệnh lệnh và câu nghi vấn), when uttered, clearly perform acts, just
as declaratives (câu trần thuật) d o. Practice
(1) Could the utterance ‘Don’t come a step nearer!’ be an act of warning? Yes / N o
(2) Could the utterance ‘Get lost’ be an act of dismissing (sa thải)? Yes / N o
(3) Could the utterance ‘Why don’t you try looking in Woolworths?’ be
an act of making a suggestion? Yes / N o
(4) Could the utterance ‘Do you think I’m an idiot?’ be an act of rejecting a suggestion? Yes / No
(5) Just as the linguistic act of asserting can be seen as typifying utterances of declarative
sentences, what linguistic act typifies interrogative utterances, i.e. what ac t is typically
performed by uttering an interrogative sentence? _ the act of as i
k ng a question.
(6) And, similarly, what act is most typically carried out by an imperative utterance? _ the act of ordering s omeone to do something
Comment The utterance of sentences of all types (declarative, interrogativ , e and
imperative) perform acts of some kind or other. And, furthermore, sentences of each
type, when uttered, tend to carry out typical linguistic acts. The pattern is
summarized in the chart below. Sentence type
Typical linguistic act performed by uttering a sentence of this type (loại câu)
hành động bằng lời tiêu biểu
được thực hiện bằng cách thốt ra một câu thuộc loại này
declarative (trần thuật)
asserting (khẳng định, xác nhận)
interrogative1 (nghi vấn)
asking (hỏi)
imperative (mệnh lệnh)
ordering (bảo, ra lệnh)
1 For further consideration, read “Tô Minh Thanh (2012). Câu h i ỏ phi chính danh trong h i ộ thoại tiếng
Anh. Tạp chí Ngôn ngữ và Đời sống, ISSN 0868-3409, s 5 ( ố 199): 18-23.”
Handout 10 for week 13 + week 14: Perlocutions and illocutions 1
English Semantics Assoc. Prof. Tô Minh Thanh, PhD.
Practice In the following situation, does the act (hành động) carried out by the utterance
seem to be primarily one of asserting, asking, or ordering? In each case, note the
sentence type (loại câu), whether declarative, interrogative, or imperative.
(1) Lady at ticket office in railway station: ‘I’d like a day return to Morecambe, please’
Sentence type: declarative
Act: requesting (yêu cầu) or ordering (ra lệnh)
(2) Speaker at a meeting on a hot political issue: ‘Is it right to condone thuggery?’
Sentence type: interrogative
Act: asserting (‘It is not right’ to condone thuggery.)
(3) The Duke of Omnium, to his butler, who sees to his every need: ‘It’s cold in here, Hives’
Sentence type: declarative
Act: ordering (‘Close the window’)
(4) To companion on a country walk, while climbing a fence: ‘My skirt is caught on the barbed wire’ Sentence type: d eclarative
Act: requesting or ordering (‘Please help me’)
(5) Biology teacher: ‘Note that the female cel has two X-shaped chromosomes’ Sentence type: i
mperative Act: asserting (‘The female cel has two X-shaped chromosomes’)
(6) Mother to child who is eating untidily: ‘Look at the mess you’ve made under your chair’
Sentence type: imperative
Act: asserting (‘You’ve made a mess’)
Comment Obviously the simple matching of acts with sentence types has plenty of
exceptions, different types of and we need to develop a more subtle theory than that
given in the table. More careful distinctions need to be made between various
speech act, in order to begin to make sense of this area of meaning.
Definition “The PERLOCUTIONARY ACT (or just simply the PERLOCUTION) carried
out by a speaker making an utterance is the act of causing a certain effect on
the hearer and others.” [Hurford, Heasley & Smith, 2007: 271]
HÀNH ĐỘNG XUYÊN NGÔN được thực hiện bởi một người đang nói là hành
động gây ra một tác động/ảnh hưởng nào đó lên người nghe và những người khác.
Example If I say ‘There’s a hornet (ong bắp cày; wasp = ong vò vẽ) in your left ear’, it may
well cause you to panic (hoảng sợ), scream (kêu thét lên) and scratch wildly at
your ear (cào cấu dữ dội vào chỗ cái tai). Causing these emotions and actions of
yours is the perlocution of my utterance (hành động xuyên ngôn của cái phát ngôn
của tôi), or the perlocutionary act I perform by making that utterance (cái hành
động xuyên ngôn mà tôi thực hiện bằng cách nói ra thành lời cái phát ngôn ấy).
Comment “The perlocution of an utterance is the causing of a change to be brought
about, perhaps unintentionally, through, or by means of, the utterance (Latin per
‘through, by means of’). Perlocutions can often be accidental, and thus bear a
relatively unsystematic relationship to any classification of sentence types.”
[Hurford, Heasley & Smith, 2007: 272]
Hành động xuyên ngôn của một phát ngôn là việc gây ra một sự thay đổi nào
đó, có lẽ là không có chủ ý, thông qua, hoặc là nhờ bởi, cái phát ngôn ấy (tiếng La-
tin per có nghĩa là ‘thông qua, nhờ bởi’). Hành động xuyên ngôn thường là tình
cờ/ ngẫu nhiên, và vì vậy mà không có một mối quan hệ mang tính hệ thống với
bất kỳ việc phân loại nào của các câu.
Practice Describe at least two possible perlocutionary effects of each of the utterances in
the following situations. We have done the first one for you.
(1) Neighbour to recently bereaved widow: ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss’
Handout 10 for week 13 + week 14: Perlocutions and illocutions 2
English Semantics Assoc. Prof. Tô Minh Thanh, PhD.
Possible effect: Awareness of her grief floods back into hearer’s mind and she begins to weep (bắt đầu khóc).
Another possible effect: Hearer, expecting the utterance, gives a prepared reply (đưa ra
một câu trả lời được chuẩn bị sẵn): ‘Thank you. It was a shock, but I must get used to it.’
(2) Lecturer to student: ‘You’l find the book on Swahili infinitives quite fascinating’
Possible effect: The student is amused (thú vị) at the lecturer’s enthusiastic naivety (về
sự ngay thơ đầy nhiệt tình của thầy/ cô giáo).
Another possible effect: The student is annoyed (khó chịu) at what he takes to be
obvious (về cái anh ấy thấy rõ là) sarcasm (lời chế nhạo/ châm chọc).
Stil another possible effect: Nothing (chẳng có ảnh hưởng gì): the student hasn’t heard
the utterance (không nghe thấy cái phát ngôn ấy).
(3) Child to playground supervisor: ‘Miss, Bil y just swore at me (chửi/ rủa). He told me to piss off (cút đi)’
Possible effect: The playground supervisor is shocked at Billy’s bad language and goes
to reprimand (trừng phạt) him.
Another possible effect: The playground supervisor tells the child to go away and sort
out his own problems with Billy.
(4) One chess player to another: ‘I just made a bad move’
Possible effect: The other player realizes his opponent has indeed made a mistake.
Another possible effect: The other player wonders quietly whether his opponent is trying
to lull (ru ngủ) him into a false sense of security (một cảm giác an toàn giả tạo).
(5) Policeman to man in street: ‘Good evening, Sir. Do you live around here?’
Possible effect: The man says, aggressively: ‘It’s none of your business’ and walks on.
Another possible effect: The man says, embarrassed (bối rối/ lúng túng): ‘Yes, I suppose
you’re wondering what I’m doing with this brick.’
Definition “The ILLOCUTIONARY ACT (or simply the ILLOCUTION/ HÀNH ĐỘNG
TẠI NGÔN) [carried out by a speaker {making an utterance}] reflects (phản ánh)
the intention of the speaker (ý định của người nói) in making the utterance in the
first place (đầu tiên). Illocutions (hành động tại ngôn) are acts defined by social
conventions (được quy định bởi các quy ước xã hội), acts such as accosting (bắt
chuyện), accusing (quy tội, gán lỗi), admitting (công nhận), apologizing (xin lỗi),
challenging (thách), complaining (kêu ca), condoling (chia buồn), congratulating
(chúc mừng), declining (từ chối), deploring (đau buồn, ân ận), giving permission
(cho phép), giving way (nhường đường), greeting (chào), leavetaking (chào tạm
biệt), mocking (nói móc), naming (đặt tên), offering (biếu, tặng, đề nghị), praising
(khen ngợi), promising (hứa), proposing marriage (cầu hôn), protesting (phản
kháng), recommending (tiến cử), surrending (đầu hàng), thanking (cám ơn), toasting
(nâng cốc chúc mừng).” [Hurford, Heasley & Smith, 2007: 273]
Example Saying: ‘I’m very grateful to you for al you have done for me’ performs the il ocutionary
act of thanking, which appears to be the speaker’s intention in making the utterance.
Practice Selecting your answers from the list of il ocutions given in the above definition, say
what illocutionary acts (hành động tại ngôn) are performed by the fol owing utterances,
assuming normal circumstances.
(6) ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’: offering (biếu, tặng, cho không)
(7) ‘After you’ (said to someone wishing to go through the same door as the speaker):
giving way (nhường đường)
Handout 10 for week 13 + week 14: Perlocutions and illocutions 3
English Semantics Assoc. Prof. Tô Minh Thanh, PhD.
(8) ‘I’m awful y sorry I wasn’t at the meeting this morning’: apologizing (xin lỗi)
(9) ‘You can play outside for half an hour’: giving permission (cho phép)
(10) ‘Good evening’: greeting (chào), and sometimes, but not often, leavetaking
(11) ‘Good night’: leavetaking (chào tạm biệt)
Comment Il ocutionary acts form a kind of social coinage, a complicated currency with specific
values, by means of which speakers manipulate, negotiate, and interact with other
speakers. To continue the metaphor/ ẩn dụ), social encounters involve the exchange of illocutions.
Example speaker A: ‘Hel o’ (greeting/ chào)
speaker B: ‘Hel o’ (greeting/ chào)
speaker C: ‘You took the last biscuit’ (accusation/ buộc tội)
speaker D: ‘No, I didn’t’ (denial/ chối)
Practice Do each of the fol owing pairs of illocutions seem appropriate sequences (Yes) or not (No)?
(1) greeting/ chào – greeting/ chào Yes / N o
(2) accusation/ buộc tội – denia /l chối Yes / N o
(3) greeting/ chào – denia /l chối Yes / No
(4) protest/ phản kháng – apology/ xin lỗi Yes / N o
(5) congratulation/ chúc mừng – apology/ xin lỗi Yes / No
(6) compliment/ khen – leavetaking/ chào tạm biệt Yes / No
Practice Consider again the following example:
Utterance: ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’
Illocutionary act: O ffering
Perlocutionary act: causing the hearer to think the speaker is more generous than he thought
(1) Is the illocutionary act something the speaker intends to d
o in making the utterance?_Yes.
(2) Is the perlocutionary act something the speaker intends to d o in making the utterance?
_Sometimes, perhaps, but by no means a lways.
(2) Is it evident what illocutionary act has been performed (in this case offering)
as soon as the utterance is made?_Yes.
(3) Is it evident what perlocutionary act has been performed
as soon as the utterance is made?_No.
(4) Is the illocutionary act performed (hành động tại ngôn đã được thực hiện)
something that is within the full control of the speaker?_Yes.
(5) Is the perlocutionary act performed (hành động xuyên ngô
n đã được thực hiện)
something that is within the full control of the speaker?_No.
Comment “Generally speaking, the illocutionary act inherent in an utterance is intended by the speaker, i
s under his full control, and if it is evident, it is so as the utterance is
made, whereas the perlocutionary act performed through an utterance is no t always
intended by the speaker, is not under his full control, and is usually not evident
until after the utterance is made.” [Hurford, Heasley & Smith, 2007: 276]
Nói chung, hành động tại ngôn vốn có sẵn trong một phát ngôn được người nói
dự kiến trước, hoàn toàn nằm trong sự kiểm soát của người nói, và nếu nó rành
rành ra đó thì nó chính là lý do mà cái phát ngôn ấy được thực hiện, trong khi đó
hành động xuyên ngôn được thực hiện thông qua một phát ngôn thì không luôn được
người nói dự kiến trước, không nằm trong sự kiểm soát hoàn toàn của người nói,
và thường là không rõ ràng cho đến sau khi cái phát ngôn ấy được thực hiện xong.
Handout 10 for week 13 + week 14: Perlocutions and illocutions 4
English Semantics Assoc. Prof. Tô Minh Thanh, PhD.
Examples “The act of addressing someone is illocutionary because it is something that a
speaker can decide for himself to do, and be sure of doing it when he decides to do it.
The act of persuading someone of something, on the other hand, is
perlocutionary, because the speaker cannot be sure of persuading the hearer, no
matter how hard he tries. The hearer can decide whether to be persuaded or not.”
[Hurford, Heasley & Smith, 2007: 276]
Hành động nói chuyện với ai đó thì mang tính chất tại ngôn vì nó là cái người nói
có thể tự mình quyết định làm, và chắc chắn làm cái việc ấy khi anh quyết định thực hiện nó.
Mặt khác, hành động thuyết phục ai làm cái gì đó thì mang tính chất xuyên
ngôn, vì người nói không thể chắc chắn về việc thuyết phục được người nghe, dù
anh ấy có cố gắng đến như thế nào đi nữa. Người nghe mới quyết định liệu anh ấy
có bị thuyết phục hay không.
Practice Using the criteria just outlined, classify the following acts as either illocutionary (I)
or perlocutionary (P).
(1) distracting someone (làm ai đó phân tâm) I / P
(2) claiming (đòi, yêu sách) I / P
(3) denying something (chối bỏ cái/ việc gì đó) I / P
(4) hurting someone (xúc phạm/ làm ai đó tổn thương) I / P
(5) predicting something (tiên đoán cái/ việc gì đó) I / P
(6) mocking someone (nói móc ai đó) I / P
We concentrate on the illocutions of utterances, rather than on their perlocutions.
Exercise 1. For each of the following situations
, identify both the sentence type (from among
declarative, imperative, or interrogative) of the utterance and the act carried out by the
utterance (from among asserting, asking, or ordering).
a Father to his son: ‘The car is dir ty.’
Sentence type: declarative
Act: order ing (‘Wash the car’)
b Irate citizen to the city council: ‘Is it righ tto al ow skateboarding on our sidewalks?’
Sentence type: interrogative Act: asserting (‘It is not right’ to al ow skateboarding o n our sidewalks.)
c Mother to small child: ‘Look at the mess yo u just made!’
Sentence type: imperative
Act: asserting (‘You’ve just made a mess’) d St d u ent to a friend on a wi d n y day: ‘Some of my p p a ers ha e v b o l wn away.’
Sentence type: declarative
Act: ordering (‘Bring the p p a ers back’)
e Photographer to a client: ‘Stand right there and say cheese!’
Sentence type: imperative Act: order ing
f Student to a teacher: ‘What is the correct answer to question 2?’
Sentence type: interrogative Act: asking
g Student to a teacher: ‘I HA D trouble with question 2.’
Sentence type: declarative Act: asserting
h Teacher to a student: ‘Question 2 HAS not yet BEEN ANSWERED.’
Sentence type: declarative Act: asserting
Sentence type: declarative
Act: order ing (‘Answer question 2’)
Handout 10 for week 13 + week 14: Perlocutions and illocutions 5
English Semantics Assoc. Prof. Tô Minh Thanh, PhD.
Exercise 2. Identify the illocution and the perlocution if each of the given utterances.
[Tô Minh Thanh, 2020: 164-165]
Dialogue 1: Son: ‘Can I go out for a while, Mum?’
Mother: ‘You can play outside for half an hour.’
The illocution of ‘You can play outside for half an hour’ is
the mother’s performing a di d r i e r c e t
c il ocutionary act of giving permission.
The perlocution of ‘You can play outside for half an hour’ is the effect of the utterance on the
son, who races out of the room, picking up his football on the way. Dialogue 2:
Mrs Smith’s neighbour: ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss.’
Mrs Smith [a recently bereaved widow who expects the neighbour’s utterance]: ‘Thank you.
It was a great shock, but I must get used to it.’
The illocution of ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss’ is the neighbor’s direct
performing a direct il ocutionary act of condoling.
The perlocution of ‘I was so sorry to hear about your loss’ is
Mrs Smith’s prepared reply: ‘Thank you. It was a great shock, but I must get used to it.’
Dialogue 3: A: ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’ B: ‘Yes, please.’
The illocution of ‘Would you like a cup of coffee’ is A’s performing an in i di d r i e r c e t
c til ocutionary act of offering.
The perlocution of ‘Would you like a cup of coffee’ is
B’s thought tha tA is more generous than he/ s
he appears to be.
Exercise 3. Identify th t e h e c i c r i c r u c m u s m ta t n a c n e c in wh w i h c i h
c each of the given utterances is uttered. 1. A A m a m n a n t o t o h is i s f r f i r e i n e d n d s i s tittitn i g n g n e n x e t x tt o t o h i h m i m i n i a a r e r s e t s a t u a r u a r n a t
n : ‘Please PASS the salt.’
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d r i e r c e t
c til ocutionary act of requesting. A A l a l d a y d y t o t o a a m an a n s i s tittitn i g n g n e n x e t x tt o t o h e h r e r i n i n a a re r s e t s a t u a r u a r n a t
n : ‘Can you PASS the salt, please?’ A A l a l d a y d y t o t o t h t e e p e p r e s r o s n o n s i s tittitn i g n g n e n x e t x tt o t o h er e r i n i n a a b a b n a q n u q e u t
e (a formal dinner/ tiệc tối): ‘Would you mind PASSing the salt?’ A A l a l d a y d y t o t o t he h e p e p r e s r o s n o n s i s tittitn i g n g n e n x e t x tt o o h e h r e r i n i n a a b a b n a q n u q e u t
e : ‘I’d be grateful if you PASS the salt.’ A A l a l d a y d y t o t o t h t e e p e p r e s r o s n o n s i s tittitn i g n g n e n x e t x tt o t o h er e r i n i n a a b a b n a q n u q e u t
e : ‘Can I TROUBLE you for the salt?’
ANSWER: The speaker performs an indir i e r c e t
c til ocutionary act of requesting. 2. An A n o l o d l d l a l d a y d y t o o a a b o b y o , y ,w h w o h o h e h l e p l e p d e h e h r e r c o c m o e m e a c a r c o r s o s s s t h t e h e r o r a o d
a : ‘Thank you very much.’
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d re r c e t
c il ocutionary act of thanking. 3. A A p a p r a i r s i h s h p ri r e i s e t s tt o t l o d l d a a c o c u o p u l p e l : ‘I no n w
o pronounce you man and wife.’
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d re r c e t
c il ocutionary act of announcing marriage. 4. A A t e t a e c a h c er e r t o t o h e h r e r s t s u t d u e d n e t n ,t ,w h w o h o i s i s q u q i u tie t e s tu t b u b b o b r o n
r : “Be ashamed of your disgraceful behavior.”
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d re r c e t
c il ocutionary act of reprimanding/ telling off. (quở mắng)
Handout 10 for week 13 + week 14: Perlocutions and illocutions 6
English Semantics Assoc. Prof. Tô Minh Thanh, PhD. 4’. A A t e t a e c a h c e h r e r t o o h e h r e r s t s u t d u e d n e t n ,t ,w h w o h o i s i s q u q i u tie e s t s u t b u b b o b r o n
r : “You ought to b
e ashamed of your disgraceful behavior.’
ANSWER: The speaker performs an indir i e r c e t
c il ocutionary act of reprimanding/ telling off. 5. A A g i g r i l r lt o t o h e h r e r f ri r e i n e d n s d s a t a ta a c o c f o f f e f e e s h s o h p o : “I’ll de d f e i f n i i n tie t l e y l y g
o back to see you at 6 o’clock.’
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d re r c e t
c il ocutionary act of promising. 6. A A t e t a e c a h c er e r t o t o h i h s i s s t s u t d u e d n e t n s
t : “You may go now.’
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d re r c e t
c il ocutionary act of giving permission. 6’. A A b o b s o s s s t o t o h is i s e m e p m l p o l y o e y e
e : “You may go now.’
ANSWER: The speaker performs an indir i e r c e t
c il ocutionary act of dismissing. 7. A A m a m n a ag a e g r e r t o t o h i h s i s s t s a t f a f
f : “Get lost!’2
ANSWER: The speaker performs an indir i e r c e t
c il ocutionary act of dismissing (sa thải). 8. A A l a l d a y d y t o t o h er e r s o s n o , n ,w h w o h o i s i s w a w t a c t h c i h n i g g T V
T : “Come to the table right now.
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d re r c e t
c il ocutionary act of ordering. 9. A A m a m n a n t o t o h is i s c o c l o lle l a e g a u g e u : e ‘I BE
T you can’t BEAT my computer at chess.’
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d re r c e t
c il ocutionary act of challenging. 9’. A A m a m n a n t o t o h i h s i c o c l o lle l a e g a u g e u :
e ‘You can’t BEAT my computer at chess.’
ANSWER: The speaker performs an indi d r i e r c e t
c il ocutionary act of challenging. 9’’. A A m a m n a n t o t o h is i s c o c l o lle l a e g a u g e
u : ‘You can’t BEAT my computer at chess.’
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d re r c e t
c il ocutionary act of asserting. 10. A A c r c i r m i i m n i al a lw i w tih t h a a g u g n u n t o t o a a p o p l o ilc i e c e o f o f f ic i e c r e :
r ‘Don’t come a step nearer!’
ANSWER: The speaker performs an dir i e r c e t
c il ocutionary act of warning. 11. A A l a l d a y d y t o t o h er e r d a d u a g u h g t h e t r e :
r ‘Why don’t you try looking in Wool Worths3?’
ANSWER: The speaker performs an indir i e r c e t
c il ocutionary act of making a suggestion. 12. A A m a m n a n t o t o h is i s f r f i r e i n e d n , d ,w h w o h o a s a k s s k s a b a ou o t u th i h s i s m a m r a r r i r a i g a e g e p r p o r p o o p s o al
a : “Do you think I’m an idiot?”
ANSWER: The speaker performs an indir i e r c e t
c il ocutionary act of rejecting a suggestion. 13. A A s t s u t d u e d n e t tt o t o h i h s i s o r o r h e h r e r a d a s d v s i v s i o s r/ r /s u s p u e p r e v r i v s i o s r
o : “I’m very grateful to you for al you have done for me.”
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d re r c e t
c il ocutionary act of thanking . 14. A A g i g rl r lt o t o h e h r e r b o b s o s
s : “I’m awfully sorry I wasn’t at the meeting this morning.”
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d re r c e t
c il ocutionary act of apologizing. 15. A A l a l d a y d y t o t o h er e r t e t n e - n y - e y a e r a - r o - l o d l d so s n
o : “You can pla
y outside for half an hour.”
ANSWER: The speaker performs a di d re r c e t
c il ocutionary act of giving permission. 16. A A m a m n a n t o t o h is i s n e n i e g i h g b h o b r o : “Good evening.”
ANSWER: The speaker performs a dir i e r c e t
c il ocutionary act of greeting .
2Get lost! [spoken, used to rudely tell someone to go away or to stop annoying you]
3 which is the name of a shopping center
Handout 10 for week 13 + week 14: Perlocutions and illocutions 7
English Semantics Assoc. Prof. Tô Minh Thanh, PhD. 17. A A s i s n i g n e g r e r t o o h i h s i s f a f n a s n s a f a t f e t r e r h i h s i s p er e f r o f r o m r a m n a c n e c : “Good night.”
ANSWER: The speaker performs an indir i e r c e t
c il ocutionary act of leave-taking .
Exercise 4. Identify the illocution of each of the given utterances in t wo different situations.
1. ‘Why don’t you send it by post?’ SITUATION 1:
Roy: Why don’t you send it by post? (= câu hỏi) Roy’s friend: Bec e a c u a s u e
s it’s too slow. (= câu đáp, câu trả lời)
Roy performs an illocutionary act of asking. SITUATION 2: Roy: W
hy don’t you send it by post? (= You should send it by post.)
Roy’s friend: That’s a good idea.
Roy performs an il ocutionary act of making a suggestion. (gợi ý)
2. ‘Why don’t you study French?’ SITUATION 1:
Roy: Why don’t you study French? (= câu hỏi) Roy’s friend: Bec e a c u a s u e s e I
don’t have time for it right now. (= câu đáp, câu trả lời)
Roy performs an il ocutionary act of asking. SITUATION 2:
Roy: Why don’t you study French? (= You should study French.)
Roy’s friend: That’s what I thought, too.
Roy performs an il ocutionary act of making a suggestion. (gợi ý)
3. ‘We’re running out of time.’ SITUATION 1:
Ann: How much time have we got for the project? (= câu hỏi )
Karen: We’re running out of time. (= câu đáp, câu trả lời) Karen performs a dir i e r c e t
c til ocutionary act of asserting. (xác nhận, khẳng định) SITUATION 2:
Janet: Our oral presentation is not as well-prepared as it should be.
Mary: We’re running out of time. (= You should accept it.)
Mary performs an il ocutionary act of making a suggestion. (gợi ý)
4. ‘It shouldn’t be too long.’ Situation 1:
Christine: What is the suggestion? (= câu hỏi)
Beth: It shouldn’t be too long. (= câu đáp, câu trả lời)
Beth performs an il ocutionary act of asserting. Situation 2:
Magee: I’ll wear a dress to your party.
Lora: It shouldn’t be too long.
Lora performs an il ocutionary act of making a suggestion. (gợi ý)
5. ‘Do you know what time it is?’ SITUATION 1:
Mary: Do you know what time it is? (= câu hỏi)
Tom: It’s 7: 05. (= câu đáp, câu trả lời)
Mary performs an il ocutionary act of asking.
Handout 10 for week 13 + week 14: Perlocutions and illocutions 8
English Semantics Assoc. Prof. Tô Minh Thanh, PhD. SITUATION 2:
Linda’s husband [afraid of missing the train]: Do you know what time it is? Linda: Wait a minute!
Linda’s husband performs an il ocutionary act of expessing his annoyance. (thể hiện sự khó chịu) 6. ‘Smoking i
s strictly prohibited here.’ SITUATION 1:
Jack: Does my smoking bother you? Gina: Smoking i
s strictly prohibited here. (= câu đáp, câu trả lời)
Gina performs an il ocutionary act of asserting. (khẳng định) SITUATION 2:
Alfred: Smoking is strictly prohibited here. (= Don’t smoke in here.) Kevin: Sorry.
Alfred performs an il ocutionary act of ordering. (ra lệnh)
7. ‘The ice cream is in the fridge.’ SITUATION 1:
Gina’s husband: Where’s the dessert? (= câu hỏi)
Gina: The ice cream is in the fridge. (= câu đáp, câu trả lời)
Gina performs an i l ocutionary act of asserting. SITUATION 2:
Linda: The ice cream is in the fridge. (= Have some ice cream, please.)
Linda’s sister: No, thanks. I’m full.
Linda performs an il ocutionary act of offering.
8. ‘Authors always pay their debts.’ SITUATION 1:
Mr. Brown: Authors always pay their debts/ Hễ có vay thì có trả.
Mrs. Brown: I can’t agree more. (= I completely agree with you.)
Mr. Brown performs an i l ocutionary act of asserting. SITUATION 2:
Alice: When will I receive my reimbursement?
Victor: Authors always pay their debts. (= I’ll pa y you back later.)
Victor performs an il ocutionary act of promising.
9. ‘I’m working as fast as I can.’ SITUATION 1:
Boss: Can you speed up a little bit?
Worker: I’m working as fast as I can.
The worker performs an il ocutionary act of expessing his/her annoyance. SITUATION 2:
Ted: I’m working as fast as I can.
Ted’s wife: I know you are.
Ted performs an il ocutionary act of assertin . g
10. ‘It’s cold in here.’ SITUATION 1:
Wife: It’s cold in here.
Husband: All right. Let’s go out for some exercise.
The wife performs an il ocutionary act of complainin . g
Handout 10 for week 13 + week 14: Perlocutions and illocutions 9
English Semantics Assoc. Prof. Tô Minh Thanh, PhD. SITUATION 2:
Wife: It’s cold in here. (= Do something to warm the room up, please.)
Husband: I’ll shut the windows.
The wife performs an il ocutionary act of ordering or requesting.
11. ‘The air conditioner is not working today.’ SITUATION 1:
Beth: Why is it too hot in this office?
Beth’s co-worker: The air conditioner is not working today.
Beth’s co-worker performs an il ocutionary act of asserting. SITUATION 2:
Wife: The air conditioner is not working today.
(= Have the air conditioner repaired, please.)
Husband: I’ll have it repaired. The wife performs an in i di d r i e r c e t
c til ocutionary act of ordering or requesting.
12. ‘My daughter is getting married in April.’ SITUATION 1:
Mrs. Brown: What’s new? (= câu hỏi)
Mrs. Green: My daughter is getting married in April. (= câu đáp, câu trả lời)
Mrs Green performs an il ocutionary act of asserting. SITUATION 2:
Mrs. Brown: Would you like to travel through London with me? (offerin g an invitation)
Mrs. Green: My daughter is getting married in April. (refusing an invitation)
Mrs. Green performs an i l ocutionary act of refusing an invitation.
13. ‘I’ll have to be at the office at 8:00 this morning.’ SITUATION 1:
Wife: What time will you leave for work?
Husband: I’ll have to be at the office at 8:00 this morning.
The husband performs an i l ocutionary act of asserting. SITUATION 2:
Wife: Can you take me to the airport?
Husband: I’ll have to be at the office at 8:00 this morning.
The husband performs an il ocutionary act of refusin g a request. REFERENCES
Hurford, J. R, Heasley, B., and Smith, M. B. (2007). Semantics: A Coursebook (2n ed d .). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Handout 10 for week 13 + week 14: Perlocutions and illocutions 10