Rhetoric and Linguistics
How does rhetoric and linguistics relate to one another?
Rhetoric and linguistics “meet at the crossroads of structure, meaning and
context” (Covino 595). Linguistics “seeks to explicate the basic features of ordinary
human language by describing its phonetics, syntactic and semantic structures (Covino
595). While rhetoric is said to be a planned discourse that is “deliberately composed in
advance of its presentation in particular circumstances” (Covino 595), linguistics is an
unplanned discourse that is spontaneously presented (Covino 595). Therefore, rhetorical
linguistics is the “study of how the structure and meaning of language vary according to
changing circumstances” (Covino 595).
History
Noam Chomsky was an educator and linguist at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. For his doctoral thesis, Chomsky explored a theory of transformational
grammar in Syntactic Structures (1957). Transformational grammar states that all
sentences conform to grammatical rules peculiar to its particular language. Also,
however, the sentences conform to “deep structures,” a universal grammar that underlies
all languages and corresponds to an innate capacity of the human brain. The following
sentences are an example of the theory of transformational grammar: John saw Mary.
Mary was seen my John. The two sentences have different grammatical structures but
essentially have the same meaning. (Columbia University Press)
John Langshaw Austin was a British philosopher that saw sentences functioning
as ways to inform, to warn, to order and to question (Covino 595). Austin played a role
on the movement of analytical philosophy. His studies stated that many philosophical
problems arise by misunderstanding and inattention of ordinary uses of language. In
order to resolve this problem, the ordinary uses of terms must be reconsidered. In order
to consider these uses, the focus must be on “what one would say,” as Austin phrased it.
Thus the speech act theory came into play, the theory attempts to account for various
“performative” aspects of meaning conveyed through language. (Encyclopedia
Britannica Online)
Essayist Literacy
In the article “Essayist Literacy and Other Verbal Performances,” Marcia Farr
contrasts the oral performances by Mexican immigrants to essayist literacy. Essayist
literacy is extremely structured, planned, and follows the format of an essay, one could
say. The truth behind the words relies heavily on the research performed and the format
in which it is presented to convince the audience. Essayist literacy is objective and
detached. However, the Mexican oral performance emphasizes a personal, human stance.
There are four good values which a speaker must possess in Mexican oral performances
to be considered a good speaker; the speaker must have grace, flavor, sincerity and
emotion. Ultimately, all four qualities are intertwined therefore a speaker should not
have one without the other. (Covino 603-611)
Performative Verbs
W. Ross Winterowd discusses performative verbs and how they function within
rhetorical linguistics in the article “The Rhetoric of Beneficence, Authority, Ethical
Commitment, and the Negative.” A sentence cannot be fully interpreted until an intention
can be supplied. If the intention is not specified, then the listener is left with deciding
what the speaker exactly meant, whether the sentence was a promise or a statement, for
example. Performative verbs clarify this ambiguity. A performative verb is actually
when the saying is the doing. For example, a nonperformative sentence is Advise me to
stop smoking. Whether the speaker is making a request or simply making a statement is
hard to decide. However, when a performative is added the intention is clarified as in the
following sentence I hereby advise you to stop smoking. Changing a sentence into a
performative requires a verb of intent (typically modified by hereby), an agent (typically
a first person pronoun) and an oblique (expressed by you). Performative verbs leave the
listener with no doubt, misinterpretation, or misunderstanding of the intent of the
speaker’s sentence. (Covino 598-602)
Works Cited
Columbia University Press. Yahoo Encyclopedia. “Chomsky, Noam.”
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry?id=10159
Covino, William A. and Jolliffe, David A. Rhetoric: Concepts, Definitions, Boundaries.
Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon, 1995.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online. “Austin, J.L.”
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?tocId=9356159&query=J.L.%20Austin&ct
West, Jonathan. “NHG Grammar: Performative Verbs.” 2001.
http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/jon.west/nhggr/nhggr_performverbs.htm