Pragmatics: From Theory to Practice (Handout 3)
Lecture 3 Communications in Social Situation
3.1 Saying is doing, given appropriate circumstances
 An anatomy of saying something
When John said to Bob, “Hello, I’m John. Nice to see you”,
Psychological
1. John was introducing himself to Bob.
2. John wanted to attract Bob’s attention.
3. John intended to be polite.
Vocal
1. He used his vocal tract to produce meaningful English pronunciations of words.
2. He vocalized the sounds in such a way that they became English words.
3. He put words in such an order that they formed a meaningful utterance: “Hello,
I’m John! Nice to see you.”
Exercise 3-1
When Lao Zhang said to Qian Jun: “今晚到我家吃顿便饭”
Psychological:
1. He is inviting his old friend Qian Jun to have dinner with him
2. He wants to be hospitable to Qian Jun.
3. He wants to reinforce their existing friendship
4. He wants Qian Jun to do something for him later.
3.2 Speech Act Theory
 John Austin: How to Do Things with Words (Published in 1962) has laid a foundation for
Speech acts research
 Speech act theory: shifts our attention from what language is to what it does and sees a
social and psychological process of language use.
 Saying is doing, given appropriate circumstances.
 Basic ideas about Austin’s Speech Act Theory
In making an utterance a speaker can perform three acts simultaneously.
The locutionary act (说话行为):
The act of saying something
The illocutionary act (言外之力，以言行事):
The act the speaker intends to do in saying something.
The perlocutionary act (取效行为，言后之果):
The result or effect that is produced by the utterance in that given context.
e.g.:
“Hello, I’m John! Nice to see you.”
The locutionary act:
The utterance: “Hello, I’m John! Nice to see you.” With correct English pronunciation
and the sentences are grammatically correct.
The illocutionary act:
What the speaker intends to do: introducing himself, attracting Bob’s attention, being
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polite, making more friends, …
The perlocutionary act:
The result or effect of the utterance in the context: a friendly relationship is set between
John and Bob; an interpersonal relationship is established.
“今晚到我家吃顿便饭”
The locutionary act:
The utterance: “今晚到我家吃顿便饭” with correct Chinese pronunciation and the
sentences are grammatically correct.
The illocutionary act:
What the speaker intends to do: inviting his old friend to have dinner with him; being
hospitable to Qian Jun, wanting Qian Jun to do something for him later…
We look at what the speaker’s intention in saying something.
The perlocutionary act:
The result or effect of the utterance in the context: reinforce their existing friendship is
reinforced; Qian Jun promised to do what Lao Zhang wanted him to do.
3.3 Understanding the illocutionary act & perlocutionary act
Exercise 3-2
After a dinner party at your home, you say:
“I’ve just made some coffee.”
The illocutionary act might be:
 a statement
 an offer
 an explanation
 other communicative purposes:
-a refusal to have tea after dinner,
-a polite invitation to have his/her friends to stay longer with him/her
-the speaker wants to show off his high-quality coffee
Exercise 3-4
After class, a teacher says to one of his students:
“Finish your homework!”
The illocutionary act:
The speaker
 orders…
 criticizes…
 urges…
 advises…
 blames…
The perlocutionary act:
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
forcing
persuading
frightening


leaves an impression on the hearer that the teacher is very strict.
the student feels offended.
the hearer into finishing his homework
We can see from the two exercises, the same utterance can be used to perform different
speech acts. Sometimes different utterances can be used to perform the same speech act.
Exercise 3-5
Shut the door!
Could you close the door?
Did you forget the door?
The air conditioner is working.
I feel cold in here.
What do big boys do when they come into a room, Johnny?
What would be the illocutionary act of these utterances?
 requesting (somebody to close the door)
The above utterances illustrate different ways of performing the same illocutionary act of
requesting someone to close the door:
Some points to remember:
 The same utterance can be used to perform different speech acts.
 Different utterances can be used to perform the same speech acts.
Just as the same utterance can be used to perform different speech acts, so different
utterances can be used to perform the same speech act.
Exercise 3-5
Describe the illocutionary act and perlocutionary act in the following dialogue:
Li: (looks around)
Grocer:
Li:
Grocer:
Li:
Grocer:
Li:
要点什么？(What would you like to have?)
西瓜多少钱一斤？(How much is your water melon?)
两块二。(Two Yuan and twenty.)
两块二？够贵的。(Two Yuan and twenty? Too expensive.)
咳，我们进价就两块，一天赚不了几个钱。你要我给你便宜一毛。(Oh, no. We
bought in at two Yuan. We only earn a few cents. I’ll knock ten cents off if
you buy it.)
好，来一个。(Ok, have one.)
In saying “要点什么?” the grocer performed
The locution of asking a question
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The illocution: attracting Li’s attention
The perlocution: Li is attracted.
In saying “西瓜多少钱一斤？” Li performed a locutionary act of inquiring in order to
find out the price. The effect is: a bargain is started.
The locution: inquiring
The illocution: finding out the price
The perlocution: starting a bargain
“两块二？够贵的”
In saying “两块二？够贵的” Li performed a locutionary act of expressing his opinion in
order to strike a good bargain. What would be the result? Li has a discount of 10 cents
The locution: expressing his opinion
The illocution: striking a good bargain
The perlocution: a discount is offered
3.4 Summary
Complete the review by supplying the missing words:
1. The theme of the lecture is that saying something, given the circumstances, is performing a
speech act.
2. According to Austin, when we say something under appropriate circumstances, we
simultaneously perform three major acts: (1) the locutionary act; (2) the illocutionary act;
and (3) the perlocutionary act.
3. The illocutionary act is what we intend to do in saying something. It is what the speaker
wants to happen.
4. The perlocutionary act is the effect or what we hope to achieve by saying it. It is defined by
the hearer’s reaction.
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