Strategies in linguistic action

Abstract

Abstract This paper takes as its thesis the fact that strategies in linguistic action can be properly described in terms of a componential analysis of the speech act. The subacts to be distinguished are the phonetic, the illocutionary, the referring and the predicating act. The first section serves as a general introduction to the subject, dealing in particular with the concepts of weak and strong successfulness, and the intention and the purpose of actions. In the following sections some concrete examples are presented in order to demonstrate which kinds of strategies speakers develop in performing each of the four subacts distinguished. At the referring level, for instance, the category of vocatives and the distinction between polite and familiar forms of address is discussed; at the illocutionary level particular attention is paid to the strategies inherent in the performance of impositive speech acts. In relation to this certain formal and strategical properties of indirect speech acts will be analyzed. In the concluding section the hypothesis is put forward that languages might differ as to the proportion in which their speakers prefer to make use of phonetic, illocutionary, referring or predicating strategies.