Speech Acts Research Articles

Prosper’s Law: putting the lex back into orandi and credendi

Abstract This article demonstrates the centrality of ‘law’ to the famous dictum of Prosper of Aquitaine, lex orandi lex credendi. In its various appearances since the fifth century AD, the relationship in Prosper’s dictum between worship and belief has been, at best, assumed. I propose that the nature of that relationship is actually explicit in the dictum itself. That is, Prosper’s invocation of law—‘lex’. In particular, I demonstrate the importance of that term from a modern and an ancient perspective: the modern notion of speech-act theory; and the historical context of the Codex Theodosius, newly promulgated at the time of Prosper’s writing. From those perspectives, Prosper’s dictum is newly perceived as words which do things. It is both an example of heresiology and also seeks to establish the law. On the one hand, there appears to be a normativity newly prescribed for doctrine (credendi) following the lead of worship (orandi). On the other hand, I argue that Prosper’s prescription is for something more lively than ‘mere’ ritual normativity, namely established custom. This, as I will show, emerges from the contribution of the familiar Roman pair ius and lex.

Proper names as speech acts

Abstract In this paper, I question the idea that proper names are merely used to refer to things or individuals. However, I am not going to use predicativism to prove this point. I will somehow look at things from the point of view of scholars like Frege or Kripke. I consider that this idea (that proper names are merely used to refer, at least when they are in argument positions) stems from a view of language that does not throw proper light on contextuality as discussed by Mey, Jacob. 2001. Pragmatics. Oxford: Wiley. From the very beginning, I argue that the issue can be seen in a better light through a theory of language use that considers language games as embedded in a society and a culture. I accept the idea that there are norms for introducing names in society and for using them in an appropriate way. Even if, for most philosophers, referring is the basic function of proper names, I propose that in a number of cases proper names are not essentially used to refer (although it is possible that the name allows a combination of referring and other functions). The referring function of names broadly correlates with the assertive function of the utterance in which the name occurs or with speech acts whose aim is to modify reality and, therefore, persuade, modify, create, promote, destroy, etc. objects or individuals (often referred to with proper names). However, there are other types of speech acts where proper names are not only used to refer, but, instead, to call someone (another case is scolding someone or a dog). Intentions clearly emerge in context. The same utterance may have more than one function, from the illocutionary point of view, but a proper name, as situated in different contexts, may have more than one perlocutionary function. I argue that while the speech act of referring is always a diagonal speech act, the speech act of calling someone (by the use of a proper name) is not a diagonal speech act but a self-sufficient, autonomous, primary speech act. Hence there is a clear difference between referring through an assertion and referring as part of calling, where referring is incorporated into the main speech act as part of the explicit illocutionary force of the speech act. In an assertion, referring is a prerequisite to providing a referent about which a property is asserted. Predication and reference are intertwined. In a speech act other than an assertion, there need not be a predicate, and referring and calling (or some other speech act) are connected. I propose that the learning of the speech act of calling by the use of a name requires certain syntactic considerations, that prima facie contradict Chomsky’s binding theory. I then put forward the view that learning one’s name requires, at some stage, knowledge of the semantics of de se structures.

THE PHENOMENON OF AGGRESSION IN LANGUAGE: THE PROBLEM OF TERMINOLOGY

The article highlights the main approaches to describing aggression in language. The polyphonic status of speech aggression is associated with the interdisciplinarity of this phenomenon and is explained by the widespread spread of aggression in modern speech practice. The purpose of this article is to present and compare the approaches available in language to the study of aggression and the definition of aggression within the framework of a linguocognitive approach. The directions of scientific linguistic thought in the study of aggression are described and its typological differences are established, which serve as the basis for conceptual approaches to classifying its types. The typology of verbal aggression in the works of Russian researchers in the following areas is considered: 1) speech act, 2) form of speech behaviour, 3) communicative strategy, 4) speech (communicative) action. It is established that verbal aggression includes not only the known means of its verbalisation, but also all possible conditions of the communicative space, the specifics of the discourse in which it is represented, the state and status of communicants. This is due to a comprehensive approach to understanding verbal aggression, which consists in harming the addressee or the object of speech. Choosing an aggressive form of speech behaviour, the speaker performs two functions: adaptation or protection. These functions of human aggression determine its existence in different types of discourse, determine the forms of its verbalisation.

Arguments and Speech Acts Reconsidered

Arguments and Speech Acts Reconsidered

Relevansi Kegiatan Khitobah terhadap Kemampuan Public Speaking Peserta Didik di MAN 2 Karanganyar

One of MAN 2 Karanganyar's efforts in helping students improve students' public speaking skills can be done at school through various forms of activities, one of which is speech or khitobah activities. This paper describes the relevance of khitobah activities to students' public speaking skills at MAN 2 Karanganyar. The purpose of this paper is to describe the khitobah activities at MAN 2 Karanganyar, the obstacles experienced and the supporting factors and their relevance to the public speaking skills of MAN 2 Karanganyar students. The data sources of this research are rohis members, students who have served and supervising teachers. The research methods used in this research are interviews and direct observation. The results of this study indicate that the positive impact felt by students who berkhitobah is their public speaking skills are increasing, namely their religious knowledge is increasing because students also indirectly while learning religion through khitobah dzuhur activities. Learners also learn to understand how the method and how to give a good speech or khitobah.

The Function of Memes in Political Discourse

AbstractThe use of memes has become increasingly widespread in political discourse. However, there is a dearth of philosophical discussion on memes and their impact on political discourse. This paper addresses this gap in the literature and bridges the divide between the empirical and philosophical work on memes by offering a functionalist account which allows for a more in-depth analysis of the role memes play in political discourse. We offer a taxonomy of the eight key characteristics of memes: 1. humor; 2. fostering in-group identity; 3. caricatures; 4. replicability; 5. context collapse; 6. hermeneutical resources; 7. low reputational cost; 8. signaling. On the positive side, the propensity memes have to foster in-group identity and to function as a hermeneutical tool for people to make sense of their own experiences are a boon especially to marginalized communities. On the flipside, the creation of an in-group/out-group dynamic can also be exploited by sinister political actors, especially since the low reputational cost of circulating memes allows for plausible deniability. We use the analysis in this paper to jumpstart a discussion of how we should understand memes and debate which norms should govern the novel speech act of posting a meme given its impact on political discourse. Based on our findings, we end with a call to adopt stricter norms for the act of posting a meme.

RELIGIOUS VOCABULARY OF EVERYDAY LANGUAGE OF THE ORTHODOX BELIEVERS OF UKRAINE

The article attempts to analyze the interaction of the religious language sphere with the Ukrainian language in the context of the religious discourse. Due to the ability of religious discourse to interact with other types of discourse, the speech activity of Orthodox believers is realized within institutional and personal discourses, the latter of which covers the sphere of interpersonal communication in the context of everyday interactions. The objective of the study is to find out the specifics of the functioning of lexical units expressing religious meanings in everyday language of Orthodox believers of Ukraine. The attributive and modus specificity of language of the religious sphere makes it possible to distinguish the language of religion as a representative of the meaning of the existence of religion and the religious language as the embodiment of manifestations of religion in the socio-cultural context. The religious language, which is objectified in the everyday language of Orthodox believers, includes a set of language units and lexical-semantic constructions peculiar to the church-religious sphere. At the same time, the everyday language of believers is characterized by coexistence of lexical units of sacred and national languages, an appeal to the emotional sphere of believers, and the use of verbal and non-verbal means of communication. The everyday language of Orthodox believers includes theological terms, church Slavonicisms, archaisms, historicisms, borrowed words. It also contains the phenomena of polysemy, homonymy, synonymy, antonymy and acts as an additional means of communication in the context of social interactions.

Linguistic basis for levelling procedure of conflict discourse “teacher-student”

Introduction. Our interdisciplinary research is dedicated to the identification of functional characteristics of CD to be used by any pedagogical community when an educational communication is turning into a conflict. It is relevant both for the development of general theory of speech activity and communication rules in a professional collaboration “teacher-student”. Material and methods. We elicited not only characteristics of CD that was our object (total number is 4120 items) but we have also analyzed students’ (110 people) communicative skills as the subject of our research. We used a method of constructing subjective semantic spaces of CD using a factor analysis of illocutionary dominant. The method of statistical analysis was used to identify the frequency of results repetition analysis and test the effectiveness of research procedures on some range of dialogues “teacher – student”. Principles of the holistic organization of the linguistic subject and “student-teacher” speech activity, pedagogical experiment, methods of observation, testing and questioning were also used. Research results. Our study on group communication showed that when the Losada coefficient fell between 2.9 and 7 (80% of participants), students effectively used vocabulary markers to navigate conflict and develop strategies. However, in 20% of cases with a coefficient below 1, communication relied on negative language. Yet, participants adapted using our methodology, leading to successful dialogue. Conclusion. We propose linguistic methods to shift destructive "teacher-student" conflict communication to constructive. Our unique conflict discourse matrix aids in analyzing communication pragmatics and interlocutors' psychology. This matrix can support effective communication in conflict resolution training for educators.

Interlanguage impoliteness in criticism by the English learners from Javanese background over social status and distance

The present study analyses the impoliteness of criticism over social status and distance, incorporating the concept of "levels of imposition." Criticism as a fundamental speech act is commonly used by people in the modern era, either in the digital world or the real world. It usually contains impoliteness if it embodies negative behavior, conveying criticism. This study belonged to an interlanguage pragmatics study and used forty participants from English language learners having Javanese backgrounds. It also applied the role play technique to take data to be analyzed using mixed method analysis. The data showed that the criticizer performed various impoliteness strategies in criticism, considering familiar and unfamiliar relationships in different social status levels. They mainly performed bald-on-record impoliteness and adhered to other strategies such as negative, positive, and mock politeness. Besides that, delivering criticism in high intonation was also perceived as a part of impoliteness. Therefore, it suggested conducting another research concerning paralinguistics and impoliteness in various communication contexts.

Problem-oriented stimulus of teaching foreign-language listening in a secondary school. Part 1

The problem for the research. Listening skills are important for a modern person in many areas of life: at work, at home, travelling the world, etc., when immersed in the social space of culture in the fullness of its spiritual meanings. However, in school teaching of foreign languages, there is a contradiction between the large reserve listening capabilities in achieving students’ personal, metasubject and subject educational results in a foreign language and the established practice of teaching this type of foreign-language speech activity, where there are many difficulties associated with students’ perception and understanding of foreign-language information by ear. Methods of investigation. 50 ninth-graders of secondary school named after S. S. Rakitina in Murashi, Kirov Region (Russian Federation) took part in pilot testing. To obtain personal learning results, the “Methodology for studying the motivation of teaching older adolescents” was used; metasubject – L. F. Tikhomirova’s “Exclude the word” method; subject (in the field of foreign-language listening) – the method for calculating the success rate of V. P. Bespalko and A. N. Shamov. The results were processed using the sign test. The findings of the study. The final control revealed an increase in the level of proficiency in personal learning outcomes in 40% of ninth-graders; metasubject – in 45%; subject – in 61%. The reliability of the presented results is confirmed by the use of mathematical statistics methods for personal, metasubject and subject results. The results of calculating the criterion of G-signs in the experimental group: Gemp. is above ≤ Gcr.: 0 ≤ 3 for personal, 0 ≤ 5 for metasubject and subject results (p < 0.05). Conclusion. The purpose of the study is achieved: the article describes the characteristics and proves the effectiveness of using the problem-oriented stimulus in the process of teaching foreign-language listening in a secondary school (based on materials from the senior stage in secondary school). The theoretical foundation and testing of a set of exercises for teaching students foreign-language listening using the components of the problem-oriented stimulus led us to the conclusion that the presented exercises contribute to the formation of personal and metasubject universal educational actions of students, increases the level of their proficiency in the oral receptive type of foreign-language speech activity.

Features of the use of digital technologies when teaching the Russian language to foreign citizens in Russian universities

Introduction. Currently, the education system around the world is undergoing a number of changes due to the active development of distance and digital learning technologies: learning is becoming more individualized, flexible, dynamic, and most importantly, technologically advanced. In these conditions, it seems necessary to rethink the role and specifics of using digital technologies when teaching Russian to foreign students. Materials and methods. The study involved 60 teachers of Russian as a foreign language aged from 25 to 67 years old, working at various universities in Russia: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg Mining University, Herzen State Pedagogical University, etc. The following methods were used: questionnaire method, comparative analysis, statistical method, systematization method, as well as a method of graphical presentation of data. Research results. The survey revealed that the majority of Russian as a foreign language teachers (78%) consider the digitalization of higher education to be a positive phenomenon, and 60% of respondents currently conduct their classes in a mixed mode. The most common digital tools used are basic computer programs (96%), instant messengers/email (85%), Internet resources (84%), platforms for conducting distance learning (81%) etc. The vast majority of respondents (95%) made changes to the process of teaching Russian language, taking into account the experience of the distance mode: they began to use the latest teaching methods, digital resources etc. 32% of survey participants believe that the use of electronic technologies is most relevant at the stage of skill building; speaking about teaching various types of speech activity and aspects of language, 80% of teachers noted that the use of electronic technologies is most appropriate when teaching listening and vocabulary. The majority of respondents believe that the use of digital technologies makes it possible to optimize control over the mastering of educational material. Conclusion. The obtained research results made it possible to identify and describe the most important aspects of the digitalization of higher education in the field of methods of teaching Russian as a foreign language, as well as to determine the prospects for further methodological study of the use of digital technologies in Russian as a foreign language classes.

Directive Speech Acts In The Holy Book Dhammapada Cittavagga Verses

The purpose of this research is to explain how the Dhammapada Scripture Cittavagga Poem uses directive speech acts. The information used in this study came from a variety of literature reviews on speech actions and the Dhammapada text, particularly the 11-verse Cittavagga poem, which has four lines of sacred words in one of its verses. A qualitative approach is the methodology that is employed. According to the study's findings, which were derived from a thorough debate and analysis, the most common types of directed speech are advise (four), reprimands (three), orders (three), invitations (one), and no mention of restriction. It is highly recommended to train, direct, and tame the mind in order to bring happiness. This is the main goal of the directive speech act of advice, which is a very dominant speech act in the linear Cittavagga poem. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining creativity and thoughts that frequently cannot be still and continue to change.

Fregean Aletheic Objectualism, the Flaw of False Assertion, and Truth as a Norm of Assertion

Gottlob Frege is an aletheic objectualist who regards truth as an object. For him, truth is the truth-value True, which is an object referred to by true sentences. Some interpreters argue that Frege’s claim that the True is an object is merely a byproduct of the technical features of his formal logic, Begriffsschrift. However, Frege’s works instead suggest that aletheic objectualism constitutes his philosophical position on the metaphysics of truth. Although Fregean aletheic objectualism may seem counterintuitive and unfruitful, it is, in fact, quite useful. Viewing truth as an object provides a new explanation for why there is a pro tanto reason to consider false assertion flawed. This explanation in turn strengthens support for the popular view that assertion is a norm-laden speech act.

Directive Speech Acts and Its Response on Japanese Anime “Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken”

This study aims to classify the directive speech acts used by the character Rimuru Tempest in the anime Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken and analyze the responses of interlocutors to these directive speech acts. The research employs a qualitative descriptive approach, with data collected from character dialogues across episodes 1 to 15 of the anime. The data were analyzed and categorized based on Namatame's (1996) directive speech act theory. The findings indicate 24 instances of directive speech acts, categorized into five types: commands (meirei), with 11 occurrences; requests (irai), with 5; prohibitions (kinshi), with 3; permissions (kyoka), with 3; and suggestions (teian), with 2. Additionally, 18 responses to these directives were positive, while 6 were negative. Analysis suggests that the relationship between the speaker and the interlocutor influenced response types. Results also show that the character Rimuru Tempest predominantly used requests (irai) in their directives.

Analysis of politeness strategies in kῖmwῖmbῖ (E531) condolence messages

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the politeness strategies used by condolers in expressing condolence in Kῖmwῖmbῖ. Death is a natural part of human life. Regardless of its cause, it is usually very painful and therefore, losing a loved one causes deep feelings of loss and sorrow not only to the family of the deceased but also to friends and relatives. The main purpose of expressing condolence is to convey sympathy or compassion to the bereaved. Yule (2017) argues that in linguistic politeness, face is the most important concept and claims that a person’s face in pragmatics is their public self-image. In expressing condolence, condolers threaten the face of the bereaved but also employ politeness strategies to formulate messages in order to save the bereaved’s face. The study adopted the qualitative and quantitative research approaches and used Brown and Levinson (1978) Politeness Theory. Politeness theory focuses on ‘saving face’ which is a key aspect in politeness. The study was conducted in Chogoria Division, Maara Subcounty, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to sample twenty condolence messages for analysis. A guiding card was used to categorize the condolence utterances with politeness strategies. The data was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively providing explanation of these politeness strategies and giving their frequencies and percentages in tables. It was established that the four politeness strategies proposed in the politeness theory are used in expressing condolence in Kῖmwῖmbῖ, with positive politeness strategy being the most used. The findings add to the existing knowledge in pragmatics, especially on politeness and burial discourse. Similarly, the study provides data which can be used to compare with other languages hence aiding in generalizing conclusions of condolence speech act.

Exploring Speech Acts in Suicide Notes from the Forensic Linguistics Approach: A Comparative Study of Chinese and American Cases

Suicide notes are the information left by people who commit suicide. In these notes, people employ various speech strategies to express their emotion and will. The strategies and content in suicide note vary with culture. Using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) and Chinese LIWC (CLIWC) programs, this study looks at the speech actions in suicide notes as well as the linguistic and affective traits of suicide notes from Chinese and American individuals. The results show that while expressive acts and social words are more prevalent in American notes, suggesting stronger social connectivity, forceful acts predominate in all countries. Chinese suicide notes, on the other hand, show more directed actions and a greater frequency of both good and negative feelings in these actions. Despite the study’s limitations due to the small sample size, it provides valuable insights into the cultural differences in the language of suicide and suggests directions for future research, including larger-scale analyses and the development of AI-driven tools for suicide prevention.

Oppressive expression and the Czech and Slovak communities of Northern Ireland

Feminist philosophers of language have, in the last several decades, demonstrated the usefulness of employing a speech-act theoretical lens to understand how expression works to enact and reinforce oppression. Despite the growing influence of these approaches in the philosophy and political theory literature, however, their use in other disciplines remains severely limited. This is surprising, especially given the real potential of the speech-act approach to illuminate the mechanisms by which everyday acts contribute to large-scale oppressions. This paper takes up this call for interdisciplinarity, utilising a speech-act theory of oppression to better understand the real-life experiences of the under-researched Czech and Slovak communities of Northern Ireland. Using semi-structured interviews followed by thematic analysis, our study expands our understanding of oppressive speech by revealing a complex relationship between victims’ experiences and their understanding of wider societal oppression, exposing a channel via which victims can exercise agency by contesting attempts to reinforce their oppression. In so doing, the study also draws attention to a novel theoretical lens with which to understand experiences of harmful speech, one which is currently under-utilised by those outside of the philosophy/political theory disciplines.

Pragmatic Analysis in Speech Acts (bahasa ogan) used between Buyers and Wanita Bakul in Batu putih Village

This research aims to discover the types of locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary speech acts used by buyers and Wanita Bakul in Batuputih village. The method used in this research is qualitative with descriptive type. The data collection techniques used are recording techniques and listening and recording techniques. The data source in this research was obtained from buyers and Wanita Bakul in Batuputih village, who engaged in speech act interactions using oganese language in buying and selling transactions. The researchers used proficient free involved listening, recording, and Wanita Bakul note-taking techniques to collect the data required in this research. The results show that the speech acts used in buying and selling interactions in Batuputih village, total number of speech acts was 84, locutionary act 9, illocutionary act 25 and perlocutionary act 29. The perlocutionary act is the most dominant speech act between buyers and Wanita Bakul interactions in Batuputih village.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH ACT IN OPRAH WINFREY’S MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH “LIFE ADVICE WILL CHANGE YOUR FUTURE”

This research was designed in descriptive qualitative research. The aims of the research were to find out direct and indirect speech act and the contextual meaning in Oprah Winfrey’s Motivational Speech “Life Advice Will Change Your Future”. In collecting the data, the researcher used content Analysis technique. The researcher used Miles and Huberman theory in analyzing the data. In doing the research, the theory of Finegan is used. Finegan stated that there were two types of speech act, direct and indirect speech act and it can be in the form of representatives, commissives, directives, declarations, expressives and verdictives. The result shows that there were found 30 expression of direct speech act and 26 expression of indirect speech act. Therefore, speech act can be found in many discourses and daily life conversation. The researcher expected that this research will be useful for teacher, students, and the next researcher who are going to do related research.

DEVELOPMENT OF COHERENT SPEECH AND COMMUNICATION CULTURE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AT THE LESSONS OF THE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE EDUCATIONAL FIELD

The article investigates the peculiarities of the development of coherent speech and culture of communication of primary school students in the lessons of language and literature educational branch. The competence-based approach to speech and culture of communication, the emphasis shifts from the language-centred concept to the anthropocentric one, when the development of subject-subject learning is emphasised and a linguistic personality is formed, which possesses a set of abilities and properties that allow creating oral and written speech works, adequately understanding texts addressed to communicators, that is, communicating fully and effectively. The most important means of awakening the child’s self-awareness, stimulating his/her spiritual development, according to the national didactic tradition, is teaching the native language, which is the basis of national and cultural self-identification. One of the main methods of work on coherent speech and culture of communication is practical exercises, which are used in phases: the first phase is the task, which should contain a motive for performing a certain speech action/activity, a speech situation) and explanations of what and how the student should do (orally or in writing; independently or in pairs, in a group; in a notebook or on the board); the second phase is a sample of performance; the third phase is the task performance; the fourth phase is control, which can be either teacher’s control, self-control, or students’ mutual control. The exercises aimed at forming orthoepic, pronunciation, accentological and lexical norms, distinguishing intonation in sentences are systematised. Exercises aimed at studying the peculiarities of figurative meaning will be relevant. Grammatical skills are an integral part of all types of speech activity, the formation, improvement and development of which is the main task of teaching. As a result of working with primary school students using a system of exercises to form a culture of speech, not only does the students’ speech culture improve, but also their memory improves, they develop an attentive, thoughtful attitude to language and books, and the level of spelling literacy and interest in Ukrainian language lessons increases.