Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study aims at exploring speech acts. Actions via utterances are generally called speech acts. They are commonly given specific labels such as apology, compliment, - request, promise or warning etc. The usefulness of speech acts illustrates kinds of things we can do with words and identifying some of the conventional utterance forms we use to perform specific actions. This study examines speech act of complaints in a domestic context. According to Trosborg (1995) there are two different types of complaints. The direct complaint is when complainer diretly accuse the complainee of having committed the offence. The indirect complaint is when the complainer ask the hearer a question about the situation that she/he is in someway connected with the offence. This study illustrates how Xhosa people complain in a domestic context. Quationaires were distributed to the people of Kayamandi Township in Stellenbosch, Emgwali Location in Stutterheim and Kwalini Location in King William's Town. The focus was on Mothers and Fathers, Daughters and Sons, Brothers and Sisters. The family members complain to each other on different levels and according to their status. Trosborg (1995) has identified eight complaint strategies. The hint, annoyance, ill consequences, direct accusation, indirect accusation, modified blame, explicit condemnation of the accused's action and explicit condemnation of the accused as a person. The mother complains to the daughter more than when she is complaining to the son and the father. The father complains to the son more than when he complains to the daughter. The son and the daughter complain almost equaly to their parents. The daughter complains equaly as her sister. These members have some ways of responding to the complaints. Boxer (1991) has identified six types of responses to the indirect complaints. The question, the joke, contradiction, commisseration, lecture and advice. The father has used more strategies when responding to the mother. The mother has responded to the daughter more than when responding to the father and the son. the son and the daughter has responded almost equaly to their parents. The brother and the sister responded equaly to their parents. The examination of speech acts will help us understand how actions are carried out and interpreted wthin speech events and how more get communicated than is said. It has been established that speech acts of complaint in Xhosa playa crucial sociocultural role in our communities. This is being proved by the manner in which females and male have used the strategies in this data. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het as doelstelling die ondersoek van spraakhandelinge in Xhosa. Handelinge wat uitgevoer word via uitings word spraakhandelinge genoem. Hierdie spraakhandelinge word oor die algemeen bepaalde benaminge gegee, soos verskoning, komplimentering, versoek, belofte, waarskuwing, ens. Die gebruik van spraakhandelinge illustreer die soort dinge wat mense met woorde kan doen, en identifiseer sommige van die konvensionele uiting vorme wat mense gebruik om spesifieke spraakhandelinge uit te voer. Hierdie studie ondersoek die spraakhandeling van klagte in huishoudelike konteks. Volgens Trosborg (1995) is daar twee verskillende tipes klagtes. Die direkte klagte behels dat die klaer die klagte-hoorder direk beskuldig van 'n oortreding. Die indirekte klagte behels dat die klaer _'n vraag vra aan die klagte-hoorder oor die situasie waarmee laasgenoemde op 'n manier verbind is met die oortreding. Hierdie studie ondersoek hoe Xhosa-sprekende persone kla in huishoudelike konteks. Vraelyste is gegee aan inwoners van die Kayamandi wooongebied in Stellenbosch, Emgwali woongebied in Stutterheim en Kwalini woongebied in King William's Town. Die fokus was op vaders en moeders, dogters en seuns, en broers en susters. Die familielede kla teenoor mekaar op verskillende vlakke en dienooreenkomstig hulle status. Trosborg (1995) identifiseer agt klagte strategieë, naamlik die skimp, verviesing, slegte gevolge, direkte beskuldiging, indirekte beskuldiging, gewysigde blaam, eksplisiete veroordeling van die beskuldigde se aksies, en die eksplisiete beoordeling van die beskuldigde as persoon. Die moeder kla meer teenoor die dogter as wat sy kla teenoor die vader of die seun. Die vader kla meer teenoor die seun as teenoor die dogter. Die seun en dogter kla ongeveer in 'n gelyke mate teenoor hulle ouers. Die dogter kla eweveel as haar suster. Boxer (1991) identifiseer ses tipes response op indirekte klagtes, naamlik die vraag, die grap, die weerspreking, die lesing, en advies. Die vader het meer strategieë gebruik in response teenoor die moeder. Die moeder het meer response gehad teenoor die dogter as wat sy gehad het teenoor die vader en die seun. Die seun en dogter het ongeveer in 'n gelyke mate response teenoor hulle ouers gehad. Die broer en suster het ongeveer dieselfde mate van response teenoor mekaar gehad. Die ondersoek na spraakhandelinge lewer 'n bydrae daartoe om te verstaan hoe handelinge uitgevoer word en geïnterpreteer word binne spraakhandelinge, en hoe meer gekommunikeer word as wat gesê word. Daar is vasgestel dat spraakhandelinge van klagte in Xhosa 'n wesenlike sosio-kulturele rol speel in gemeenskappe. Hierdie feit word bevestig deur onder andere die wyse waarop mans en vroue die strategieë gebruik het in hierdie studie

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study focuses on the requestive behaviour, including perceptions of politeness and directness, of Omani second language (L2) English students at Nizwa University in Oman as revealed by their written responses to real life scenarios. The study is an attempt to improve linguistic understanding of pragmatic differences, with reference to the similarities and differences between Omani L2 English students and L1 English speakers’ communicative proficiency, in order to contribute to improved language teaching curricula. The research design consisted of an initial series of two questionnaires which required that the participants rate given responses based on their perceptions of ‘politeness’ and ‘indirectness’; a third discourse completion test (DCT) that required participants to respond in writing in the form of a request to five real life scenarios; and a fourth questionnaire that required teachers to judge the written responses of the DCT according to five criteria. Additionally, the Omani-speaking teachers of L2 English were interviewed and asked questions relating to their responses from a sociopragmatic/ cultural perspective. The Omani teachers’ responses were then used to assist in the analysis of the written response data. The four instruments above thus used both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The results of the data analysis showed that (1) the query preparatory is considered by both groups to be the most polite request strategy and is used to mitigate imposition; (2) Omani L2 English students consider the words should and must to be most impolite in contrast with the L1 English speakers who consider the mood derivable to be the most impolite request strategy; (3) mild hints are considered far more polite by L1 English speakers than by Omani L2 English students; (4) politeness is influenced by differences in perceptions of social variables such as social distance, social power and degree of imposition; (5) direct strategies are not considered impolite and are used six times more frequently by Omani L2 English students than by L1 English speakers in low-imposition contextual situations; and (6) positive transfer and conventionalisation of the time intensifier has been produced and the strategy is used more than twice as much by the Omani L2 English students than by the L1 English speakers. In contrast, the L1 English speakers use the preparator 11 times more frequently than the Omani L2 English students who predominantly have no pragmalinguistic knowledge of this tactic. The study highlights the need for pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic training of students in the classroom and for pragmatics to be included in the material and curriculum design of English language learning programmes. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie fokus op hoe versoeke, insluitend die persepsies van beleefdheid en direktheid, van tweede taal (T2) Omani studente aan die Universiteit van Nizwa in Oman geformuleer word soos geopenbaar deur hulle skriftelike reaksies op realistiese lewenscenarios tydens vraagstelling. Die studie is ‘n poging om taalkundige begrip van pragmatiese verskille te verbeter, met verwysing na die ooreenkomste en verskille tussen Omani T2 Engelssprekendes en L1 Engelssprekendes se kommunikatiewe vaardighede, ten einde by te dra tot die verbetering van taalonderrig leerplanne. Die navorsing het bestaan uit ‘n aanvanklike reeks van twee vraelyste wat vereis dat deelnemers antwoorde gee op grond van hulle persepsies van beleefdheid en indirektheid; ‘n derde diskoers voltooiings toets (DVT) wat vereis dat deelnemers skriftelik reageer op versoeke in vyf realistiese lewenscenarios; en ‘n vierde vraelys wat vereis dat onderwysers die skriftelike reaksies op die DVT in vyf areas beoordeel. Daarbenewens is die T2 Omani onderwysers ondervra met betrekking tot hulle antwoorde vanuit ‘n sosio-pragmatiese perspektief. Die Omani onderwysers se antwoorde is vervolgens gebruik om die ontleding van die skriftelike response te doen. Die bogenoemde vier instrumente gebruik dus beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe navorsingsmetodes. Die resultate van die data-analise toon dat (1) die “query preparatory” deur beide groepe as die mees beleefde vraag-strategie beskou word en gebruik word om taakoplegging te versag; (2) T2 sprekers beskou die woorde moet en behoort meestal as onbeskof, in teenstelling met die T1 Engelssprekendes, wat die “mood derivable” as die mees onbeskofte vraag-strategie ervaar; (3) die “mild hint” word as baie meer beleefd deur L1 Engelssprekendes as deur T2-sprekers ervaar; (4) beleefdheid word beinvloed deur verskille in persepsies van sosiale faktore soos sosiale afstand en –druk, en die graad van oplegging; (5) direktheid word nie as onbeskof gesien nie, en kom ses keer meer voor by T2 sprekers in laer taalvaardigheid situasies; en (6) positiewe oordrag en vaslegging van tyd as ‘n drukkrag het voorgekom, en die taktiek word meer as twee keer soveel deur die T2 sprekers as deur die T1 Engelssprekendes gebruik. In teenstelling gebruik die T1 Engelssprekendes die “preparatory” 11 keer meer as die T2 sprekers, wat meestal geen pragma-linguistiese kennis van hierdie tegniek het nie. Die studie beklemtoon die noodsaaklikheid van pragma-linguistiese en sosio-linguistiese opleiding in die klaskamer, en dat pragmatika in materiaal en kurrikulumontwerp vir Engelse taalleer programme ingesluit word.

Public figures have offered more public apologies since the past two decades. However, very little research efforts have been made to study the use of apology strategies in public apologies. This study aims to find out how Chinese and English public figures use apology strategies to publicly apologize, and highlight the similarities and differences in their use of apology strategies. This study used a modified model that was based on Cohen & Olshtain (1981), Olshtain & Cohen (1983), and Blum-Kulka et al. (1989) and identified a total of 11 apology strategies. 8 Chinese and 8 English public apologies over infidelity were collected and analyzed using the model and the use of apology strategies was compiled. It was found that, in general, the Chinese subjects used apology strategies more often than the English subjects. The most frequently used and least frequently used strategies were the same for both groups of data, which were accepting the blame and expressing a lack of intent respectively. One of the significant differences was found in the preference of IFIDs where the Chinese data preferred an expression of apology while the English data preferred an expression of regret. It was also found that 3 of the Chinese apologies used the strategies expressing self-dificiency and offering an explanation or account together. Since the latter was found to be inappropriate in the case of apologizing over infidelity, the concurrent use of these 2 Strategies might be a unique feature of Chinese public apology. Since this study is a pioneering attempt to study the use of apology strategies in public apologies, further research efforts are much encouraged. It is hoped that this study could serves as a reference for further studies on apology strategies in public apology.

This work's main thesis is that a theory of action provides a more appropriate framework than a theory of language for furthering the purpose of Austin's conception of speech acts. The main purpose of that conception was the elucidation of the species of language-use that is exemplified by illocutionary acts and is distinct from those species exemplified by locutionary and perlocutionary acts. Austin's conception of locutionary acts isolates those features of a speech act situation which are amenable to subsumption under a theory of language. This conception is expounded, developed and defended in Chapter One. The orthodox "reject-and-replace" view of the relationship between Austin's performative-constative distinction and his distinction between locutionary and illocutionary acts threatens several of Austin's insights concerning the type of theory appropriate for developing his conception of speech acts. In Chapter Two the performative-constative distinction is expounded, the "reject-and-replace" is shown to be false, and an alternative view, which retrieves the threatened insights, is advanced. Austin's distinction between locutionary and illocutionary acts, and his parallel distinction between locutionary meaning and illocutionary force, are also established in the course of defending them against objections. The terms in which Austin drew the distinction between illocutionary and perlocutionary acts - those of a conventional act distinct from its non-conventional outcomes indicate the theoretical framework required for a development of his conception. In Chapter Three this distinction is expounded and a partial analysis is made of the concepts of some outcomes of acts, viz., effects, consequences and results. Illocutionary acts are not constituted in toto by agents' bodily movements - a point captured in Austin's thesis that illocutionary acts are conventional acts. In Chapter Pour the interpretation customarily imposed on that thesis is discussed and shown to be unfaithful. An alternative interpretation is constructed from points in Austin's own lectures. The solution to the problem of the constitution of illocutionary acts provided by this interpretation is that such acts are constituted by the conventional procedures as part of which locutionary acts are performed. Some other suggested solutions are canvassed. In Chapter Five an account is given of the conventional procedures constitutive of illocutionary acts. In Chapter Six the claim embodied in the main thesis of this work is defended against the counter-claims implicit in Schiffer's, Strawson's and Searle's work. In the Appendix Austin's performative-constative distinction and his later views on truth are defended. An analytical table of contents is included.

No description available.

After defining speaker commitment as it pertains to propositional truth in speech acts and exploring influences and motivations that may effect speaker commitment, this thesis will introduce and define modality in the context of actual speech.

The pioneers and settlers of the Oregon Territory were not of one ilk. They came from various places and brought their separate speech patterns with them. This study sought to identify which major North American English dialect was present in the first half of the 20th century in Oregon. Analysis relied on the descriptions for the Southern, Northern, Midlands, and Western dialects. Some dialect features have acoustic measurements attached to their descriptions, and others do not. The analytical process was based on acoustic measurements for vowel classes and individual tokens, as well as global observations about the place of a particular class means within the larger vowel system. Findings indicate weak presence of Southern and Western speech patterns. The Northern and Midlands dialects were present, but they were not advanced. No single dialect predominated. Part of the process attempted to find a dialect diagnosis to help determine a one-step indicator as to which dialect may be present. Observations implied that the front/back relation of /e/ and /o/ is a reliable dialect indicator.

In recent years, the public has seen a rise in recorded footage of violent encounters between police and Black American citizens, partially due to technology such as cell phones, dash-cameras, and body-cameras. This linguistic study examines how these encounters get escalated to the point of violence by asking 1) what kind of directives were used, 2) how were they responded to, 3) how the directives contributed to escalation, and 4) how might power and authority have played a role. I use two case studies to analyze directives and their responses. Findings reveal that repetition of directives on the part of the officers, as well as the rejections to those directives on the part of the motorists tend to aggravate the conversation. I conclude that a variety of directives may represent a variety of reasons the officer might have for a motorist to comply with their directives and that police authority might be better understood and agreed to by the motorist if a variety of linguistic resources were used.

The aim of this study is to investigate politeness phenomena within the Hindu sector of the South African Indian English speaking community. The study focuses on the understanding of politeness within the target community and whether this understanding has changed over the past generation. It also examines if males and females exhibit and value politeness differently. Finally the study investigates which of the existing Western/non-Western models of politeness are relevant for describing the politeness phenomena in the target community. This study is conducted through the realizations of the speech acts of requests and apologies, focusing on the variables of age, status and social distance. In order to achieve triangulation, qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were used. These comprised interviews with cultural/religious leaders, discourse completion tasks, interviews with families and a ranking scale. My findings reveal that the understanding of politeness phenomena within the target community is more in keeping with that in other non-Western cultures than in Western cultures. Females are found to exhibit more polite behaviours than males. Further, in general the understanding of politeness over the past generation has remained more or less constant. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-78).