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Pragmatics and Speech Acts

Applications
What is Pragmatics?

Pragmatics addresses expression at the level of utterances, which can range from one word (e.g., Oh!
as a reaction of dismay or pleasant surprise) to a lengthy discourse (e.g., a heated political debate).
What is important is the communicative function the utterance plays in interaction with others, so
pragmatics operates at the level of meaning (and how others understand those meanings).
It is possible that a learner knows vocabulary and grammar of the target language, but is unable to
communicate intentions at the moment of speaking. It is also possible that, as a listener, the learner
understands the speakers intentions but cannot find the most appropriate way to respond to what has
just been said.
Example Imagine the following situation
You have an important dinner to attend tonight. You need to borrow your friend Anas car because you
have wrecked yours. The last time you borrowed it, you put a small dent in it. What do you say to her
to get the car?
This is a spontaneous reaction as to how one would react if one was asked to make this request. What
pragmatic features are identifiable in this video? (the speakers main intention in expressing these
utterances, the level of directness, the strategies used by the speaker to convey the message).
Request speech act what did you notice about the way this learner spoke to Ana about the car?

We see that pragmatic expressions can be presented in a variety of forms, and for second language
learners, appropriateness is often cast aside simply to get the message across!

Speech acts
What are speech acts?
They are communicative acts that convey an intended language function.
- include functions (any speech act is usually defined as a functional unit in communication) such as
requests, apologies, suggestions, commands, offers, and appropriate responses to those acts.
The goal of employing these acts is not truly successful until the intended meanings they convey are
understood by listeners.
Utterances (used in communication) have three kinds of meaning.
- locutionary, or the literal or propositional meaning of an utterance.
If someone says, It is cold in here, and only means this and nothing beyond it, then his concern is
just the cold temperature in the room.
- illocutionary which has to do with the social function of an utterance.
Thus, the social function of It is cold in here may be a request to close the window in a certain room.
perlocutionary, points to the result or effect produced by an utterance.

Thus, if the previous utterance leads to the closing of a window, then the utterance has had its
perlocutionary or intended effect.
Speech acts have been categorized into five groups:
1- Declaratives, which are those kinds of speech acts that change the world through their utterance.
For example:
I now pronounce you husband and wife.
2- Representatives, which are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker believes to be the
case or not. Statements of fact, assertions, and conclusions belong to this category. For example:
William Faulkner wrote The Sanctuary.
3- Expressives, which are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker feels. They express
various psychological states such as likes, dislikes, joy, sorrow, etc. For example:
Im really sorry.
4- Directives, which are those kinds of speech acts through which the speaker gets someone to do
something. Commands, orders, requests, and suggestions belong to this category. For example:
Dont play with the matches.
5- Commissives, which are those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to commit themselves to some
future action such as promises, threats, refusals, etc. For example:
Ill be back soon.
Utility
Speech acts have an important role in our daily use of language: they are important because they allow
us to perform a wide range of functions. They enable us to compliment, apologize, request, complain,
etc. It is important to master speech acts while learning a second language because they not only
facilitate the process of communication, but also make it more effective.
Applications
Can you identify each of the following meanings speech acts intend to convey: a request, an apology, a
suggestion, a command, an offer, a rebuke, or an invitation?

Speaker/Listener

Speech act

mother to daughter

Your room is a mess.

incoming traveller to hotel clerk

Can I have a room on the top floor?

one student to another

You can use my eraser. Yours is almost gone.

student 1 to student 2, just after 1 tells 2 she

failed the exam

Do you want to study together for the next test?

student 2 to student 1, just after 1 tells 2 she

failed the exam

Do you want to study together for the next test?

a young woman to her boyfriend

You know, they have a sale on diamond rings at the

mall this weekend.

Speech acts occur in everyday talk in every society, with various ranges of explicitness. It is important
to know which speech acts are different in the first and target language, how they are different, and
what is not appropriate to say.

Face-Threatening Acts

People in all cultures have an awareness of self-image, or face, as they communicate. Protecting
face is important for communicating and behaving successfully with others, even though it may not be
accomplished consciously by talk participants. A face-threatening act (FTA) is one that would make
someone possibly lose face, or damage it in some way.

FTAs, which occur regularly in everyday interaction, are often softened by means of politeness.
Politeness can be expressed through positive politeness (e.g., please, to try to make the other
person like you) or negative politeness (e.g., I know this is a terrible imposition/infliction, to try to
give the other person some space and not impose).
How would one react to the following appeals?
Can I have a glass of water? Could you take your feet off my table? Make yourself at home.

1. Which of the following represents the best description of pragmatics?

The structure of sentences and how they are related to the way people think.
How people communicate and interpret intentions, and react to them, in a context of language use.
The study of the brain and how it generates thoughts through language.
How sounds and their meanings are produced by language users.
2. What guides pragmatic behaviour?
Speech acts in a conversation.
Face-threatening acts and how to avoid them.
The effect of role plays as they are carried out.
Sociocultural norms of the particular group or society.
3. What are speech acts?
Acts of politeness when people are speaking, like saying please.
Acts of communication that are intended to convey a given intention.
The language that people use when they do role plays.
Any act that does not pose a threat to someones face.
4. What is a face-threatening act?
Something said to a listener that could cause him/her to be embarrassed or ashamed.
An action that one can do in the face of another.
Something said that always conveys a threat to ones life and safety.
A speech act that is never heard in everyday speech.
Reflect.
Think about a conversation in English in which either you misunderstood your partner or he/she
misunderstood you. Was this problem caused by some grammatical or phonetic error, or it was due to
the use of an improper speech act? What was your/ or your partners reaction? How was the situation
solved?

Cross-Cultural Communication
Language and Culture
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We have seen that one important issue of pragmatics for second language learners is that they must be
aware of the pragmatic expressions and interpretations (and reactions to the expressions) that differ
between their own native language and the second language. These are referred to as cross-cultural
and/or cross-linguistic difficulties.
It is important to be aware of the fact that no one can just transfer language functions from ones
native language to the target language! This assumption often causes difficulties in the communication
in the L2. Although what one says may be grammatically correct, it may not be pragmatically
acceptable.

Linguistic Choices
Cross-cultural norms guide the linguistic choices we make in speaking and interpreting messages.
Recall the video of the learner who asked to borrow his friends car. What specific linguistic choices
did he make when he said his request (e.g., level of directness, ways to make the request, intonation)?
1.
The request is framed in terms of what the speaker needs. Only at the end is the request made
in terms of what the listener should do.
2.
The request at the end is too direct (order + please).
Appropriateness
Appropriateness of a speech act is measured against sociocultural norms. The norms may vary
somewhat within a given group of society, but they are generally recognized within the society as a
whole. However, the same speech act in one culture may not be considered appropriate in anothers. If
someone says things that would be viewed as inappropriate in another culture and society, especially if
repeated many times, he/she would probably be viewed negatively by the native speakers. For this
reason, one should be aware of possible cross-linguistic problems. Sometimes the same speech act in
one language elicits a completely different response than that which would be expected in another
language, illustrating cross-cultural differences.
Example of Appropriateness from Japan
In this case, a response to a compliment in Japanese draws a very different response in English. It
makes a point that even a compliment, which one would associate with something positive, can
actually turn into an FTA in certain cultures. This can happen when a given culture requires negative
politeness while the other culture follows positive politeness as an appropriate form of
communication, or vice versa.

Politeness: A Delicate Act

A native Spanish speaker and an upper-intermediate Spanish learner were given the following
situation:
Character A (language learner): Your friend has a great chicken recipe that you just love. You are
inviting your boss and his wife to your house for dinner to talk about some private things. You really
want to get this recipe from your friend but you also can't invite her to join you, even though it is your
turn to have her over to eat. How do you get this recipe from her?
Character B (native speaker): Your friend always asks you for favorus, but almost never
compensates in return. He owes you at least two or three dinners at his house. This time, he asks you
for something and you want to try to convince him to invite you to his house.
Has the learner expressed his request appropriately for the given situation? What expressions did he
use to express politeness (more positive or more negative ones)?
Why would the previous persons communication be regarded as appropriate for the situation
presented to him? What linguistic and extralinguistic resources did he use?

Sociocultural Norms
Sociocultural norms, such as how to express politeness in a given context, guide pragmatic expression.
For example, if someone asked you why we should say Please after making a request, what would
you say? Your answer would be based on the sociocultural rules you are familiar with in Western
societies and cultures.
Role plays are an effective way to illustrate sociocultural norms. In the video below, we see two
students who were asked to respond to the following scenario in which one student was Person A, and
the other was B. Each student saw only his/her part in the hypothetical scenario, and both were given a
few minutes to plan what they would say before beginning.
Role Play
Person A: You have just invited your friend to a special dinner given by your company and you want
to say very gently that he/she must act more formally than normal (not use so much foul language).
Person B: Your dear friend is somewhat of a stuffed shirt who always worries about others
opinions. You want to go to this dinner and make him/her relax and adopt a more colourful and casual
outlook on life.

What problems of communication did you notice in the interaction between the two speakers?
Instructors note
This was a role play task that usually yields some interesting results, especially if the learners are
from different cultural backgrounds. So here I happened to pick an American guy TJ, to my left and a
mainland Chinese woman Yue, to my right, for the sake of sheer convenience. The problem, however,
was mainly that there were words in the instructions like "stuffed shirt" and "colorful language." Yue
did not seem to understand these terms nor the whole idea of role playing, at least at first. It may also
have been the case that such a situation would never be mentioned in the Chinese culture. When Han
took over she sort of skirted the issue as well, but the point was to create a face-threatening act here
and to see how the two cultures would handle it. As it turned out, Han made it a sort of "in your face"
response, sort of like "Take me as I am," while TJ sort of backed off as if to say, "So be it." So was the
speech act as conceived successful? Yes, I think so. By negotiating how far they could take this without
insulting each other, we see some lines drawn, and see how the two cultures seem to have different
lines.
What kinds of sociocultural norms do you think might have been operating in the role play you have
just viewed??

Second Language Sociocultural Norms

How can teachers make learners aware of second language sociocultural norms without simply
offering lectures or texts on them?
Consider the following example of a sociocultural norm in American English.
Situation: Your friend Mary looks distressed and says to you: Oh, I have an awful headache and I
have an interview today.
Your first response is to say:
a.

It must be allergies.

b.
c.
d.
e.

Im sorry to hear that.

Dont feel badly, lots of people do.
What bad luck.
Discussion of a sociocultural norm in AE.

In summary, then, we can say the following about sociocultural norms:

They are the rules that a society uses to guide appropriate behaviour in the community.
They can differ widely between cultures.
They can lead to great misunderstandings by speakers of different cultures.
They are difficult to change.
They are intricately tied to pragmatics.

Review
1. Which of the following errors made by a non-native English speaker would be most likely to cause
misunderstanding and offense?
Yes, I'll be there. You can count with me, dont worry!
She has the hair brown.
You can let me use your cell phone to make a call.
I cannot say it is I say eat ease. I hab a problem wit my bowels.
2. What is normally the basis of cross-cultural problems in communication?
The overuse of chunks of language.
The predominance of face-threatening acts in a culture.
Sociolinguistic appropriateness.
Differences in sociocultural norms.
3. Of these possible how can one communicate their intentions and needs?
- by practicing language in contextualized language functions, such as in role plays.
- by becoming aware of the general differences in cross-cultural norms.
- by knowing well the speech acts and reactions to them.
- by learning the expressions that could be used.
4. Non-native speakers should be particularly aware of aspects of communication such as:
- the appropriateness of what is said.
- the relevance of what is said to what is happening in the context.
- the grammatical perfection of what is said.
- the humour that is conveyed.
Reflection
Think about a sociocultural norm that is different in ones mother tongue and in the target language.
Mention a few examples in this respect.

Dialogue
How does the following instance help us to practise a foreign language?

Actividad: Cmo nos organizamos nosotros?

Ahora es el turno de que tus compaeros y t se
organicen las actividades domsticas en su casa
compartida. Decidan quin es responsable de los
quehaceres domsticos que aparecen en la actividad
anterior.

Now is the time for you and your friends to

organize the chores in your shared house.
Decide who is responsible for the chores that
appear in the previous exercise.

Modelo:

Model:

Yo prefiero lavar los platos y regar las plantas.

Y t?

I prefer to wash the dishes and water

the plants. And you?

Prefiero planchar la ropa, pero no quiero quitar

el polvo.

I prefer to iron the clothes, but I dont

want to dust the furniture.

One point made in the video is that we need to know not only how to initiate a speech act but also how
to respond to one in a coherent and appropriate manner to continue the conversation. Dialogues are
valuable because they:

entail a wider scope of language practice, at sentence level,

move from word to phrase to longer units,
emphasize co-construction of meaning or the changing roles of speaker and listener, and
can illustrate sociocultural differences in the dialogue.

Formulas

Discussion of formulaic expressions.

With regard to the issue of sincerity, we can interpret the pragmatic expressions in the target language.
Without an understanding of why the expressions are different in the target language, we could easily
come to question the sincerity of the native speaker formulaic expressions.
Advanced users of the target language sometimes admit that they transfer expressions from one
language to the other.

Formulaic variation
It may happen that some of the colloquial L2 formulae are not easily translated literally in the ones
native language.
Metapragmatic Discussion
-

pragmatic expressions: in the following video, the instructor and learners can discuss
rules and analyse different features directly and explicitly, or they can be learned
implicitly. The students draw inferences themselves about what they have seen and
what was implied (implicatures).

Think about the difference in illocutionary force of the following possibilities to borrow a car; refer to
the intended meaning.
Can you lend me your car? Could you lend me your car? I would like to borrow your car.

How do the options differ in force and meaning? How do the students in the video feel about these
things?

Language and Culture

We have seen that one important issue of pragmatics for second language learners is that they
must be aware of the pragmatic expressions and interpretations (and reactions to the
expressions) that differ between their own native language and the second language. These are
referred to as cross-cultural and/or cross-linguistic difficulties.
Beyond Grammar
The most typical assumption by second language learners is that they can just transfer how they say
and understand language functions from their native language to the target language. This assumption
often causes difficulties in the communication in the L2. Although what the learner says may be
grammatically correct, it may not be pragmatically acceptable.

Linguistic Choices
Cross-cultural norms guide the linguistic choices we make in speaking and interpreting messages.
Recall the video of the learner who asked to borrow his friend's car. What specific linguistic choices
did he make when he said his request (e.g., level of directness, ways to make the request, intonation)?
1.

The request is framed in terms of what the speaker needs. Only at the end is the request made
in terms of what the listener should do.

2.
The request at the end is too direct (order + please).
Raising Awareness of Similarities and Differences in Requests across Cultures
Discuss in pairs the reflective questions which suggest areas in which workplace cultures may differ
across cultures (class discussion on cross-cultural differences in expectations). Questions 2 and 3 are
designed to guide this discussion. There are no right or wrong answers, but some notes reflecting on
what might be considered appropriate to many workplaces are provided in the answer key.
Read the questions below and indicate yes or no.
In your culture would you usually . . . (Yes/No)
ring up and tell your boss if you are going to be absent?
tell your boss if you had a personal problem?
call your boss by his or her first name?
knock on the door before entering your bosss office?
negotiate with your boss for more pay?
negotiate with your boss for holiday leave?
2. Compare your answers with others in the class.
3. Discuss the following questions:
(a) Are there any differences across different cultures?
(b) Are there differences across different types of jobs?
Informal Expressions in Requests to Colleagues
Talk between colleagues at work is often informal.
1. Read the dialogue below. Underline the expressions that you do not know. Some informal
expressions are marked in italics. Find them and try to guess what they mean.
Naomi: Hi Brenda, have you got a minute?
Brenda: Yeah, come in sit down, Naomi.
Naomi: (walks in and sits down, looks at stack of paperwork on desk) You look like youve got a bit
of a fun morning ahead!
Brenda: Yeah my favourite paperwork ! (laughs)

Naomi: Yeah, Ive got a bit of that to do myself after lunch now Brenda, I was just wondering if I
could talk to you about the latest roster youve just put up.
Brenda: Oh dont tell me theres another problem.
Naomi: (sounds apologetic) Yeah, I knowit must be a nightmare trying to get all the shifts covered
at the moment. (Brenda signals assent.)
But um Ive got a bit of a problem. I just had a call from my mum last night and she and my dad
are flying down to Melbourne next weekend. Its the first time theyve been able to come down since I
moved here and I was really hoping I could have the weekend free.
Brenda: Oh Naomi you know how short staffed we are at the moment
Naomi: Yes, I do I just thought maybe I could swap the following weekend with Carla. Im happy
to do two in a row.
Brenda: OK yeah, so thatd be great if Carlas OK with it. Actually, shes coming this afternoon
to pick up a group certificate so I could ask her then.
Naomi: Oh that would be great, Brenda. Shall I pop in when I knock off and check if thats OK?
Brenda: Yeah OK well sort something out.
Naomi: (gets up to leave) Thatll be great. Thanks, Brenda.
2. Now match the phrases in the first column with the meanings in the column.
Phrase
a bit of a problem
short staffed
Two in a row
Is OK with that
See what we can sort out
Pop in
knock off

Meaning
Come
one after another
finish work
thinks this is a good arrangement
a little difficulty
without many people working
Try to come to an agreement

Stages of a Request Interaction Request to a Boss

In the dialogue, Naomi makes her request in a number of stages. Look at the table below; see what
Naomi says in each of the stages. Next to the examples from Naomis speech are notes on the
language she used. Note that Naomi and Brenda are interacting in an Australian context.
The following table presents the stages in a request interaction:
Stages
Greeting

Prerequest/ support move

The request

Reason

Examples
Hi Brenda . . . have you got
a minute?

You look like youve got a

bit of a fun morning ahead .
Ive got a bit of that (i.e.,
paperwork) to do myself
after lunch.
I was wondering if I could
talk to you about the latest
roster youve just put up.
I was really hoping I could
have the weekend free.

I just had a call from my

Notes
In Australia workers often call each
other by their first name, even the
boss. This practice may vary in
other English-speaking countries.
Have you got a minute makes the
interruption seem less important.
Naomi tries to establish rapport
with Brenda by finding some
common ground. Naomi prepares
Brenda for what is to come. The
phrase I was wondering if I could
makes the sentence less direct and
the past tense makes it seem less
direct and urgent.
The past and continuous forms have
been used to make the request less
direct in I was hoping. The word
really is added to make the
request stronger.
Naomi gives a reason but not a lot

mum last night and she and

my dad are flying down to
Melbourne next weekend.

of details as its a personal matter

Offer/support move

I just thought maybe I could

swap the following weekend
with Carla. Im happy to do
two in a row.

Closing

Thatll be great. Thanks

Brenda

Naomi offers a possible solution to

the problem. This shows her
willingness to take responsibility
for her actions and to make it easier
for Brenda.
Thanks.

Stages of a Request Interaction Request to a colleague

1. Look at the dialogue that Sue, one of Naomis colleagues, had with Brenda, the supervisor, earlier in
the week. Look at how Sue stages her request.
Sue: Hello Brenda could I have a quick word with you please?
Brenda: Yes, sure come in.
Sue: Now Brenda, I know were pretty busy at the moment, but I havent taken any of my leave yet
this year.
Brenda: Mmm.
Sue: So, I was wondering if I could take three weeks of my leave now well starting next week
when you do the new rosters.
Soften Up! Successful Requests in the Workplace
Brenda: Oh Sue I know you have got the leave owing but its really not a good time right now.
Sue: Yes, I understand that but Im starting to feel very tired and so Im making silly mistakes. I really
need a break.
Brenda: Oh dear thats no good is it? Do you think you could wait for a couple of weeks then
well have Jenny back?
Sue: Mmm OK well another two weeks is all right I guess if I know theres some light at the end
of the tunnel!
Brenda: OK then Sue if you fill out your leave forms today Ill sign them so we can get them in.
Sue: Good thanks Brenda Ill get them to you by the end of the day.
2. Now put Sues part of the dialogue into the table below.
Stages
Greeting

Sue says

Prerequest/support move
Request
Reason
Offer /support move
Closing
Practicing a Request Interaction
1. With a partner, begin a request dialogue by choosing phrases from the table.
Partner A chooses a phrase from each of the two boxes in the first row. Partner B chooses responses
from the two boxes in the second row. For example:
Partner A: Hello, Amy. I was wondering if you had a moment.
Partner B: Yes sure. What can I do for you?
Partner A: (continues)

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When you have selected your phrases, practice your dialogue with your partner. Notice that these
phrases dont include a resolution.
Hi Sam
Hello Amy
Good morning Jenny
Ah yes
Yes sure
Yeah
Look I know its a busy time at the moment
Well I realize its probably not the best time
I was just wondering
OK
Yes, what did you want to know?
I was hoping
I was wondering if I could
I would like
Oh dear
Well,
Right, well
Yes I know
I realize that
Yeah, I appreciate that

Could I have a word with you?

Have you got a few minutes?
I was wondering if you had a moment
Come in
Sit down
What can I do for you?
if I could talk to you about my annual leave?
but I wanted to talk to you about my holidays
but something urgent has just come up
Mmm
to take two weeks off now
have a few days of my holidays now
to have the rest of the month off
You cant be serious?
Its not a good time at the moment
We normally prefer staff to plan their leave at
the start of the year
but something has come up that Ive got to
attend to
but my husband is having surgery
but Ive got some family business Ive got to
deal with

2. Complete the dialogue with your partner. Try to come to a suitable arrangement. Remember to use
offers and support moves.
A completed dialogue might look something like the following:
Hi Sam, I was wondering if you had a moment.
Yes sure. Come in.
Well . . . I realize its probably not the best time
but something urgent has just come up.
Mmm
I was wondering if I could have a few days of
my holidays now.
Well, its not a good time at the moment.
Creating Softened Requests
These grammatical structures can be used to soften requests. For example:
Past-tense forms
For example, I wanted to ask you to finish the paperwork tonight.
Continuous forms
For example, I was wondering if you could give me any extra work.
Would like rather than want
For example, I would like (Id like) some extra help on the shift.

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