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Whitney Nelson

Mrs. Litle

ENG 121-001

27 March 2017

Bazermans Theory
Remember that one time when you you posted something you thought was hilarious on

Facebook and your cousin took it completely different? Or have you said something with full

sarcasm and the other person thought you were just being rude? Charles Bazerman explains his

beliefs on how humans respond to certain statements. He believes in three-levels of analysis that

explains how humans react. He explains there is always a locutionary statement, an illocutionary

statement that is intended, and a perlocutionary response. (Bazerman 371)

I never thought about how many people may think the things I post might have different

meaning than what I am intending to say. I learned from Bazermans theory that I should be

more clear with my locutionary statements. Many of my statements have been interpreted

differently than what I intended. For example, when I posted about missing Bamboo Panda and

my friend responded thinking I was talking about her. Many locutionary statements get people in

trouble all the time.

I have realized I should reread what I am getting ready to send out to people because they

can never sense my sarcasm. Many of my friends and I have gotten into arguments because I

was intending on being sarcastic and funny but they thought I was being rude and disrespectful

to them. Illocutionary responses are what is intended. We as humans forget to explain what we

really mean or what we are intending in our posts because we assume others know exactly what

we are thinking in our heads. Bazermans example is it is a bit chilly in this room. He is
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stating a statement that the room is cold and wishes to turn the heat up. Others may think he is

saying the room is cold being made to someones character. (Bazerman 371) Bazerman states

there will be a perlocutionary statement that will follow. I understand now that not everyone

knows what I intend until I explain myself. I have learned I might need to be a little nicer in my

responses if they are over the phone or messages back to a post. You never know what other

people are thinking you mean until you explain a little where you are coming from.

Perlocutionary responses are what we all watch for. Every sarcastic person hopes that the

tone that they intended was as a joke and nothing serious. Responses to a locutionary statements

can be sketchy. I know from first hand that I should maybe use more emojis to make things clear

that I was only trying to joke around with my friend and not be rude to them. Bazerman states

that a person my just go along with the joke or do the exact opposite and get mad at you and

never talk to you again. It is so important to explain what you are intending and know what

exact tone you are using. You cant expect everyone to know exactly what tone you are using and

if you are trying to be funny. Speech acts make sense to me. I know that I shouldnt send

messages to people that dont understand my humor or make my tone seem negative when I

really am happy.

I used to be curious as to why people didnt understand my humor over the phone or why

my mom gets so mad when I with one word saying alright. Bazermans reasoning behind

speech acts makes perfect sense to me now. I always think about speech acts before I post

something on any social media or how I respond to my moms messages. I feel like it saves an

argument if I think about the locutionary statement I am trying to state. I even tried explaining

Bazermans theory to my mom and agreed with me and tries to be careful how she sends her

messages at work now. Bazermans theory is all around us. We as humans all make the mistake
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of texting something or saying something through a screen that we dont mean or if we were to

say the exact same sentence in person the other person would understand where exactly you are

coming from. It never fails that if you say something over text and your friend doesnt

understand it, they may understand it if you told them again in person and you were able to show

the tone you are trying to get across. Bazermans theory can help save people from an argument

or being disowned by family members that read a post that your intentions were completely

different then how your message came out. I know by first hand experience that you should

always think through and see if your tone matches what you are intending to say.

Bibliography
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Bazerman, Charles. Speech Acts Genres and Action Systems: How Texts Organize

Activity and People. What Writing Does and How it Does it: An Introduction to Analyzing Texts

and Practices. Ed. Charles Bazerman and Paul Prior. London: Routledge. 2004. 309-39. Print.