Stimulating speech acts and material which provides their realization in the process of communication

Abstract

Many linguists have researched speech acts from different angles. The subject of research became communicative strategies, intentions, social communicative roles, different types of discourse.The subject of our investigation has become stimulating speech acts. We also based our research on the results of research in Psychology of communication and Psycholinguistics that stated the leading role of verbs in the process of speech production. Another reason is the lack of language means when students try to create such stimulating speech acts in the classroom activities.

We have analyzed stimulating speech acts from the point of view of the language material that provides its realization.We used two verified and generally recognized classification of verbs: the one created by the authors of the “Dictionary of Linguistic Terms” and J.Searle. According to the first one there are such groups of verbs as: 1)concrete action verbs;2)verbs of physical state, 3)verbs of soul state; 4)verbs of sounds and speech expression, 5)verbs of mental activity, 6)verbs of existence, 7)verbs of attitude, 8) verbs of posession,9)verbs of speech, 10)verbs of sign detection, 11)verbs of occupation activities,12)verbs of skills, 13)verbs of receiving, 14) verbs of manner of behaviour, 15)verbs of motion, 16) modal verbs, 17)phase verbs. Five basic classes of speech acts can be distinguished in accordance with the taxonomic criteria proposed by J.Searle .They are:

1.assertives: The illocutionary goal (force) of assertive speech acts can be defined in terms of the speaker's intention of getting the hearer to accept the propositional content of the utterance as the expression of a true state of affairs. (Sixty-three sub-classes);2.directives, which are subdivided into:

a)impositive speech acts ,i.e. speech acts which are performed by the speaker to influence the intentional behaviour of the hearer in order to get the latter to perform, primarily for the benefit of the speaker, the action directly specified or indirectly suggested by the proposition. (requests, orders, pleas) and

b)non-impositive speech acts, i.e. performed in order to get the hearer to carry out the action primarily for his own benefit (advice, warnings, instructions);

3.commissives: The illocutionary goal (force) of commissive speech acts is the speaker's undertaking of the obligation to perform the action described by the propositional content of the utterance. Commissives are diametrically opposed to impositives, since they are centred upon an action to be performed by the speaker, not by the hearer; moreover, it is the hearer, not the speaker, who is supposed to primarily benefit from the result of the action. (promises, offers);

4.expressives: The illocutionary goal (force) of expressive speech acts can be defined as the expression of a psychological state of the speaker which is brought about by the state of affairs indicated by the propositional content. ('to thank', 'to congratulate', 'to condole');

5.declaratives: The illocutionary goal (force) of declarative speech acts can be extra-linguistic institutions. (excommunicating, declaring war, christening, firing from employment).

We have considered those speech acts in which speakers realize emotional evaluative function and regulative function of communication. The aim of our research was to look at these verbs from the point of view of students needs in classroom communication as well as some other language patterns they need.

This analysis showed the insufficient number of the language material that insures successful interpersonal students communication in the provided situations, especially imperatives , performatives (performative verbs),described language models and clishes.