8 Acts - STD

R.
Albu, Semantics and Pragmatics
WORKSHEET 8
(1) State for each pronoun in the following sentences whether it is free, bound, or either bound or free.
Consider each sentence independently.
Example: John found himself in love with her.
himself--bound; her--free
Example: John said that he loved her.
he--bound or free; her--free
1. I hope you’ll join us tomorrow.
2. The fact that he considers her pretty pleases Maria.
3. Whenever I see you, I think of her.
4. John discovered that a picture of himself was hanging in the Post Office, and that fact bugged him, but it
pleased her.
5. It seems that she and he will never stop arguing with them.
6. Persons are prohibited from picking flowers from any but their own graves. (On a sign in a cemetery.)
7. Louise said to herself in the mirror, 'I'm so ugly.'
(2) Circle any deictic expression in the following sentences. (All sentences do not include such expressions.)
1. We saw her standing there.
2. Dogs are animals.
3. Last week, all my troubles seemed so far away.
4. The name of this rock band is "The Beatles".
5. The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.
6. The Declaration of Independence was signed last year.
7. Copper conducts electricity.
8. The treasure chest is on the right.
9. These are the times that try men's souls.
10. I want this, and this, and this. (Q: How many objects does he want?)
(3) The purpose of making assertions is to describe some state of affairs. However, would the main purpose of
making the following assertions normally be simply to describe some existing state of affairs in the world?
l. "There is a wasp in your left ear."
2. “Someone has broken the space-bar on my typewriter.”
3. “This gun is loaded.”
4. “You are a fool.”
5. “I love you.”
Now, for each of the above sentences state one or two purposes that the speaker may have had in mind when
uttering them. The first one is done for you:
To warn the hearer of the damage of being stung or to shock him or both.
All of these answers mention acts of one kind or another. Thus warning, shocking, complaining, apologizing,
insulting, reassuring etc. are all acts. They are all things that we DO using the language. An important part of
the meaning of utterances is what speakers DO by uttering them. Acts such as teasing, insulting etc. are
aspects of utterance meaning and not of sentence meaning.
We can distinguish performative utterances (and sentences) from constative utterances (and sentences).
 A PERFORMATIVE utterance is one that actually describes the act that it performs, i.e. it performs
some act and simultaneously describes it.
 A CONSTATIVE utterance is one which makes an assertion (i.e., it is often the utterance of a
declarative sentence) but is NOT performative.
Compare "I promise to repay you tomorrow." "John promised to repay me tomorrow."
Question: Performative verbs or not? apologize, authorize, argue, condemn, sing.
(For the first person singular personal pronoun see

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~lingdept/IndexicalityWorkshop/heim91-notes.pdf)
(4) Identify both the direct and the indirect speech act for each of the following examples:
a. I promised never to do it again. e. I hereby fulfill my promise and paint the fence.
b. I promise I’ll never do it again. f. Don’t you dare look at my daughter again!
c. Don’t worry, be happy!
d. She declared the meeting closed.
(5) Try to identify for each of the following exchanges (a) the shared background assumptions of A and B,
(b) the conversational implicature B wants A to draw, and (c) the relevant maxim(s) of the Cooperative
Principle:
a. A: Did you bring the baby?

B: Do you see a pram or a bag full of nappies?
b. A: Have you cleaned the kitchen and done the shopping?
B: Well, I’ve done the shopping.
c. A: Have you seen George recently?
B: I saw him sometime last spring.
d. A: Does your dog like bones?
0 B: Do cats chase mice?
e. A: There’s a good movie on BBC 2 tonight.
B: Good for you. I still have to finish this essay.
(6) a. Spell out the symbolic and indexical meanings of today and this morning respectively. Make use of the
term coding time.
b. What is understood by deictic projection? Apply this notion to the following conversational
exchange:
Fred: It’s the one on the right.
Mary: My right or yours?
What can we assume concerning the locations of Fred and Mary relative to each other?
(7) Arrange the following commands in the descending order of politeness. Which qualify as indirect speech
acts? Which linguistic devices add to the politeness of the utterance?
Get out of this room!
You’ll get out of this room.
Could you get out of this room?
Couldn’t you get out of this room?
Get out of this room, could you, please?
So you are staying, are you?
(8) Identify the direct speech act performed by stating the following sentences:
1. Berlin is the capital of Germany.
2. I hereby name this ship Mary Anne.
3. Pass the salt, please.
4. I promise to be on time.
5. What a lovely morning!
Note: Remember the specific terminology Searle uses to classify illocutionary speech acts: assertives/
representatives, directives, commissives, expressives, declarations
(9) (Optional) Identify the deictic expressions in the following extract from a British political novel:
Frank Rist was in the next room. Joseph could even hear that familiar voice, its staccato syllables drawn
from deep in the larynx. He could not make out the words. (McSmith 2001:80)
(a) Identify the deictic centre.

(b) What does this extract reveal about the relationship between the two men? Consider the deictic
expressions and give reasons.

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R.

Albu, Semantics and Pragmatics

(For the first person singular personal pronoun see

a. A: Did you bring the baby?

(a) Identify the deictic centre.

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