semantics

PRAGMATICS:
CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURE AND
SPEECH ACTS THEORIES
Compiled BY

group 6: Pbi-5/semester vi
AGUS SURYA SIBARANI
MARDHIYATUL HASANAH DAULAY (34133161)
NOVIDA SARI LUBIS (34133157)
NUR HAKIKI (34134172)
RIZKI RAMADHANI (34131041)
LECTURER
MASLATIF DWI PURNOMO, M.Hum

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND TEACHERS TRAINING
THE STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY (UIN)
OF NORTH SUMATRA
MEDAN
2016

PREFACE
First of all, lets thanks to Allah SWT, who has given us
mercies and blessings, so, we can finish this task work which is
about Pragmatics: Conversational Implicature and Speech Acts
Theories it purposes to complate Semantic assignment that is
given by lecturer.
Shalawat and Salam always be given to our prophet
Muhammad SAW peace be upon him, his family, companions,
and his disciples in islam.
We also wishes to say gratitude to Maslathif Dwi Purnomo,
M. Hum as the lecturer of Semantics who has guided, and given
me an opportunity to make and to complete this assignment.

Medan, 23 Mei 2016

Group 6

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CONTENTS
PREFACE ............................................................................

CONTENTS ..........................................................................
ii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ......................................

1.1 Background of Study .............................................

1.2 Formulation of Study .............................................
1.3
Aim of Study......................................................

1
1
2

CHAPTER II DISCUSSION ..........................................

2.1............................................................................ Prag
matics .................................................................
2
2.2............................................................................ Impli
cature..................................................................
3
2.3...........................................................................The
Speech Acts Theory and Types of Acts in language
...........................................................................4
2.3.1. Types of Speech.........................................
4
2.3.2. Level of Speech Act ...................................
6
CHAPTER III CONCLUSSION .....................................
8
REFERENCES ......................................................................

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study
Pragmatics is a branch of linguistics, which is the study of
language.

Pragmatics focuses on conversational implicature,

which is a process in which the speaker implies and a listener

infers.

Simply put, pragmatics studies language that is not

directly spoken.

Instead, the speaker hints at or suggests a

meaning, and the listener assumes the correct intention

In

this

paper,

we

will

discuss

about

pragmatics:

conversational implicature and speech acts theories. There are

four of Maxim, there are five types of speech and there is three
levels of speech acts.

1.2 Formulation of Study

1. What is Pragmatics?
2. What is Implicature?
3. What is type of speech?
4. What is level of speech acts?
1.3
1.
2.
3.
4.

Aim of Study
To know what is
To know what is
To know what is
To know what is

pragmatics.
implicature.
type of speech.
level of speech acts.

CHAPTER II
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DISCUSSION
PRAGMATICS: CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURE AND
SPEECH ACTS THEORIES
2.1. Pragmatics
Pragmatics is concerned with the range of choice and
constraints available to users, and based on the context.

In

pragmatics, emphasis is on the pairing of sentences and their

appropriate contexts. The choices made in language have been
found to affect the listeners and their responses. It is possible to
observe norms of politeness, appropriateness the appropriate
interpretation of sentences since there could be differences
between literal and implied meanings.
Differences in meaning are at the instance of the situation,
the shared background and the linguistics context of the
expression.
study

of

Pragmatics, according to Kempson (1986) is the

the

general

principles

necessary

for

retrieving

information from a specific utterance based on the context.

Emphasis is not necessary on the grammatical or structural
properties of the sentence. Indeed, a great deal of what we do in
human communication is determined from the context.

This

means that the meaning of any stretch of communication is

based on the interpretation of the listener. We also lay emphasis
on the message, the participants, the deductions to be made
from the utterance, the implications of what is said or assumed
and the impact of the non-verbal aspects of the interaction on
the meaning.
In term of objectives, pragmatics deals with the totality of
the processes through which utterances convey meaning hearing
in mind the context and how participants respond to the
meanings intended.

It will therefore be easy to see that the

common tie between pragmatics and semantics is language.

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However, while semantics is concerned with language meaning,

pragmatics concerned with language use.

This will necessarily

mean that the contextual approach to meaning will be very

relevant to pragmatics. Since the full manifestation of language
from the point of use deals on the implied processes, we shall
explore the nature of implicature.1
2.2. Implicature
It is always common to hear people argue over what is meant,
and what is implied. This means that there could be differences
between what a speaker says and how the listener interprets it.
However, success in communication depends on how well the
meaning intended by the speaker and the implicature of the
listener converge. This is usually possible when participants in
communication obey principles of conversational implicature.
Implicature, a term coined by H.P. Grice refers to what is
suggested in an utterance and which may not have been
expressed.

The speaker deliberately breaks the rules of a

conversational maxim to convey additional meaning.

For

instance, it is possible to respond to the question:

1. Do you really believe Betty?
The answer could be
2. She was speaking grammar.
The answer implies, among other things that Betty was not
telling the whole story. It is expected of people in communication
to obey certain co-operative principles.
These principles have been presented as maxims of
quantity, quality, relation and manner.
a. Quantity provide the right quantity of information, i.e.
1 Maslathif Dwi Purnomo, M.Hum. Semantics in Linguistics. p. 43
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Make your contribution information enough;

Do not make your contribution more informal than

necessary.
b. Quality - make your contribution true, i.e
- Do not say what you believe is not true;
- Do not say that for which you lack evidence.
c. Be relevant

d. Manner be perspicuous, i.e.

- Avoid obscurity of expression;
- Avoid ambiguity2

2.3.

The Speech Acts Theory and Types of Acts in

Language
Austin (1962) describes the Speech Acts theory as an
approach that explains the roles of utterances in shaping the
attitudes of participants in interpersonal communication. Speech
acts reveal the intentions of speakers and the effects the
speakers utterances and expressions have on the hearers. The
implication of speech acts is that every utterance has a purpose
which derives from the specific context.

It has been observed

that language use depends on such contextual factors as social

and physical conditions, attitudes, abilities, beliefs and the
relationship existing between the speaker and the listener.
2.3.1. Types of Speech
There are difficult types of speech acts, the most common
being the following:
a. Representative Acts

2 Ibid.p. 45
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These acts describe events, processes and states. Usually,

the speaker is committed to the truth of assertion, claim, report,
suggestion, prediction, description, hypothesis or conclusion.
b. Declarative Acts
There are acts that immediately change the state of affairs
to which they apply.

These acts are used in arresting,

christening, marriage, sentencing, acquittal etc.

Consider the

following:

I discharge and acquit the accused

I hereby name this baby Amanda

c. Directive Acts
In directive acts, the addressee is instructed to carry out
some instruction by responding verbally to an utterance or by
performing some physical actions.

Directives are intended to

produce, some effect through action by the hearer: ordering,

commanding, requesting, advising,
examples.3

and

recommending are

The acts can be questions, commands, requests,

pleas or invitation e.g.

- Kindly lend me some money!
- Please, be my guest!
- What is your name!
d. Expressive Acts
Expressive acts shw the psychological states feeling and
attitudes towards some events and affairs. These usually occur
in

greetings,

scolding,

condoling,

appreciating,

thanking,

congratulating, apologizing, etc.

3 Geoffrey N. Leech. Principles of Pragmatics. (Longman Linguistics
Library). p. 106.
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We congratulate you on your success

I apologize for my mistakes

e. Commissive Acts
Commissives commits to some future action; eg promising,
vowing, offering.

In commissive Acts, the speaker is commited

to some future action as in challenging, betting, promising,

offering, threatening, vowing, warning, etc.
-

I pledge a hundred thousand Naira

We promise to build them a house

It should be noted that commisive acts a carry specific

performative verbs promise, swear, name, pledge, warn,
advise, declare, bet.

2.3.2. Levels of Speech Acts

There may be some confusion regarding types and levels of
speech acts. We have already discussed types of speech acts
representative, declarative, directive, expressive and commisive.
For levels of speech acts, emphasis is on the different stages of
interaction between the speaker and the listener through the use
of speech acts.

Three distinct levels are usually observed

locutionary, illocutiory and perlocutionary acts.

a. Locutionary Acts
These

are

observed

as

the

processes

of

producing

grammatical and meaningful utterances which can be recognized

by the hearer.
b. Illocutionary Acts
4 Ibid
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Illocutionary acts are the force behind the utterances.

Indeed, the speaker performs these acts to achieve the
purpose of communication as a statement, a question, a
command, an invitation, a threat, a request, an apology
etc. it is possible, for instance, to use a sentence that has
the structure of a statement for the purpose of a warning.
For example:
-

You will lose all your deposits (from a financial adviser

to a client)
This sentence may be a warning or PIECE OF ADVICE.

Therefore, it is possible to use identical utterance types for

different tokens based on the intentions of the speaker and the
context.
c. Perculationary Acts
These are the effects of the speakers utterance on the
behavior of the hearer.

They are the acts performed by the

hearer as a result of the effect of the speakers utterances. It is

assumed, for instance, that the hearer will respond to a question
of the speaker in a specific way, or behave in accordance with
the demands of the context. It should be noted that illocutionary
force is the intended effect of an utterance on the hearer from
the point of view of the speaker.
The perlocutionary effect is the actual effect of the
speakers utterance on the action, behavior, attitude or belief of
the hearer. Maximum communication is achieved when there is
illocutionary uptake.

This situation arises when the listener

understands the intended effect of the speaker. This demand is

at the core of semantics since meaning must be shared.5
5Op., Cit. p. 47
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Pragmatics: Conversational Implicature and Speech Acts Theories |

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CHAPTER III
CONCLUSSION
Pragmatics is a branch of linguistics, which is the study of
language.

Pragmatics focuses on conversational implicature,

which is a process in which the speaker implies and a listener

infers.

Simply put, pragmatics studies language that is not

directly spoken.

Instead, the speaker hints at or suggests a

meaning, and the listener assumes the correct intention.

Implicature, a term coined by H.P. Grice refers to what is
suggested in an utterance and which may not have been
expressed.
These principles have been presented as maxims of
quantity, quality, relation and manner.There are five types of
speech: Representative Acts, Declarative Acts, Directive Acts,
Expressive Acts and Commissive Acts. There are three levels of
speech

acts:

Locutionary

Acts,

Illocutionary

Acts

and

Perculationary Acts.

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REFERENCES
Dwi Purnomo, Maslathif. 2016. Semantics in Linguistics.
Geoffrey N. Leech. Principles of Pragmatics. (Longman Linguistics Library).

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