semantic, syntactic and pragmatic features of english quotations in linguistics theses

THE UNIVERSITY OF DA NANG
UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES

TRIỆU THỊ SÂM

SEMANTIC, SYNTACTIC AND PRAGMATIC
FEATURES OF ENGLISH QUOTATIONS IN
LINGUISTICS THESES

MASTER THESIS IN
LINGUISTICS AND CULTURAL STUDIES OF
FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Da Nang, 2020


THE UNIVERSITY OF DA NANG
UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES

TRIỆU THỊ SÂM

SEMANTIC, SYNTACTIC AND PRAGMATIC
FEATURES OF ENGLISH QUOTATIONS IN
LINGUISTICS THESES
Major: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
Code: 8220201

MASTER THESIS IN
LINGUISTICS AND CULTURAL STUDIES OF
FOREIGN COUNTRIES

SUPERVISOR: Assoc. Prof. Dr. PHAN VĂN HÒA

Da Nang, 2020



ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor,
Ph.D. Phan Van Hoa.Without his guidance, encouragement and critical comments,
my work would have never been completed.
I am also grateful to all lecturers and staffs at

University of Foreign

LanguageStudies -The University of Da Nang for their enthusiastic teaching and
tremendous knowledge.
Finally, I would like to dedicate my concluding words to my family and all
friends for their help, support and encouragement throughout my study.


iii

ABSTRACT
This thesis examines semantic, syntactic and pragmatic features of English
Quotations (EQs) in Linguistic Theses (LTs). The data for analysis in this thesis are
617 samples of EQs collected from the linguistic theses and journal articles. The
study was conducted based on the combination of variety methods such as

descriptive, analytic and inductive one. The study focuses on analysing linguistic
features of EQs in LTs in terms of semantic categories, syntactic structures and
pragmatic functions in the light of semantic, syntactic, pragmatic theories; quotation
theory and locutionary, illocutionary, cognitive act theories. With regard to
semantic features, lower-level linguistic (phatic act and rhetic act), illocutionary act
and cognitive act were discovered in pure, direct, indirect and mixed quotation. In
analysing syntactic features, the research shows that pure quotation has only lowerlevel linguistic structure (rhetic structure and phatic structure) in the different plane
with the structure of the entire sentence;whereas, direct, indirect, mixed quotations
in LSs are simultaneous with LF-structures (entire sentence) and lower-level
linguistic structures. Finally, the findings in pragmatic functions in EQs in LTs
shows that there are 7 main pragmatic categories commonly employed with the
highest frequency of Narrative and Grammatical purpose. On the basis of the
findings, some practical implications for citing references in linguistic studies and
scientific studies are suggested. It is expected that the findings of this paper will be
useful for those who are interested in EQs and academic writing.


iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Statementof Authorship ......................................................................................... i
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ii
Abstract.................................................................................................................iii
Table Of Contents ................................................................................................ iv
List Of Abbreviations .......................................................................................... vii
List Of Table .......................................................................................................viii
List Of Figures ...................................................................................................... ix
Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1
1.1. RATIONALE ................................................................................................ 1
1.2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ........................................................................... 1

1.2.1. Aims ....................................................................................................... 1
1.2.2. Objectives ............................................................................................... 2
1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................... 2
1.4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY .............................................................................. 2
1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ............................................................... 3
1.6. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY ............................................................ 4
Chapter 2. LITERATURE REVIEWAND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND6
2.1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ............................................................... 6
2.1.1. Definition of terms and classifications ..................................................... 6
2.1.1.1. Definition of Quotation ..................................................................... 6
2.1.1.2. Classifications of Quotation .............................................................. 7
2.1.2. An overview of Quotation Theory ........................................................... 8
2.1.3. Semantic Features of Quotation ............................................................. 10
2.1.3.1. Standard view of Quotation and Difficulties .................................... 10
2.1.3.2. Semantic of Quotation based on Levels of Linguistic Acts ............... 11
2.1.4. Syntactic Features of Quotation ............................................................. 15
2.1.4.1. Syntactic Features of Pure quotation .............................................. 15
2.1.4.2. Syntactic Features of Mixed quotation ............................................ 18


v

2.1.5. Pragmatic Features of Quotation ........................................................... 18
2.2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................ 23
2.3. CHAPTER SUMMARY ............................................................................. 25
Chapter 3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ............................ 26
3.1. RESEARCH DESIGN................................................................................. 26
3.2. RESEARCH METHODS ............................................................................ 26
3.3. DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLES .................................................................. 26
3.4. DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................ 27

3.5. DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................................... 27
3.6. RESEARCH PROCEDURE ........................................................................ 27
3.7. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ............................................................... 28
3.8. CHAPTER SUMMARY ............................................................................. 28
Chapter 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS .................................................... 29
4.1. SEMANTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH QUOTATIONS IN LINGUISTIC
THESES ............................................................................................................ 29
4.1.1. Semantic Features of Pure Quotation..................................................... 31
4.1.2. Semantic Features of Direct Quotation .................................................. 33
4.1.3. Semantic Features of Indirect Quotation ................................................ 36
4.1.4. Semantic Features of Mixed Quotation.................................................. 41
4.2. SYNTACTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH QUOTATIONS IN LINGUISTIC
THESES ............................................................................................................ 46
4.2.1. Syntactic features of pure quotation in LTS ........................................... 46
4.2.3. Syntactic features of indirect quotation in LTs ...................................... 51
4.2.4. Syntactic features of mixed quotation in LTs......................................... 55
4.3. PRAGMATIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH QUOTATIONS IN LINGUISTIC
THESES ............................................................................................................ 60
4.3.1. Pragmatic categories ............................................................................. 60
4.3.1.1. Narrative......................................................................................... 60
4.3.1.2. Grammaticality ............................................................................... 61


vi

4.3.1.3. Emphasis......................................................................................... 62
4.3.1.4. Idiolect ............................................................................................ 62
4.3.1.5. Collective Knowledge...................................................................... 63
4.3.1.6. Non-standardness ........................................................................... 63
4.3.1.7. Non- literacy ................................................................................... 64

4.3.2. Pragmatic categories frequency ............................................................. 64
4.4. CHAPTER SUMMARY ............................................................................. 66
Chapter 5. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS ....................................... 68
5.1. CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................... 68
5.2. IMPLICATIONS......................................................................................... 70
5.2.1. To Learners ........................................................................................... 70
5.2.2. To Teachers .......................................................................................... 70
5.3. LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................... 71
5.4. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ......................................... 72
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 73
SOURCES OF DATA ......................................................................................... 76
QUYẾT ĐỊNH GIAO ĐỀ TÀI (bản sao)


vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
EQs

English Quotations

LTs

Linguistic Studies

NP

Noun Phrase

VP

Verb Phrase

AdjP

Adjective Phrase

AdvP

Adverb Phrase

CP

Complement Phrase

LF

Logical Form

OED

Oxford English Dictionary

OALD

Oxford Advanced Learner‘s Dictionary


viii

LIST OF TABLE
Table 1.1.Quantity of 7 main groups of Linguistics Studies ..................................... 3
Table 2.1. Locutionary act types ............................................................................ 11
Table.2.2. Cognitive Verbs Example of Bloom‘s Taxonomy (Bloom,1956) .......... 13
Table 4.1.Distribution of all quotations in 7 main groups of LTs ........................... 29
Table 4.2.Distribution of pure, direct, indirect and mixed quotations in LTs .......... 30
Table 4.3.Distribution of Locutionary act product in pure quotation in LTs ........... 31
Table 4.4.Distribution of Locutionary product in direct quotation in LTs .............. 33
Table 4.5. Distribution of Illocutionary product in direct quotation in LTs ............ 33
Table 4.6. Distribution of Cognitive product in direct quotation in LTs ................. 33
Table 4.7.Distribution of Locutionary product in indirect quotation in LTs ........... 37
Table 4.8.Distribution of Illocutionary product in indirect quotation in LTs .......... 38
Table 4.9.Distribution of Cognitive product in indirect quotation in LTs ............... 39
Table 4.10. Distribution of Locutionary product in mixed quotation in LTs ........... 42
Table 4.11.Distribution of Illocutionary product in mixed quotation in LTs .......... 43
Table 4.12.Distribution of Cognitive product in mixed quotation in LTs ............... 44
Table 4.13.Syntactic Functions of Rhetic act and Phatic act in pure quotation in LTs .. 47
Table 4.14.Distribution of LF structure of direct quotation in LTs ......................... 48
Table 4.15.Distribution of Syntactic Analysis of Indirect Quotation in LTs ........... 51
Table 4.16.Distribution of Syntactic features of mixed quotations in LTs .............. 56
Table 4.17.Distribution of pragmatic categories of pure, direct and indirect
quotation in LTs .................................................................................................... 64
Table 4.18.Distribution of pragmatic categories of Mixed Quotation in LTs.......... 65


ix

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1. Illocutionary act types (Searle, 1969) ................................................... 12
Figure 2.2. Pyramid of Bloom‘s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956) ................................... 13

1

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. RATIONALE
Scientific research is always associated with quotations. Quotes increase the
credibility and validity of the researchers‘ arguments. They show that the argument
is rooted in fact. In addition, they make researchers‘ writing appear more
professional and thoughtful. In order for quotations to work, they need to be
incorporated into your writing correctly.
In research, quoting ideas from other authors‘ works in research is a good
and high-appreciated act if this quotation is legal; because it proves that the writer
has been working in the process of researching, preparing, collecting and
synthesizing knowledge involved. The citation also help improve the scientism of
research, show the merits and contributions of the researcher, indicate the standards
and systems in the writer‘s study, respect for authors‘ rights, foster a sense of
professional ethics and develop research capacity.
As a teacher of English, the thesis writer realizes the importance of helping
students have a better understanding of the linguistic features of quotation in order
to improve their English skills, especially their academic writing.
From all above reasons, ―Semantic, Syntactic and Pragmatic Features of
English Quotations in Linguistic Theses‖ is chosen as the title of the master thesis
for the writer‘s research. With an attempt to examine the semantic, syntactic and
pragmatic features of quotation in linguistic studies, the thesis writer does hope that
the results of the research will make some contributions to the process of citing
English quotations.

1.2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1.2.1. Aims
The aim of this investigation is to try to indentify and establish the linguistic
features of English Quotations (EQs) in order to get better understanding what


2

characterizes a linguistic quotation not only in thesis writing but also in academic
writing.
The further purpose of this study is to develop a deeper insight of EQs for
English learners, teachers so that they will be more interested in the linguistic
features of EQs and apply them in their academic writing impressively and
successfully. Furthermore, it is hoped that the significance of the research can help
researching beginners avoid unintended plagiarism.

1.2.2. Objectives
The study tries to fulfil the following objectives:
-

To identify and clarify the linguistic features of EQs in terms of semantic,

syntactic and pragmatic features.
-

To suggest some implications for learners, teachers and researchers of

English and those are interested in using quotations in academic writing.

1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study aims to seek the answers to the following questions:

1 What are the semantic features of EQs in Linguistic Theses?
2 What are the syntactic features of EQs in Linguistic Theses?
3 What are the pragmatic features of EQs in Linguistic Theses?

1.4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Based on the objectives of the study, validity and reliability of data, this
study aims to analyse semantic, syntactic and pragmatic features of EQs in
Linguistic Theses (LTs) published by the mentioned Linguistic Journals:
Language Learning; Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching; Journal
of English Language and Literature; International Journal of Language and
Linguistics;

Communication,

Society

and

Media;

Language

Teaching

Research...and some dissertations in Applied Linguistics and Journal Semantics
(Oxford University); Journal Semantics (University of California).


3

Table 1.1.Quantity of 7 main groups of Linguistics Studies
No

Types of research

Quantity of studies

1

Linguistic Features in general

4

2

Discourse Analysis

4

3

Functional Grammar

2

4

Stylistic Features

2

5

Language Learning and Teaching

3

6

Comparative and Historical Linguistics

4

7

Others

4

Total

23

1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Quotations in scientific research are not a new issue; they are mentioned in
most of syllabuses, books in terms of content, methodology in many universities all
over the world. They are also familiar with whoever writes essays, dissertations, or
scientific researches in small or big scopes. From the view of the research
beginners, however, the completed comprehension of quotation and citation is not
simple because of misunderstanding or even getting mistakes when quoting. The

lack of knowledge or unawareness of quotation leads to the failure of
implementation of regulations in subjective and objective reasons. Many evidences
have shown that the errors in quoting can‘t be less harmful in scientists‘ career.
Most critical opinions on dissertations are related to the results of citation,
thus the important role of the quotation in research should be clear.

Firstly,

quotation allows scientist interpret the theoretical background, the frame theory
from which propose new ideas, provide source of methodology used in study, the
way to conduct the study and finally review, set up the research results in compare
with other results published earlier. Secondly, quoting proves the writer up to date
of knowledge in major and aware of scientific knowledge development at the time
the study conducted. Therefore, the use of quotation in scientific thesis shows that


4

the scientist regularly updated new knowledge in major and the research has
accompanied with the flow of other studies in same major or not.
There are no quotations, the failure or carelessness in using quotation in
thesis can lead to plagiarism. Plagiarism is considered as using of ideas, methods
and sentences of others without specifying the source. Plagiarism is a serious issue
related to science ethics that any researcher need to understand clearly in order to
avoid.
For all these reasons, this study is conducted with the hope to help all
researchers, teachers and learners not only of English but also of other areas have
deeper insight to use quotations scientifically, smartly. Then the writing becomes
more convincing, clear-based on scientific theory and especially reduces plagiarism
mistake.

1.6. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
The thesis consists of five chapters as follows:
- Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter states rationale, aims and objectives, research questions, scope of the
study, significance of the study and organization of the study.
-Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Background
This chapter presents the theoretical background of the study, including a brief
review of the quotation theories in terms of semantics, syntax and pragmatics.
-Chapter 3: Research Methods
This chapter describes research methods, description of samples, data collection,
data analysis, research procedures and reliability and validity.
-Chapter 4: Findings and Discussions
This chapter analyses the results of finding the semantic features, syntactic
characteristics and pragmatic features of EQs in Linguistic Theses, both
quantitatively and qualitatively.


5

-Chapter 5: Conclusions
This chapter summarizes the results of the study and outlines some implications for
teaching, learning and using quotation in academic writing. Limitations and
suggestions for further researches are also presented in this part.


6

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEWAND THEORETICAL

BACKGROUND
2.1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1.1. Definition of terms and classifications
2.1.1.1. Definition of Quotation
- The ordinary concept of quotation in the Oxford English Dictionary
(OED) and the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD)
According to OED (OED online edition, quotation 5a), a quotation is ―a
passage from a book, speech, or other source; (in modern use esp.) a frequently
quoted passage of this nature‖.
According to OALD-7th Edition (2005), a quotation is ―a group of words or a
short piece of writing taken from a book, play, speech, etc. and repeated because it
is interesting or useful‖.
These definitions comprise an attributable source (―from a book, speech‖,
etc.) and some replicated item (―a passage from‖). The ―source‖ implies a
connection between a quoted and a quoting passage, a concept of quotation that has
been take up in literacy intertextuality studies especially as reference.

- Data-based broad concept of quotation
Working with empirical data made it necessary to broaden the concept of
quotation as suggested in OED and OALD. The data reveal that quotation can be
longer or shorter; they may stretch from a simply single word to lengthier
expositions. On the other hand, it need not necessarily be a phrase that is reused, it
could be a name, a motif, or a mixture of words. If it is a phrase, it can be reapplied
using exact words of the original, with a mix of quoted words embedded in freely
composed language or entirely by paraphrase. Hence, a broad concept of quotation
is required to accommodate all the observable appearances of quotation.


7

Quassdorf (2016) defined a quotation as ―anything that establishes a link or a
similarity with or thus constitutes a trace of a source text‖. Quotation in this
definition incorporates intertextual phenomena such as ―allusion, parody,
adaptation, pastiche, cento, citation etc.‖ This abstract concept accommodates the
various aspects of quotation derived from the empirical work on the quoting data, as
well as from the previous scholarly work.
According to Galperin (1977), a quotation is ―a repetition of a phrase or
statement from a book, speech and the like used by way of authority, illustration,
proof or as a basis for the further speculation on the matter in hand‖. By repeating a
passage in a new environment, we attach to the utterance an importance it might not
have had in the context whence it was taken. Moreover, we give it the status,
temporary thought it maybe, of the stable language unit. What is quoted must be
worth quoting, since a quotation will inevitably acquire some degree of
generalization. They are mostly used accompanied by a reference to the author of
the quotation, unless he is well-known to reader or audience. The reference is made
either in the text or in a foot-note and assumes various forms, as, for instance:
―as (so and so) has it‖
―(so and so) once said that...‖
In this book, he also asserted ―a quotation is the exact reproduction of an
actual utterance made by a certain author‖ and the work containing the utterance
quoted must have been published or at least spoken in public.
In this study, a quotation is regarded as a text with above definition.

2.1.1.2. Classifications of Quotation
Davidson (1979) distinguished mixed quotation, as in (2.4) and (2.5), from
pure, direct,and indirect quotation, as in (2.1)–(2.3).
(2.1) ―Bachelor‖ has eight letters.(Pure quotation)
(2.2) Quine says ―quotation has a certain anomalous feature‖.(Direct quotation)
(2.3) Quine says quotation has a certain anomalous feature.(Indirect quotation)
(2.4)Quine says quotation ―has a certain anomalous feature‖.(Mixed quotation)

8

(2.5)Bush is proud of his ―eckullectic‖ reading list.(Mixed quotation)

[10]

(2.2) quotes Quine by mentioning the words he uttered or wrote. This is
direct quotation. (2.3) quotes him, but could be true even if Quine never uttered or
wrote any words in (2.3). This is indirect quotation. (2.4) quotes Quine by reporting
what he said, but attributes to her only an utterance of ―has a certain anomalous
feature‖. Call this mixed quotation. If Quine utters (2.1), he uses quotation not to
report what another says, but simply to talk about linguistic expression. Call this
pure quotation.

2.1.2. An overview of Quotation Theory
According to Cappelen & Lepore (2003), the main existing theories of
quotation seem to be these: the identity theory of Frege (1892) and Washington
(1992), the name theory of Tarski (1956) and Quine (1940), the description theory
of Geach (1950), the demonstrative theory of Davidson (1979) and Cappelen &
Lepore (1997), the disambiguation theory of Saka (1998), and the demonstration
theory of Clark & Gerrig (1990) and Recanati (2001).
According to the identity theory, quotation marks signal a shift in reference
whereby expressions denote themselves, rather than their customary denotation. The
naturalness of this theory can be seen in examples like (2.6):
(2.6)

a. ―Cicero‖ has 6 letters.

b. ―Incipient‖ is an adjective.
c. ―Comment-allez vous?‖ is a question in French.
d. ―Muscle‖ rhymes with ―bustle‖.

[1]

In each case the predicative elements of these sentences apply to linguistic
objects, and so it is only natural that the quotation, or the quoted material, should be
taken to refer to such an object. Having this material refer to itself in addition has
the advantage of making these intuitively true sentences true. The name and
description theories could be taken to agree, in essence, with the identity theory.
Both hold that the expressions in quotation marks in (2.6) are referred to. They


9

differ only in how that reference takes place – what the vehicle is (a name or a
definite description).
On the demonstrative approach, the quotation marks in the examples in (2.6)
act as demonstrative pronouns, like this, that, these, or those. The material inside
the quotation marks is as if it were not in the sentence at all, but instead a separate
item that is present in the discourse context to be referred to, like a lamp or an
addressee.
According to the disambiguation theory, any utterance makes manifest
linguistic expressions in all their glory – i.e. their phonological or orthographic,
syntactic, and semantic properties. Quotation marks indicate that something other
than the usual denotation is being referred to, with the context establishing which of
the manifested characteristics that something is.
Finally, according to the demonstration theory, in actual utterances of the
sentences in (2.6), the material within quotation marks would be a piece of

demonstration, just as a ballet teacher might demonstrate the 5 basic foot positions.
This accords well with the idea that a variety of gestures or noises can be so cited,
as in (2.7) (from Clark & Gerrig 1990: ex. 28):
(2.7) a. The car engine went [brmbrm], and we were off.

[1]

b. The boy who had scratched her Rolls Royce went [rude gesture with hand]
and ran away.

[1]

The examples in (2.7) should be contemplated as spoken rather than written
utterances, of course.
It can be seen the fact that a variety of different punctuation conventions can
and are used when reference to linguistic expressions is desired. What has been said
above about quotation marks will go as well, depending on the context, for single or
double quotation marks, as well as for italics, underlining, or display.


10

2.1.3. Semantic Features of Quotation
2.1.3.1. Standard view of Quotation and Difficulties
Moltmann (2015) claim that the standard view is that pure quotations are
expression-referring terms, managing, in some way, to refer to the relevant
expression type, by acting as a description (Geach 1970), as a name (Reichenbach
1947), or involving a demonstrative (quotation marks) pointing to a displayed token
(Davidson 1967, 1979, Cappelen/Lepore 2007, Clark/Gerrig 1990, de Vries 2008),
or else by ‗presenting‘ it (Washington 1992, Saka 1998). Direct quotations on the

standard view require a different treatment since they contribute both a content (a
proposition) and a form and thus cannot just act as expression-referring terms. Also
mixed quotations contribute a content and a form, though the latter may either
characterize the reported speech act or some contextually given speech act. The
standard view tends to consider both direct and mixed quotation pragmatic
phenomena quite distinct from pure quotation. The standard view generally admits
that quotation of various sorts cannot be treated compositionally and be based on
the interpretation of a formal syntactic structure.
Standard formal semantics has difficulties with quotation because of one of
its fundamental assumptions, namely that the meanings of sentences are abstract
propositions, a view has recently been challenged by philosophers such as Jubien
(2001), Moltmann (2003, 2013), Soames (2010) and Hanks (2015), who argue in
favor of an act-based notion of sentence meaning. Moltmann (2003, 2013) shows
that quotation provides an important application of an act-related conception of
sentence meaning according to which sentences function as predicates of various
sorts of objects, including products of illocutionary, locutionary or cognitive acts.
For the treatment of quotation (and of verbs of saying) this has the crucial
advantage that sentences may express both content-related and form-related
properties, to be predicated of products of locutionary and illocutionary acts.


11

2.1.3.2. Semantic of Quotation based on Levels of Linguistic Acts
According to Moltmann (2017)‘s semantic theory of pure, direct and mixed
quotation based on Austin‘s distinction among levels of linguistic acts that can be
summarized as follows:
-

Pure quotations convey meanings based on lower-level linguistic acts (in

Austin‘s 1962 sense), such as phatic acts (phonetic acts, phonological acts),
morphological acts), concept-conveying acts, referential acts.
Pure quotations have as their meaning lower-level product types and as such
can easily have a predicative function in the sentence.
Extension to direct and mixed quotation straightforward: they express both
properties of lower-level linguistic products and locutionary, illocutionary, or
cognitive products


Locutionary act & Illocutionary act:
In How to Do Things with Words, Austin (1962) introduced not only the
notion of an illocutionary act, such as an act of asserting, requesting, promising, or
asking a question, but also the notion of a locutionary act, which consists in various
acts ‗below‘ the level of an illocutionary act. A locutionary act includes what Austin
calls a ‗rhetic act‘, an act characterized, roughly, as the act of uttering the words in
the sentence with a specific meaning and reference. A locutionary act also includes
a ‗phatic act‘, an act of uttering words, and a phonetic act, an act of producing
sounds.
Table 2.1. Locutionary act types
Locutionary act

Definition

Example

Phonetic act

an act of producing sounds

Eg:He said ―shh‖.

Rhetic act

the act of uttering the words in the Eg: He said the cat is
sentence with a specific meaning and on the floor.
reference

Phatic act

an act of uttering words or vocables as

Eg: He said ―The cat

belonging to a certain vocabulary and

is on the floor‖.

as conforming to a particular grammar
(Austin,1962)


12

Searle (1969) developed Austin‘s Illocutionary theory and classified them
into the following types:

Representatives

Directives

Expressive

Comissives
The speaker is

Declaratives

The speaker is

The speaker

The speaker

committed to

attempts to get

expresses an committed to a

alters the

the truth of

the hearer to do

attitude

outward

proposition

something

about a state of action

status or

of affairs

condition of

(future) course

The speaker

an object or
situation,
solely by
making the
utterance
Assertions

Suggestions

Apologies

Promises

Claims

Requests

Complaint

Threats

Reports

Commands

Thanks

Offers

Decrees
Declarations

Affirm, deny,

Command, dare, Apology,

Swear, vow,

Baptize,

believe,

challenge, ask,

deplore,

guarantee,

sentence,

conclude,

insist, request

thank,

pledge, promise resign

report, state

congratulate
, regret,
welcome
Figure 2.1. Illocutionary act types (Searle, 1969)

 Cognitive act:
The cognitive domain, which is defined by Bloom (1956), includes those
objectives whichdeal with the recall or recognition of knowledge and the
developmentof intellectual abilities and skills.


13

Bloom (1956) identified six levels within the cognitive domain, from the

simple recall or recognition of facts, as the lowest level, through increasingly more
complex and abstract mental levels, to the highest order which is classified as
evaluation. The figure below shows the pyramid of Bloom‘s taxonomy:

Figure2.2. Pyramid of Bloom‟s Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956)
Verb examples that represent intellectual activity on each level are listed below:
Table.2.2. Cognitive Verbs Example of Bloom‘s Taxonomy (Bloom,1956)
Category
Knowledge

Activity

Key Words ( Verbs)

Recall data or information

Remember, Repeat, Copy,
Reproduce, Define, Retell,
Duplicate, Recite, Recognize,
Read,Memorize, Knowledge,
Tell,

Arrange,

Describe,

Identify, Know, Label, List,
Match,

Name,

Outline,

Recall, Reproduce, Select,
State.
Comprehension

Understand

the

meaning, Ask, Infer, Cite, Summarize,

translation, interpolation, and Classify, Purpose, Compare,
interpretation of instructions Show,Contrast, Demonstrate,
and

problems.

State

a Discuss, Express, Rephrase,


14

Category

Activity

Key Words ( Verbs)

problem in one‘s own words.

Give examples, Comprehend,
Convert,Defend, Distinguish,
Estimate, Explain, Extend,
Generalize, Infer, Interpret,
Paraphrase, Predict, Rewrite,
Translate.

Application

Use the concept in a new Act, Develop, Administer,
situation or unprompted use Solve, Apply, Teach, Build,
of an abstraction.

Plan,

Choose,

Connect,

Employ,

Demonstrate,

Construct,

Show,

Change,

Apply,

Computer,

Demonstrate,

Discover,

Manipulate, Modify, Operate,
Predict,

Prepare,

Produce,

Relate, Solve, Use.
Analysis

Separates
concepts
parts

material
into
so

or Analyze, Inspect, Arrange,

component Research,

Breakdown,

that

Categorize,

its Compare,

organizational structure may Highlight, Differences, Find,
be understood. Distinguishes Dissect, Question, Examine,
between facts and inferences.

Cause and Effect, Contrast,
Diagram,

Deconstruct,

Differentiate,

Discriminate,

Distinguish,
Illustrate,

Identify,
Infer,

Outline,

Relate, Select, Separate.
Synthesis

Build a structure or pattern Adapt, Plan, Build, Produce,