When
we study language, we have to know the culture, theory and speech acts
that used by a human that live in those country. So, between one country
to another country has different in culture, theory and speech acts.
Indirectly, you have to study about the culture, theory and speech acts
of the country.
Different Culture
Culture
is a way of life that developed and owned jointly by a group of people
and passed down from generation to generation. Culture is made up of
many complex elements, including religion and political systems,
customs, languages, tools, clothing, buildings, and works of art.
Language, as well as culture, an integral part of the human self so that
many people tend to see them passed on genetically. When someone tries
to communicate with people who has different culture and adjust their
differences, proving that culture is learned.
Example:
· Greeting in Japanese and America
Although
the greeting is one of the simplest human communications, both
countries have different methods of greeting each other. In America,
generally elderly people are introduced first. For example, one of my
friends invited me to his house, and he introduced his father first,
then his mother, his older brother, and his young sister. After that he
introduced me to his family. In contrast, the traditional rule is the
opposite in Japan. In other words, young people have to be introduced first in Japan. This rule is the sort of manner in Japan, and the people who do not follow this regulation are considered rude.
· Time
British people expect punctuality especially in the work place or place of study. This means that if a lecture begins at 2pm, you must be present in the lecture room at or before 2pm. If you have an appointment with a doctor or a tutor at 11am, you should be there no later than 11am, otherwise you will probably not be able to see them.
British people expect punctuality especially in the work place or place of study. This means that if a lecture begins at 2pm, you must be present in the lecture room at or before 2pm. If you have an appointment with a doctor or a tutor at 11am, you should be there no later than 11am, otherwise you will probably not be able to see them.
Different Theory
Theory
is a rule that used by human to be able to speak with other people
correctly. Theory its self is used to language in order to be able to
communicate with other people in the word. The meaning of language its
self is a
tool or a human embodiment of a culture that is used to communicate or
relate to each other, either through written, oral, or motion (sign
language), with the aim of delivering heart intent or willingness to his
interlocutors or others. Through language, humans can adapt to the
customs, behavior, etiquette of society, and also easy to confuse him
with all forms of society.
Different Speech Acts
When
second language learners engage in conversations with native speakers,
difficulties may arise due to their lack of mastery of the
conversational norms involved in the production of speech acts. Such
conversational difficulties may in turn cause breakdowns in interethnic
communication (Gumperz, 1990). When the nonnative speakers violate
speech act realization patterns typically used by native speakers of a
target language, they often suffer the perennial risk of inadvertently
violating conversational (and politeness) norms thereby forfeiting their
claims to being treated by their interactants as social equals (Kasper,
1990, p. 193).
In
general, speech acts are acts of communication. To communicate is to
express a certain attitude, and the type of speech act being performed
corresponds to the type of attitude being expressed. For example, a
statement expresses a belief, a request expresses a desire, and an
apology expresses a regret. As an act of communication, a speech act
succeeds if the audience identifies, in accordance with the speaker's
intention, the attitude being expressed.
Some
speech acts, however, are not primarily acts of communication and have
the function not of communicating but of affecting institutional states
of affairs. They can do so in either of two ways. Some officially judge
something to be the case, and others actually make something the
case. Those of the first kind include judges' rulings, referees' calls
and assessors' appraisals, and the latter include include sentencing,
bequeathing and appointing. Acts of both kinds can be performed only in
certain ways under certain circumstances by those in certain
institutional or social positions.
According to Austin's theory (1962), what we say has three kinds of meaning:
1. Propositional meaning - the literal meaning of what is said
It's hot in here.
2. Illocutionary meaning - the social function of what is said
'It's hot in here' could be:
· An indirect request for someone to open the window.
· an indirect refusal to close the window because someone is cold.
· A complaint implying that someone should know better than to keep the windows closed (expressed emphatically)
Another examples:
- Greeting (in saying, "Hi John!", for instance), apologizing ("Sorry for that!"), describing something ("It is snowing"), asking a question ("Is it snowing?"), making a request and giving an order ("Could you pass the salt?" and "Drop your weapon or I'll shoot you!"), or making a promise ("I promise I'll give it back") are typical examples of "speech acts" or "illocutionary acts".
- In saying, "Watch out, the ground is slippery", Mary performs the speech act of warning Peter to be careful.
- In saying, "I will try my best to be at home for dinner", Peter performs the speech act of promising to be at home in time.
- In saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, please give me your attention", Mary requests the audience to be quiet.
- In saying, "Race with me to that building over there!", Peter challenges Mary.
3. Perlocutionary meaning - the effect of what is said
'It's hot in here' could result in someone opening the windows
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Austin, J. L. (1962). How to do things with words. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gumperz, J. (1990). The conversational analysis of interethnic communication. In R. C.
Kasper, G. (1990). Linguistic politeness: Current research issues. Journal of Pragmatics, 14,193-218.
