CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 An Overview of Pragmatics
Pragmatics is concerned with the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker or writer and interpreted by a listener or reader. It has, consequently, more to do with the analysis of what people mean by their utterances than what the words or phrases in those utterances might mean by themselves. Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning (Yule 1996:3). This study necessarily involves the interpretation of what people mean in a particular context influences what is said. It requires consideration of how speakers organize what they want to say in accordance with who they are talking to, where, when, and under what circumstances or in other words, the pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning.
Pragmatics is the study of how more gets communicated than is said. This approach also necessarily explores how listeners can make inferences about what is said in order to
arrive at an interpretation of the speaker‟s intended meaning. This type of study explores how
a great deal of what is unsaid is recognized as part what is communicated. We see the pragmatics as the study of the expression of relative distance. This perspective then raises the question of what determines the choice between the said and the unsaid. The advantage of studying language via pragmatics is that one can talk about people‟s intended meanings, their assumptions, their purposes or goals and the kinds of actions (for example, request) that they are performing when they speak. The example of pragmatics could be seen from the illustration below:
From this sentence, we are unlikely to ask why “pembuat sejarah” and “sejarah baru”
were suddenly being mentioned. We will make an assumption that the listeners are the history maker. Because of this assumption, it would be pragmatically interpreted the listeners as the history maker are on progress to make a new history.
Griffiths in his book defines pragmatics is about the interaction of semantic knowledge with our knowledge of the world, taking into account contexts of use (Griffiths, 2006:1). For example, the sentence “You get a red light” is an ambiguous sentence. Without understanding the context of the utterance, it would be difficult for the hearer to determine the real meaning of the utterance. From this example, we may get many meanings based on the interpretation of the hearer itself, such as:
a. It could mean that you are getting a real red bulb.
b. It could mean that you are getting a red light in the traffic light that force you to stop
your ride on the line.
c. It could mean that you cannot do a project.
2.2 Speech Acts
The actions that are performed via utterances are generally called speech acts (Yule 1996:47). In attempting to express themselves, people will not only produce the utterances or sentences that contains grammatical structures and ordinary words, they also perform some actions via those utterances. In the English language, speech acts are commonly given more specific labels, such as apology, complaint, compliment, invitation, promise, or request. The speaker normally will expect that the hearer will recognize the intention of the communication by the utterance. This process usually helps the speaker and hearer by the circumstances surrounding the utterance. These circumstances, including other utterances, are called the speech events (Yule 1996:47).
For example, in the crowd of a situation the leader will always have great power, the leader will then say something that is more than just a statement, as stated below:
“Kita semua adalah penyala harapan untuk Indonesia.”
The utterance above can be used to perform the act of power and the strong positive impact it has to the people, this was said by Joko Widodo. The example above is one example of the speech act.
Akmajian (2001:394) defines that speech acts are the acts performed in uttering expressions. According to the theory they have developed, there are four important categories of speech acts namely:
1. Utterance acts are simply acts of uttering sounds, syllables, words,
phrases, and sentences from a language.
2. Perlocutionary act is an act performed by uttering something, an act that
3. Illocutionary act is an act performed in uttering something.
4. Prepositional acts is an act that used for referring and predicating.
To communicate we must express propositions with a particular illocutionary force, and in doing so we perform particular kinds of action such as stating, promising, warning, and so on, which have come to be known as speech acts (Cruse 2000:321). It is, however, important to distinguish between three sorts of things that one is doing in the course of producing an utterance. These are usually distinguished by the terms locutionary acts, perlocutionary acts, and illocutionary acts.
2.3 Types of Speech Acts
Yule in his book (1996:48) states that on any occasion, the action performed by producing an utterance will consist of three related acts such as:
1. Locutionary act, which is the basic act of utterance, or producing a meaningful
linguistic expression.
2. Illocutionary acts is an act that performed via communicative force of an utterance.
3. Perlocutionary act is an act that simply create an utterance with a function without
intending it to have an effect.
2.3.1 Locutionary Acts
form, then performing a locutionary act includes the expression of one or more propositions. Yule (1996:48) says that locutionary act, which is the basic act of utterance, or producing meaningful linguistic expression. For Example:
Mike uttered the words “Hand some money over to me”, with referring to Mike.
2.3.2 Perlocutionary Acts
Perlocutionary acts are acts performed by means of language, using language as a tool. The elements that define the act are external to the locutionary act. Take the act of persuading someone to do something, or getting them to believe that something is the case. In order to persuade someone to do something, one normally must speak to them. But the speaking, even accompanied by appropriate intentions and so on, does not of itself signify the act of persuasion. For that, the person being persuaded has to do what the speaker is urging. The same is true of the act of cheering someone up: this may well be accomplished through language, in which case it is a perlocutionary act, but even then the act does not consist in saying certain things in a certain way, but in having a certain effect, which in principle could have been produced in some other way as Cruse says (2000:332). According to Akmajian (1980:396), perlocutionary act is the act performed by saying something. For instance, suppose John believes everything a certain sportscaster says; then by saying:
“Rafael Marquez can beat Valentino Rossi.”
2.3.3 Illocutionary Acts
promising. Notice that it makes sense to say: I tried to persuade her to come, but I failed, or: I tried to cheer him up, but failed, but it makes no sense to say: I tried to promise to come, but I failed, except in the sense that one failed to utter the words, that is, to perform the locutionary act.
For Example:
“I‟ve just made some tea.”
We might utter the sentence above to make a statement, an offer, an explanation, or for some other communicative purpose. This is also generally known as the illocutionary force of the utterance.
2.4The Understanding of Illocutionary Acts
According to Yule (1996:48) Illocutionary acts is an act that is performed via communicative force of an utterance. Leech (1983:199) says that Illocutionary act is performing an act in saying something. For example:
“I‟ve just made some tea.”
For the interpretation, we might utter the example above as making a statement, an offer, an explanation, or for some other communicative purpose. This case is also generally known as the illocutionary force of the utterance. Just by simply uttering the right precise performative sentence, with the right intentions and beliefs, and under the right circumstances, can often successfully perform Illocutionary acts.
persuading or intimidating, we do so by performing illocutionary acts such as stating or threatening.
2.4.1 The Categories of Illocutionary Acts
Yule in his book (1996:48) classifies the illocutionary acts into five categories such as: declarations, representatives, expressives, directives, and commisives.
1. Declarations
Declarations are those kinds of speech acts that change the world via their utterance. As the example illustrated below, the speaker has to have a special institutional role, in a specific context, in order to perform a declaration appropriately.
Priest : I now pronounce you husband and wife.
Referee : You‟re in.
Jury Foreman : We find the defendant guilty.
Or
“Komisi Pemilihan Umum Republik Indonesia telah menetapkan kami berdua,
Joko Widodo dan Jusuf Kalla sebagai Presiden dan Wakil Presiden Republik Indonesia terpilih 2014 - 2019.”
In using a declaration, the speaker changes the world via words.
2. Representatives
“Kita kuat karena bersatu, kita bersatu karena kuat!”
In using a representative, the speaker makes the world fit the world (of belief).
3. Expressives
Expressives are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker feels. They express psychological conditions and can be statement of pleasure, pain, likes, dislike, joy, or sorrow. As illustrated below, they can be caused by something the speaker does or the hearer
does, but they are about the speaker‟s experience.
I‟m really sorry!
Congratulations!
“Kemenangan ini adalah kemenangan seluruh rakyat Indonesia.”
In using an expressive, the speaker makes words fit the world (of feeling).
4. Directives
Directives are those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to get someone else to do something. They express what the speaker wants. They are commands, order, request, suggestion, and as illustrated below, they can be positive or negative.
Give me a cup of tea. Make it hot.
Could you lend me your book, please?
“Dengan kerendahan hati kami, Joko Widodo dan Jusuf Kalla, menyerukan kepada
saudara-saudara sebangsa dan setanah air untuk kembali ke takdir sejarahnya sebagai
bangsa yang bersatu; bangsa yang satu, bangsa Indonesia.”
5. Commissives
Commissives are those kinds of speech acts that the speaker uses to commit themselves to some future action. They express what the speaker intends. They are promises, threats, refusals, pledges, and, as shown below, they can be performed by the speaker alone, or by the speaker as a member of a group.
I will be back.
I‟m going to get it tomorrow.
“Saya dan Pak JK berjanji jika saudara memberikan kehormatan pada kami, untuk
menjadi presiden dan wakil presiden, maka kami akan bekerja keras setiap hari, untuk anda dan anak-anak kita semua.”
In using a commissive, the speaker assumes to make the world fit the words (via the speaker).
Searle in his book (1979:13-23) categorizes the illocutionary acts into five main categories, namely: assertive, directives, commissives, expressive, and declarations.
1. Assertives
both show assertives with the added feature that they have something to do with the interest of the speaker. "Conclude" and "deduce" are also assertives with the added feature that they mark certain relations between the assertive illocutionary act and the rest of the discourse or the context of utterance.
For Example:
I inform you that our team leader is making a good decision.
It‟s snowing.
2. Directives
Directives as explained by Searle are the illocutionary point of these consists in the fact that they are attempts (of varying degrees, and hence, more precisely, they are determinates of the determinable which includes attempting) by the speaker to get the hearer to do something. They may be very modest "attempts" as when I invite you to do it or suggest that you do it, or they may be very fierce attempts as when I insist that you do it. The verbs indicating members of the directives class namely: beg, plead, pray, challenge, ask, order, command, request, invite, permit, advise, dare, defy and entreat.
For example:
Don‟t touch that!
Can you reach the sugar for me?
3. Commissives
of fit is world-to-word and the sincerity condition is intention. The propositional content is always that the speaker does some future action.
For example:
We will complete the job next week.
I‟m going to buy the car tomorrow.
4. Expressives
Expressives are the illocutionary point to express the psychological state specified in the sincerity condition about a state of affairs specified in the propositional content. The various types of expressive verbs are thank, congratulate, apologize, condole, deplore, and welcome. Notice that in expressive types, there is no direction of fit. In performing an expressive, the speaker is neither trying to get the world to match the words nor the words to match the world; rather the truth of the expressed proposition is assumed.
For example:
I congratulate you on finishing the project.
I thank you for lending me your money.
5. Declarations
Declarations has special characteristic of this class that the successful performance of one of its members brings about the connection between the propositional content and reality, successful performance guarantees that the propositional content corresponds to the world.
For example:
I declare that his position is terminated.
“Saudara - saudara sebangsa dan setanah air, Komisi Pemilihan Umum Republik
Indonesia telah menetapkan kami berdua, Joko Widodo dan Jusuf Kalla sebagai Presiden dan Wakil Presiden Republik Indonesia terpilih 2014 - 2019.”
Cruse (2000:342-343) classifies intentions of each illocutionary acts into five categories such as:
1. Assertives
Assertives commit the speaker to the truth of the expressed proposition: state, suggest, boast, complain, claim, report, warn (that). Notice that boast and complain also express an attitude to the proposition expressed other than a belief in its truth.
For example :
“Sebarkan kebaikan, rakyat tidak perlu percaya pada fitnah, pada kebohongan.”
2. Directives
Directives have the intention of obtaining some sort of action on the part of the hearer: order, command, request, beg, beseech, advise (to), warn (to), recommend, ask, ask (to).
For example :
“Sebarkan pesan tegas, bahwa tidak ada yang tak mungkin untuk perubahan.”
3. Commissives
For example :
“Saya dan Pak JK berjanji jika saudara memberikan kehormatan pada kami, untuk
menjadi presiden dan wakil presiden, maka kami akan bekerja keras setiap hari, untuk anda dan anak-anak kita semua.”
4. Expressives
Expressives make known the speaker's psychological attitude to an assumed state of affairs: thank, congratulate, condole, praise, blame, forgive, pardon.
For example :
“Pertama-tama, saya mengucapkan terima kasih dan penghargaan tinggi kepada bapak
Prabowo Subianto dan bapak Hatta Rajasa yang telah menjadi sahabat dalam kompetisi politik untuk mendapatkan mandat rakyat untuk memimpin negeri ini lima
tahun ke depan.”
5. Declaratives
Declaratives are said to bring about a change in reality: that is to say, the world is in some way no longer the same after they have been said. Now in an obvious sense this is true of all the performative verbs: after someone has congratulated someone, for instance, a new world comes into being in which that congratulation has taken place. So, if someone says / resign, then thereafter they no longer hold the post they originally held, with all that that results in resign, dismiss, divorce (in Islam), christen, name, open (e.g. an exhibition), excommunicate, sentence (in court), consecrate, bid (at auction), declare (at cricket).
previous study because on this analysis, the five types of illocutionary acts are tried to be found and analyzed, not by choosing just one category of illocutionary acts to be analyzed.
Joko Widodo‟s speeches would be analyzed to find every single categories of illocutionary
