People can perform physical act, such as kicking a ball in the field, they can imagining that they are kicking a ball in that field, it called mental acts. People can also perform another kind of act by using language; it called speech act. Speech act stands as one kind of acts exactly. A speech act is an utterance that serves a function in communication. Further explanation will be discuss below.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
As a tool of communication, language can manipulate something bad to good thing. It can be a weapon to beat the enemy and can be an angel to hug everything we like. Language is a dynamic thing. It can�t be stopped. Off course we need to know the language and how to understand it. We need to know more about the meaning from every language we see, we hear and we do. That�s why there is some specific course that learn about the particular language such as Semantics, Pragmatics and other.
We can assume that language can�t be apart from the act. Language and it expressions is the combination of language and action, but we call it by language. Not action. Even we use act to speak or pronounce a words as a part of language.
Language stands as communication system in speech and writing used by people[1]need to interact to prove that language has a relationship with the act. We called speech. Whether direct or indirect the act related with the language �especially speech- have an implication depend on the situation and condition. To anticipate something bad caused by the language or speech we have made, we need to learn and know the relation between speech and act or we called by speech act, whether it direct or indirect.
B. STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS
The writer formulate the some problems from the background explained above following below:
1. What is speech act, direct speech act and indirect speech act?
C. PURPOSES
The purposes of this paper are:
1. To know and understand the definition of speech act, direct speech act and indirect speech act.
CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION
1. SPEECH ACT
People can perform physical act, such as kicking a ball in the field, they can imagining that they are kicking a ball in that field, it called mental acts. People can also perform another kind of act by using language; it called speech act. Speech act stands as one kind of acts exactly. A speech act is an utterance that serves a function in communication.[2]A speechact is an utterance that has perform function in language and communication.[3] We perform speech acts when we offer an apology, greeting, request, complaint, invitation, compliment, or refusal. The speech act can standin one word such as �sorry� to perform an apology, or several words even a sentence �I�m sorry I can�t come to the class�.
The most common speech acts use in our live below:
SpeechAct | Function |
Assertion | To convey or give information. |
Question | To get information |
Request | (more politely) elicit action or information |
Order | To ask or demand antion |
Promise | To commit the speaker to an action |
Threat | To commit the speaker to an action that the hearer does not want |
Here are some examples of speech acts we use or hear every day:
Greeting: �Hi, Wawan. How�s your live?"
�HaiSyu�aibi, bagaimanakabarmu?�
�Lek, dekremmahkaberreh?�
Request: �Could you take my book, please?�
�Tolongambilkangelasitu?�
�Wan, mintatolongnyareagipacaryeh�
Complaint: �I�ve already been waiting three weeks for the computer, and I was told it would be delivered within a week.�
�Kitasudahmenyepakatiproyekini, tetapikenyataannyaandamengadakankontraklain.�
�Sampeanamponsetujuanakbineknahepalakenahkauleh, tapehanapahmekeparengaghidekFahmi se akantahroah?�
Invitation: �We�re having some people over Saturday evening and wanted to know if you�d like to join us.�
�Adikperempuansayaakanmengadakanpestaperayaanulangtahun yang ke 19, sayaberharapkamubisahadirkerumahselasadepan jam 9 pagi.�
�Syu�aibiamantanhlagghuk, been eajekdekromanahpolanahjarangngakankoca�en.�
Refusal: �I really interest to come to your house, but I have a class now.�
�Sebenarnyasayainginsekalimampirkerumahmu, tapisayaharusjemputadikdi sekolah.�
�Engkoksennengrojeklakaran, tapehengkokburuhmarehngakan.�
Speech act are difficult to perform in a second language because may not know the idiomatic expressionor cultural norms in the second language or they may transfer their first language rules and convensions in the second language.
As in introduction above, people can do many acts, but if they think about the act like thinking about getting married they perform the mental act, if they doing an act like getting married they performing physical act and if they asking, ordering, and promising to get married like as �I�m promise to get married tomorrow morning� did a speech act.
2. DIRECT SPEECH ACT
The type of speech acts that we have been considering are called direct speech act, since they perform their function in a direct and literal manner.
Direct speech act is utterances spoken by speaker directly in accordance with the intent of speaker.[4]From this definition states clear that it must be spoken, not written or imaginative, because we have a special term for them: physical and mental acts. In direct speech acts we have a declarative sentence type which is dedicate to assertions; an interrogative sentence type, which is dedicate to questions; and an imperative sentence type dedicated to orders and request.[5]To make a complete understanding, see the table below:
Sentence type | Speech act | Function | Examples |
Declarative | Assertion | Conveys information | �Fahmi got a beautiful girl for his become his wife� �Fahmiandikbinehraddin� �IstrinyaFahmicantiksekali� |
Interrogative | Question | Elicit information | �What is your wife�s name?� �Sapahnyamanahbininah been?� �Namaistrimusiapa?� |
Imperative | Order and request | Causes others to behave in certain ways | �Please, leave me alone� �Dina�agiengkok� �Tolong, tinggalkansayasendiri� |
In anthropology�s perspective, these discussion is about how and where to locate the knowledge that the speakers and hearers have in producing bad interpreting the utterances are important and yet problematic for at least two reasons. First, they are done without apparent awareness that the principles invoked by the analysis might be culture-specific. Whether or not they relied on English examples, the scholar involved in speech act analysis usually automatically assume that theirintuitions and findings have a universal relevance. Second, speech act analysis -like most philosophers- believe that reasonable generalizations can be made introspection, by thinking out relevant examples and imagining possible situation, without having actually observe and systematically collect data from real life interaction. These assumption about universality prompted strong criticism form ethnographers and linguistic anthropologist working in societies outside of Europe and UnitedStates.
3. EXAMPLES OF DIRECT SPEECH ACT:
a. declarative
�Money for buying food�
It tells gives an information that money to buy foods.
b. Interrogative
�Do you have money to buy food?�
It is ask you whether you have money to buy food or not.
c. Imperative
A: �give me money to buy a food!�
B: �here it is�
In example above �A� didn�t have money and need to ask money to �B� for buying food.
4. INDIRECT SPEECH ACT.
Indirect speech act might have the shape of question and hence be classified as requests for information and or the shape of declarative sentences and hence be classifiable as assertion, but in most context they seem to work as request for action.[6]
Indirect speech act is meant to be, and he give several hints as to how this might happen. Indirect is a widely use conversational strategy. People tend to use indirect speech act mainly in connection with politeness since they thus diminish the unpleasant message contained in request and orders for instance.
Indirect speech acts are commonly used to reject proposals and to make requests. For example, a speaker asks, "Would you like to meet me for coffee?" and another replies, "I have class." The second speaker used an indirect speech act to reject the proposal. This is indirect because the literal meaning of "I have class" does not entail any sort of rejection.[7]
5. EXAMPLES OF INDIRECT SPEECH ACT
a. Teacher:�where is your assignment? You have passed the previous subject, right?�
In the example above, �where is your assignment� although the utterance used an interrogative form, but the teacher has a purpose to ask student to take his assignment to do the student�s assignment and showed to the teacher.
b. When you have an offer to come to your friend�s hose and answer �I have a class after this� it indicate that you are refusing your friend�s invitation.
c. �Your zipper is opened�
Means to lock your zipper.
d. �This is library�
When you hear this statement in the library, means you have to quite. Library is place to read and need to quite.
e. �Bisaambilbukuitu?� (in Indonesian language)
It is not asking about the ability to take a book, but ask to take that book.
f. �Ngakan!� (in Madurese)
When this question asked to someone who read a book, it doesn�t mean that he is eating, but he is in a hard situation in reading.
Those are the examples of indirect speech act common use in our life.
CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
A. CONCLUSION
As a human that need to move and we call an act we have many kinds of acts. There are many kinds of act we have, first, mental act. It happens when we think to something. Imagining what will we do second physical act that happen when we make our thought happen in real. And the last when we perform an act by using language such as request, order, promise and other, we call it as speech act.
Sometimes we use speech act directly by using complete sentence or using the words that make our partner understand, we call it direct speech act. Sometimes we use in direct speech act that more simple than direct speech act, but has a complete information, question or request.
A speechact is an utterance that has perform function in language and communication.We perform speech acts when we offer an apology, greeting, request, complaint, invitation, compliment, or refusal. The speech act can stands in one word such as �sorry� to perform an apology, or several words even a sentence �I�m sorry I can�t come to the class�.So, it makes me easier in performing language.
REFERENCES
Oxford Dictionary Pocket Fourth edition, (New York: Oxford University Press,2008).
http://carla.umn.edu/speechacts/definition.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_act,
Department Of Linguistics Te Ohio State University, Language File 4th edition, (Ohio: Ohio State University Press, 1987).
http://abudira.files.wordpress.com/2014/direct-indirect-literal-nonliteral-speechact.pdf,
Alessandro Duranti, linguistic anthropology, (United kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1997).
[1]Oxford Dictionary Pocket Fourth edition, (New York: Oxford University Press,2008), page 247.
[4]http://abudira.files.wordpress.com/2014/direct-indirect-literal-nonliteral-speechact.pdf, accessed on 11 May, 2016 at 19:09
[5]Department Of Linguistics Te Ohio State University, Language File 4th edition, (Ohio: Ohio State University Press, 1987). Page, 229
[6]Alessandro Duranti, linguistic anthropology, (UnitedKingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1997). Page 226
[7]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_act, accessed on may 11 2016 at 19:09
