DISCOURSE AND PRAGMATICS

Name : CIKAL RIZKY AMELIA

Npm : 181220017

1. Speech Acts

Conversation 1

You and a close friend are having dinner together and you suddenly realize you have left your money
at home. Ask your friend to lend you some money to pay your dinner.

A: the waiter asked us to pay for the food at the cashier.

B: I left my money at home, can I borrow your money?

A: yes you can, let me pay for it..

Sentence A describes speech acts that are not true, because there is a question word because the
statement reported came from the servant. Sentence B is direct because it uses a qustionmark and is
spoken directly by B.

Conversation 2

You want to take a week off work to see a friend who is visiting you from overseas and you have no
holidays owing to you. You go to your boss’s office to ask for the week’s leave.

A :Excuse me sir, can I speak for a moment?

Boss : yes please speak

A : may I ask for just a week off this week? Because there are important things that I will do, sir

Boss : Okay, I will allow it if your need is very urgent, I will give you permission for a week of leave
from work

This sentence includes a direct sentence, because Person A asks permission directly from his office
boss for urgent purposes

Conversation 3

You are in a restaurant. Your steak is over-cooked. You wanted it cooked rare. Ask the waiter to
bring you another steak.
A : Excuse me miss, I made the wrong order, can I change my order?

Waiter : Sorry, ma'am, but I don't remember the order, can it be repeated?

A : my steak that caming is already over cook than i have ready to write in the menu that i
order is cooked rare.

The explanation is that the dialogue A is ilocutionary, the waiter is prelocutionary effect

2. Carry out a speech act analysis of your texts to identify direct speech acts and indirect
speech acts. Analyze in what way the speakers ‘mean more than what they say’; that is, what is the
difference between the literal meaning of what they say and what you think they mean by what they
say. Why do you think they chose to use a direct or an indirect speech act?

Datum 1 (source: ………………../ ………………..)

A: ……………………………..

B:……………………………...

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………..

3. Maxim quantity, quality, relation, and manner

Extract 1 (Pride and Prejudice/ SCENE 6 - DRAWING ROOM - NETHERFIELD – Later that morning)

ELIZABETH : Please pardon my appearance. May I inquire after my sister?

CAROLINE : Miss Bennet slept ill, and though up, is very feverish, and not well enough to
leave her room.

In extract 1 above, Elizabeth can deduce from Caroline’s reaction that from her utterance Miss
Bennet slept ill, and though up, is very feverish, and not well enough to leave her room may means
that Elizabeth can inquire after her sister. In this case, Caroline is adhering the maxim of manner by
answering the question clearly and obeying the maxim of relation by providing the answer that is
clearly relevant to the question, but is flouting the maxim of quantity that she gives more
information than is required in order to obey the maxim of quality. In this conversation, Elizabeth is
only asking a permission whether she may inquiry he sister or not. To respond the question, Caroline
does not answer the question by saying yes you may, or no you may not, she responds by giving an
information about Elizabeth’s sister. From the context seen in the conversation and the answer
provided by Caroline, Elizabeth could infer that she can inquire after her sister, and she goes to the
room in which her sister is being inquired.

Extract 2 (Pride and Prejudice/ SCENE 9 - PARLOR - LONGBOURN – Midday – Sunday, November 17,
1811)

MR. BENNET : I hope, my dear, that you have ordered a good dinner today, because I have reason
to expect an addition to our family party.

MRS. BENNET : Who do you mean, my dear?

MR. BENNET : The person of whom I speak is a gentleman, and a stranger.

In extract 2 Mrs. Bennet asks her husband about someone who will come to their house for the
dinner, she asks about who the person is. In providing the answer, Mr. Bennet is observing the
maxim of quality that he is telling the truth and he can give the evidence for his utterance. Looking at
the context in that movie, Mr. Bingley who is meant in this conversation is truly a handsome man.
But, in another case, Mr. Bennet is flouting the maxim of manner in the conversation; he tends to be
unclearly towards his utterance and is flouting the maxim of quantity that he does not make his
contribution as informative as is required. To adhere the maxim of quantity and manner, Mr. Bennet
can respond by saying “Mr. Bingley”.