Tutor-marked Assignment 1

This form must be completed and attached to each assignment that you submit to the OAS for marking.

PLAGIARISM DECLARATION

I declare that the attached work is entirely my own (or when submitted to meet the requirements of an approved group
assignment is the work of the group), except where materials cited, quoted or paraphrased are acknowledged in the
text. I also declare that this work / assignment has not been submitted for assessment in any other course or university
without due acknowledgement.

I understand that plagiarism, collusion, and copying are grave and serious offences.

I understand that disciplinary action (which may include deduction of marks in the TMA) will be taken against me if I am
found to be an offender of TMA plagiarism.

Full name and IC No: SAMUEL CHEN JIAN FENG 950606017165 Date: 24/1/2019

Course Title: Pragmatics

Course Code: 7PRA1

Semester / Year: 2019
Student’s Name: Samuel Chen Jian Feng
NRIC: 950606017165
Student ID: 071160063
Class Code: 7PRA1
Mobile Phone No.: 0108876711
Email address: samuel_chen95@hotmail.com
Regional Centre JBRC
Tutor’s Name: Ms Sashikala A/P Appukuttan
Course Coordinator’s Name: Mr Ong Cheng Teik
No of Pages of this TMA (including 11
this page):
Turnitin Similarity Index (optional): 6%

1
Introduction

This conversation took place in a restaurant. Jason and Daniel had their lunch together. Daniel was

worried and shared about his feeling and thought about his current job. He also shared his dream with

Jason. Jason gave Daniel a lot of encouragement and support. Both of them really had a good

relationship.

There are 10 conversation structures in this conversation transcript such as speech acts, invisible

meaning, non-factive presupposition, counterfactual presupposition, pause, backchannel, attributive

use, anaphoric reference, violating the conversational maxims and hedge. These 10 conversation

structures will be analyzed and explained in this assignment.

2
 1 Jason: Daniel, what do you want to eat ? (2 seconds) (long pause) 5

2 Jason: Daniel ? (2 seconds) (long pause) 5

3 Daniel: What ? What did you say ? I’m sorry. I’m thinking about my job.

4 Jason: What do you want to eat ?

5 Daniel: I would like to eat fried rice.

6 Jason: Okay, I order it for you.

7 Daniel: Thank you.

8 Jason: Any luck today? 2

9 Daniel: Let me check my phone for the TOTO 4D results.

10 Daniel: Oh my goodness! I miss it again! This is the 30th time I miss it !

11 Jason: Don’t be sad. You will win it next time.

12 Daniel: I dream to be a millionaire every single day.3

13 Daniel: If I were a millionaire, I will buy a big house for my parents and quit my job. 4

14 Jason: Wish you all the best, Daniel.

15 Jason: I bring some cakes for you. I put them in a box. 8 Let’s eat them together.

16 Daniel: Thank you so much. Where do you get these cakes? 9

17 Jason: Somewhere in my house. 9

18 Daniel: These cakes are so delicious.

3
19 Jason: So, how’s your job recently?

20 Daniel: My boss is a perfectionist.1

21 Daniel: My boss wants to find a secretary who can work 7 days a week for him without any rest day. 7

22 He asks me to find this kind of secretary for him.

23 Daniel: It is impossible for me. I am so stressed. I want to quit my job.

24 Jason: Daniel, promise me not to quit your job.

25 Daniel: Yeah.6

26 Jason: Your wife needs you.

27 Daniel: Uh-uh. 6

28 Jason: Your children need you too.

29 Daniel: Yeah, I promise you that I will not quit my job.1 I will work harder for the sake of my family.

30 Jason: That’s the spirit!

31 Daniel: Can you take the tissue paper for me ? 1

32 Jason: Okay, here you go.

33 Jason: Daniel, please eat the cake.

34 Jason: As you probably know, this is the last piece of cake.10 My house does not have it anymore.

35 Daniel: Thank you. I will eat it now.

4
No. Conversation Structures Example / Utterance Line

1. speech acts My boss is a 20

perfectionist.
- representative
Can you take the tissue
- directives paper for me ? 31

- commissive I promise you that I

will not quit my job. 29

2. invisible meaning Any luck today? 8

3. non-factive presupposition I dream to be a 12

millionaire every single
day.

4. counterfactual presupposition If I were a millionaire, I 13

will buy a big house for
my parents and quit my
job.

5. pause Daniel, what do you 1-2

want to eat ? (2
seconds) (long pause)

Daniel ? (2 seconds)
(long pause)

6. backchannel Yeah 25

Uh-uh 27

7. attributive use My boss wants to find a 21

secretary who can work
7 days a week for him
without any rest day.

8. anaphoric reference I bring some cakes for 15

you. I put them in a
box.

5
9. violating the conversational maxims Where do you get these 16-17
cakes ?

Somewhere in my
house.

10. hedge As you probably know, 34

this is the last piece of
cake.

1. Speech acts

Speech acts is an act that a speaker performs when producing an utterance. According to Searle (1975),

a language is performing speech acts such as making statement, giving command, asking question or

making promises. There are 3 speech acts in the conversation transcript which are representative

speech act, directives speech act and commissive speech act. According to Searle (1976), a

representative speech act commits the speaker to the truth of an expressed opinion. A directive speech

act occurs when the speaker requires the listener to complete some actions as a response. A commissive

speech act occurs when the speaker commits to a future course of action.

My boss is a perfectionist.

The sentence above is a representative speech act. This statement was made by Daniel and it had

shown the truth of his expressed opinion.

Can you take the tissue paper for me ?

The sentence above is a directives speech act. Daniel made a request. Daniel required Jason to

complete an action as a response. He asked Jason to take the tissue paper for him.
6
 I promise you that I will not quit my job.

The sentence above is a commissive speech act. Daniel committed himself to a future course of action.

He made a promise. He promised Jason that he would not quit his job.

2. invisible meaning

Any luck today?

The question which was asked by Jason consists of an invisible meaning. The interpretation of this

question implies a common knowledge between Jason and Daniel. Since Jason knows that Daniel is

buying TOTO 4D frequently, it seems reasonable for him to start a conversation like asking the

question stated above. Daniel knows that Jason always asks the same question, so he knows that Jason

is asking him whether he wins the TOTO 4D by not stating TOTO 4D in the question.

3. non-factive presupposition

I dream to be a millionaire every single day.

It is the assumption that is assumed not to be true and which is identified by presence of verb which is

‘dream’. ‘Dream’ is used with presupposition that what is not true. In the sentence above, the sentence

is not true, it is a presupposition that what is not true. Daniel is not a millionaire.

7
4. Counterfactual presupposition

If I were a millionaire, I will buy a big house for my parents and quit my job.

It is the assumption that what is presupposed is not only not true, however is the opposite of the facts.

Some conditional structures which called counterfactual conditionals,presuppose that the information,

in the if- clauses, is untrue at the time of utterance. In the sentence above, the assumption is not true as

Daniel is not a millionaire.

5. Pause

Daniel, what do you want to eat ? (2 seconds) (long pause)

Daniel ? (2 seconds) (long pause)

In the sentences above, the non- responsiveness of Daniel indicates that he is thinking other things or

not paying attention when Jason is speaking.

6. Backchannel

Jason: Daniel, promise me not to quit your job.

Daniel: Yeah.
Jason: Your wife needs you.
Daniel: Uh-uh.

In a two-way communication, a back-channel sign is a sound, movement of body or word used by a

listener to show that the listener is paying attention to the speaker. In the sentence above, “Yeah” and

“Uh-uh” are signals for backchannel. These signals allow the primary speaker (Jason) to know that the

listener (Daniel) is following and not opposing what the speaker says (Yule, 1996).

8
7. Attributive use

My boss wants to find a secretary who can work 7 days a week for him without any rest day.

In the sentence above, the reference with attributive use is not specific. The word ‘a’ (a secretary) could

be replaced by ‘any’ (any secretary). So, the reference in this sentence applies to anyone that fits this

descriptive content.

8. Anaphoric reference

I bring some cakes for you. I put them in a box.

Anaphoric reference can either point backwards to a referent that has already been introduced. In the

sentence above, the initial referent is the ‘cakes’. This expression is called the antecedent. The

subsequent reference is ‘them’. This referent is called the anaphors. In this sentence, anaphors (them) is

used as a way to continually referring to the antecedent (cakes).

9. Way of violating the conversational maxims.

Daniel: Where do you get these cakes ?

Jason: Somewhere in my house.

In the sentence above, Jason replied in a slightly different way, his reply also show the meaning that he

was not going to inform the right answer. Jason violated the maxim of quantity by giving less

information than was asked for as he used the word “somewhere”.

9
10. Hedges

As you probably know, this is the last piece of cake.

Hedges are devices used by the speakers to explain utterances beforehand in relation to the four

maxims. Speakers use hedges to mark that they may be in danger of not fully following the principles.

In the sentence above, Jason said : “As you probably know, ……” to show that he respect the maxim of

quality.

10
Reference

Searle, J. R. (1975). A taxonomy of illocutionary acts. In K. Gunderson (Ed.), Language, mind and

knowledge .University of Minnesota press.

Searle, J. R. (1976). A classification of illocutionary acts. Language in Society.

Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics, Oxford:Oxford University Press.

11