Q1: explain the circumstances under which they are used based on the theory of deixis

(1) I’m going to John’s party

(2) I’m coming to John’s party

Q2: identify locutionary, illocutionary, perlocutionary

It’s cold outside

Q3: identify the contexts in which the following utterance has different meanings provided:

I feel tired

meaning Context
I don’t want to go to school 1
It’s time you went home 2
Carry me 3
I’m ready to die 4
I’ve done enough work today 5

Q5: imagine a parent says to a young child

1. Just eat it up

And a child say to a parent:

2. Aren’t you going to eat it?

Each speaker intends to get the other to eat their dinner. Explain the choice of each speaker based on the
theory of politeness strategies.

Bài làm

Question 1:

(1) I’m going to John’s party

(2) I’m coming to John’s party

“Going” in (1) and “coming” in (2) are spatial deixis. Both of them are verbs of motion. They retain a deictic
sense when they are used to make movement.

- “Go” in (1) is used to mark the movement away from the speaker.  Imply the speaker is not at the
john’s party now.
 - “Come” in (2) is used to mark the movement near the speaker. It is also a deictic projection. The speaker
projects himself to the John’s party  The speaker implies that he is going to the John’s party.

Question 2: It’s cold outside

- Locutionary act: The utterance is a simple sentence. It is well-form structure and meaningful. Readers
can understand this sentence easily.

- Illocutionary act: the utterance is uttered to make a request.

- Perlocutionary act: The utterance is uttered to ask the hearer to close the door.

Question 3: I feel tired.

Meaning Context
I don’t want to go to school 1. A son has to go to school at 7 am every morning. It is 6.50 am and
he is still at home. His mother says that “It’s time you gone to
school” and the son replies that “I feel tired”.
It’s time you went home 2. A daughter is very naughty and she makes her mother very angry.
The daughter was very afraid of her mother; as a result, she decided
to go to her friend’s home and stayed there for 3 days. After 3 days
seeking the daughter, the mother met her at her friend’s house and
she said that “I feel tired”.
Carry me 3. It is 11.30 am and the class has just finished. A boy and a girl are
talking to each other. The boy says that he goes home by his
bicycle. The girl walks to her home. However, today she says to the
man that “I feel tired”.
I’m ready to die 4. Two friends are talking to each other. The girl has been under
pressure recently because she has too much work to do and she has
no time to take a rest. She says to the boy that “I feel tired”.
I’ve done enough work today 5. A secretary met her boss to declare that she had completed her
work that day. However, the boss asked her to do more work on the
extra time and the secretary replied that “I feel tired”.

Question 4: A: Did you manage to fix the bike?

B: I tried to.

- Flout the maxim of quantity (tell more information than require) because “manage” already means “try
to do something”
 - Implicature: B did not fix the bike successfully.

Question 5: imagine a parent says to a young child

1. Just eat it up

And a child say to a parent:

2. Aren’t you going to eat it?

Each speaker intends to get the other to eat their dinner. Explain the choice of each speaker based on the
theory of politeness strategies.

- The parent’s utterance “Just eat it up” is imperative form. It is a bald on record. The parents directly
require the child to eat.

- The child’s utterance “Aren’t you going to eat it?” is interrogative form. It is face saving act. In more
detail, the child’s utterance is a negative politeness and it is known as deference strategies. The child
utterance shows his respect to his parent.