Discourse analysis

Commissives are the statements that function as promises or refusal for action

Form used for Commissives may be different it depends on social position, relationship, cross cultural context, gender

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  Expressiveness are the statement of joy and disappointment, likes and dislikes
  
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  Declaratives are the statements when uttered, bring about a new sate of being e.g marriage vow, or decision of the judge “I find you guilty” or teachers “class dismissed ”
  
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  Representatives are the statements which show people’s wish not to held the responsibility for the truth of their claims e.g.“ It’s hard” (it’s hard to tell but I think) “ I wonder” (I’m wondering if + representative) “I am not sure” (I am not really sure , but I think)
  

Discourse structures like giving advice, making compliments, and complaints considered as SPEECH EVENTS. Speech events is a larger context where the speech acts are involved. E.g. Introduction is a speech event “Barbara , this is Sherry”, this not only utterance, it is required follow up move from Barbara (there will be more information about title, job, background, topic of speech and etc.)
Home task:
1. List five examples of expressive of joy ( sorrow or disapproval) and arrange them along your own strengths continuum. Try to find the same example in your native language.
2. Make a list of situations that you think require a complaint, advice, and compliment. Role play is one of the events record it and compare how native speakers will carry out the same event. What are the similarities and differences between you and native speakers. You may use www.you tube.com
3. think about the examples of declaratives in both English and your native languages e.g. marriage vow compare the utterance are they the same?

LESSON 23 Spoken Discourse ( 1) Exchanges and moves

Activity 1. Read the extract and discuss with in your small groups identify the possible context. Can you give other variations of the text. Do you think that components of the text in other variations are more or less the same.
T = teacher, P = any pupil who speaks
T: Now then . . . I've got some things here, too. Hands up. What's that, what is it?
P: saw
T: It's a saw, yes this is a saw. What do we do with a saw?
P: Cut wood.
T: Yes. You're shouting out though. What do we do with a saw? Marvelette.
P: Cut wood.
T: We cut wood. And, erm, what do we do with a hacksaw, this hacksaw?
P: Cut trees.
T: Do we cut trees with this?
P: No. No.
T: Hands up. What do we do with this?
P: Cut wood.
T: Do we cut wood with this?
P: No.
T: What do we do with that then?
P: Cut wood.
T: We cut wood with that. What do we do with that?
P: Sir.
T: Cleveland.
P: Metal.
T: We cut metal. Yes we cut metal. And, er, I've got this here. What's that? Trevor.
P: An axe.
T: It's an axe yes. What do I cut with the axe?
P: Wood, wood.
T: Yes I cut wood with the axe. Right . . . Now then, I've got some more things here . . . (etc.)

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  The above given text is a part of larger discourse. (You probably discuss with teacher ‘lesson’). Teacher uses pauses and gives pupil signal of the beginning and end of this mini phase of the lesson by using the words now then and right and using the falling intonation. This type of discourse looks like a “frame”. It consists of questions (teachers) and answers (pupils). Most of the time it happens in the same way, such utterance calls FRAMING MOVE. Two framing move together with the question- answer sequence that falls between them, can be called TRANSACTION. Examples of transaction e.g. in a shop between shop keeper and customer. Actually this list of situation can be continued.
  
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  This classroom extract is very structured and formal, but transactions with framing moves of this kind are common in a number of other settings too: telephone calls are perhaps the most obvious, especially when we wish to close the call once the necessary business is done; a job interview is another situation where various phases of the interview are likely to be marked by the chairperson or main interviewer saying things like 'right', 'well now' or 'okay', rather in the way the teacher does.