M. Iriskulov, A. Kuldashev a course in Theoretical English Grammar Tashkent 2008

speech act that forever alters an aspect of our reality.
Similarly, in the example in (2b), the utterance represents a command, which 
is also a type of speech act. Language provides a means of communication, 
allowing us to share our wishes and desires. Moreover, the way in which these 
wishes and desires are expressed signals who we are, and what kind of relationship 
we have with our addressee. We would be unlikely to issue a command like (2b) to 
the Queen of England, for example. 
Another way in which language fulfils the interactive function relates to the 
notion of expressivity. Language is ‘loaded’, allowing us to express our thoughts 
and feelings about the world; consider the different mental images evoked by the 
following expressions, which might be used by different speakers to refer to the 
same individual: 
(3) a. The eminent linguist 
b. The blonde bombshell 
While the example in (3a) focuses on the profession of the individual, and 
her relative standing in that profession, the example in (3b) focuses on her physical 
appearance. Moreover, although both these sentences relate to a female linguist, 
the person’s gender cannot be inferred from the sentence in (3a) while it can from 
the second sentence, due to normative patterns of linguistic behaviour and social 
stereoptypes. That is, we typically use the expression blonde bombshell to describe 
the physical attributes of women rather than men.
Language also plays a role in how we affect other people in the world, and 
how we make others feel by our choice of words. That is, language can provide 
information about affect (emotional response): 
(4) a. Shut up! 
b. I’m terribly sorry to interrupt you, but… 
These examples also illustrate the way in which we present our public selves 
through language. The language we choose to use conveys information about our 
attitudes concerning others, ourselves and the situations in which we find 
ourselves. 
Language can be used to create scenes, or frames of experience, indexing 
and even constructing a particular context (Fillmore 1982). In other words, 
language use can invoke frames that summon rich knowledge structures, which 
serve to call up and fill in background knowledge. 
(5) a How do you do? 
b. Once upon a time… 
The example in (5a) creates a greeting frame, signalling an 
acknowledgement of another person, and a recognition that this is the first time 
they have met. It also signals a degree of formality, which expressions like hey, 
what’s up?, or hi would not. Analogously, the utterance in (5b) signals the 
beginning of a fairytale. In other words, just by hearing or reading the expression 
in (5b) an entire frame is invoked, which guides how we should respond to what 
follows, what our expectations should be, and so forth. 

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In summary, we’ve seen that not only does language encode particular 
meanings, but also that, by virtue of these meanings and the forms employed to 
symbolise these meanings, which constitute part of shared knowledge in a