By Rachel Glendenning Essays

By Rachel Glendenning Essays By Rachel Glendenning Essay By Rachel Glendenning Essay It was a calm night in the lonely moor surrounding moon fleet village. The water from the sea was lapping the shore, as the rounded moon shone gracefully upon the dunes. That the mild gusts of the summer wind blew unpleasantly around our toasty bodies causing them to feel colder with every blast of air combined with sun dried sand blown at us. Moon fleet was silent and still and visibly there were only two traces of light coming from the sleeping village, both of which came from candles, but in very different circumstances. One gave light to some of my fellow men and companions, as they walked silently up to the old Mohone vault within the graveyard. To prepare the storage vault for its new contents how ever small tonights collection was going to be, but was sure to keep us wealthy enough.But on the other hand, the second candle was called Maskews march. Grace Maskew placed the candle on her windowsill so that she could warn all boats that came to close, in bad weather and when the b lanket of darkness covered us, that land was near. The adrenalin pumped through my whole body filling it with fear and excitement. A strange buzz of which I cannot really describe fully, as our boat became adrift and the salty spray splashed off the bow of the boat up on to our anxious faces. We all jumped enthusiastically in to the boat causing it to rock violently and sink a little with all of the extra weight. David blocks face lit up as he grabbed an ore and lowered it in to the water on his fathers orders. He whispered earnestly of how he was so excited as it was his first time, just like a child losing a tooth for the first time.The order came from the head of the Ketch to start to row, so with every back breaking stoke we were pulled a little closer to the mother ship, as I called it, to collect her gear. The ores rotated very shallowly at first, and then with each stroke became deeper and deeper as the boat left the shore and travelled in to the ocean. A splash, my heart pou nded, it was louder than the splash of an ore. I scanned the shoreline, yet I could not see anything, I couldnt picture what else could make such a noise except hefty sized boat entering the shallow water of the embankment behind a small hill, not visible to sight from such an angle that we were.We all sat as though all of our bodies were paralysed, not been able to move a muscle through fear. We were in the middle, caught half way between the shore and the gigantic ship of which we gained our fortune. All was silent as tiny slits scanned the shoreline from end to end, like looking at a beaming smile that stretched from ear to ear. I couldnt see anything, but my mind was going mad. I could not see a boat in the water, but my head felt like it was going crazy, what would happen to my daughter and wife if I were to be caught.I would be hanged, why do I deal in such a filthy business. Elzevier spoke wisely, you should be afraid of what you cannot see, but if you cannot see anything why are you afraid. This puzzle fused our imagination, the puzzle of which one could not figure yet use to re-build our confidence. So we could take several more splashes of the ores beating the water so that the mother ship was along side us.These ores were lifted, as the bow was tied to the port bow of the ship, so that the ores could be rapped against the side of the ship alerting the foreigners that we were waiting. Seconds passed, before the foreigners faces appeared over the top of the ship. They tried to communicate with us, though no one could understand them. We all smiled innocently, and David Blocks face went white, though I could not tell whether it was because he felt ill, or ill with excitement or just because the light from the moon shone upon his pasty face, with skin of his mother, causing it to look white.The foreigners passed the goods down as we grabbed them and loaded them in to the Ketch, making sure that we were not to sink the boat. Barrels of ale, boxes of toba cco and fine silks of which any man could only wish to give to his wife or close female friend were loaded on to our boat. Which felt a lot heavier and it felt as though water would start spilling over the top at any moment, but it did not. So with a final farewell and friendly handshake with the captain,Elzevier and us gave a solemn wave good-bye to the men of the great cargo ship as we again pushed away from the great floating structure. We thought that it would be a quick journey to shore, but the time it took, seemed like an eternity. No one could have felt prouder that night than Elzevier Block, his sons eyes sparkling in the moon light, his brown hair shining like gold in the moon light and his wide noticeable smile soon to be shattered under the same moon light.We all quietened down as we started to approach the long stretch of coastline, so that not a sound could be heard apart from the soft stroke of the rotating ores.Abruptly I heard some one call out , what is that coming towards us, it is so close and look at the speed it is approaching us!Its certainly not one of ours, Block added.We rose to our feet panic stricken and dumbfounded. Mens faces could be seen as clear as if it was day, their little beady eyes looking straight at us and the gleam of their swards glinting in the moonlight. They were approaching at a tremendous speed, so fast, getting so close.Maskew, whispered Elzevier Block, with no feeling and no surprise within the tone of his voice.Get down David, dont stay on the boat, a conflict is about to take place, and you should not be a part of it. He said, with a lot more feeling, strength and power within his tone.The revenue boat drew closer, and swards were drawn on both parties. Once again I felt anxious, once again, I was fighting for my life. David listen to your father, he speaks wise words and he is a man to be taken notice of! I quickly spurted out, before our boat was swamped with unwanted folks. The ketch sunk lower with every p erson that jumped aboard. Soon water was to be spilling over the top. It was really every man for him self, yet every man believed to protect young David. Maybe Maskew wanted Block to come to him, but from the corner of my eye I saw Maskew walk to the front of his boat, kiss his fingers and place them on the title name of his ship, the elector schooner. Hatred in his eyes and a sward in his other hand, his long coat draping over the bow of the boat and long drawn out face and scrawny hair facing towards the very strong, menacing looking Elzevier. The glance of a sward caught my tearful eye, as I turned and sliced one if the oppositions through the thorax area.Blood trickled down the blade of my sward, and so fell down my upper arm area, as a blade caught the top part of my arm. I turned to see little David crouched in the top of the boat covered in a range of different blood stained silks, eyes fixed on his father and Maskew. Of whom I turned to see was walking slowly and sturdily t owards Maskew. The sound of clanging steel and raised voices echoed around as lights from Moon fleet village began to appear because of the disturbance. I flung my sward at a person approaching me at high speed, without taking my eyes off the two men now aboard the elector schooner. I had been using swards since a very young age and so was surprisingly good at using them, for play or battle; its all the same to me.Water started to come up to my ankles; David rose to his feet so that he could try to escape the blood died water. I again looked at Elzevier who was in a major hand-to-hand battle with Maskew. He was younger than Elzevier, yet more skilled at hand-to-hand combat. With a flick of his wrist Maskew flung Elzeviers sward through the air. It landed right in front of young Davids feet who then saw his father tripped to the ground, with a blade held to his heart. I can get you right through here, when I want to, I heard Maskew say. Elzeviers eyes towards the sky full of fear and still looking hopeful,You can kill me now, but never pierce my stone heart. Elzevier said looking Maskew in the eyes, you will never get me where it really hurts.He then looked toward his son whose tears fell in to the water as his father whispered the three words every human on the planet could only whisper to a loved one just before being put to death. Before I saw the sward raised up in to the air, David gave a learch towards the boat weaving between fighting men, I ran after him, as the ketch started to raise its stern in to the air. Maskew dropped his sward as David tried to clamber aboard the ship.Block screamed NO DAVID!But it got to him to late. Maskew had pulled back his coat to reveal a silver butted revolver. He pointed it at David as the youngster gathered speed coming towards him. Elzevier tried to get to his feet, but was to slow. I reached out to David to catch him but I was too late, the almighty bang had already occurred and the bullet travelled towards David who w as powerless towards it. It all happened so fast; the bullet had pierced young Davids heart and as he fell in to the water, I felt a sharp pain in my side. I looked down, to see gouts of blood coming from the lower part of my abdomen. The very same bullet that passed straight through the young boy also passed straight through me. The last sights I saw from the ketch was the strong powerful Maskew looking down at David with the sternest and most pleased of looks on his face and pistol still in the same position of what it was when the shot was fired. And Elzevier Block diving in to the water to grab his son for hope he was still alive.I knew I could get you right where it hurt, and from your eyes I can see I have succeeded. Said Maskew. As I fell in to the salty water, and the boat disappeared under the sea with all the goods causing me to be dragged under. With only enough energy for me to kick my way back to the surface and cling on to a piece of drift wood, to fall unconscious bec ause of the suffering and pain my side was giving me. I drifted unconsciously to the shore where I was found a day later, half dead, drained of blood and suffering from sever hypothermia.

Philosphical Approaches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosphical Approaches - Essay Example It is very important to leave out bias, prejudice, personal factors, and opinions from ethical decision making in such cases (Guy, 1990). Ethical decision making requires a good sense of morals and a neutral viewpoint. While it is very difficult for a person to remain neutral in several situations, an ethical decision maker or a judge has to keep his/her mind clear of preconceived notions. An ethical dilemma may arise when a decision has to be made on moralistic grounds between two opposing situations. While both parties may be right in their own regard, it is up to the decision maker to reach a fair, unbiased, altruistic conclusion (Trevino, 1986). Several tools are available to decision makers to derive their decision such as references, proof, investigations, objective opinions of others, etc. However, the method to be chosen is reliant upon the decision maker’s preference and his/her comfort level with the chosen method (Robert, 2007). In regard to ethical decision making, there are three philosophical approached to guide the behavior of the decision maker. The first approach is the intuitionist approach. This approach relies on intuition alone and is basically reliant upon the decision maker’s own sense of morals and standards of ethical behavior. The decision maker alone is responsible for deciding what is right and wrong according to his/ her judgment and intuition. This is the most subjective approach amongst the three as the basis of an ethical decision relies upon whether the decision maker himself feels that he has made an ethical and moralistic judgment. This may also be criticized as being an unethica l approach to decision making as everyone’s norms and sense of morality may differ. However, this approach is used and is considered to be one of the most phenomenal approaches to ethical decision making (Guy, 1990). The next is the deontological

Language Policy or Practice in Education of Everyday Life Essay

Language Policy or Practice in Education of Everyday Life - Essay Example This paper approves hardly anyone disputes that sign language is a useful skill but the arguments laid out above prove that it must become more than just a skill. It needs to become a part of one’s way of living. Learning the sign language widens children’s social circle. They are given the ability to communicate even with those that are deaf and hard of hearing. This means can have more friends, learn from more people, and stimulate the exchange of knowledge more. It is also when the development of an intimate level of familiarity that the true empathy towards the deaf come. The deaf and the mute have been looked at as an inferior member of the community for so long simply because not all their senses are working. It is time for people to realize that just because they don’t have all the senses doesn’t mean they are less capable. However, that realization will only come if they are able to communicate with them directly. This paper makes a conclusion It is also interesting to know that learning sign language can make students smarter because the language stimulates alternative learning styles. Reports about learning new skills and improved academic performance prove that sign language is a legitimate teaching or learning tool. The government and schools will, of course, incur expenses as it revises the curriculum and hire teachers that can teach sing language among young students. However, the benefits mentioned above make it a worthwhile effort. More importantly, integrating the sign language in the primary level could well be the most significant move that the government will make in its effort to stop the discrimination against disabled people, specifically the deaf and mute... Learning another language will include an opportunity to learn about the culture of the community where the language originated from. The understanding of culture will allow the students to look beyond the perceived handicap in this case. Given that most of their values are formed during their primary years, children will learn the value of looking every human being and not be subjected to the same prejudice that majority of the adult population holds. This will automatically come with the benefit is allowing the children the capacity to communicate with greater number of people that will also widen their opportunity to learn from more people and exchange knowledge and experiences. There are a lot of achievers in the field of science and technology and arts that are deaf and mute (Karchmer & Mitchell 2003). Learning their language will give young students an opportunity to learn from these people. It is also proven that learning sign language stimulates three extra areas of learning, visual, spatial, and tactile. Psychological, Sociological and even Physiological studies have attested to the value of learning how to read body language and learn communication beyond the verbal way. It increases the child’s intellectual quotient and emotional quotient (Armstrong, 1994). According to their study, there are areas of learning that are often overlooked. This generally wastes a lot of potentials. Tapping these areas of learning will allow students to tap into other areas if they are unable to understand a lesson with one. They will also be able to use one area to support another or increase their understanding of a concept because they are able to understand lessons from different perspectives. Opening more areas of learning will allow

When Things Fall Apart by Chodrun from chapter 1 to 18 Essay

When Things Fall Apart by Chodrun from chapter 1 to 18 - Essay Example Difficulties of life like aging, illness, getting what they do not want and many more are facts. The Buddha also faces these challenges. The teaching goes on stating that what causes unhappiness is when someone wants to avoid the facts of life and try to find happiness (Von Rosenberg 15). Turning upside down enables individuals to think upside down.Pema Chodrun states that suffering has a great role to play in our lives. Suffering will motivate people to look for answers to the problems us facing. Through suffering people, learn to have the feeling of empathy for other people facing the same problem. Through right thinking, we create the feeling of compassion for ourselves. We are compassionate on every part of ourselves that are unwanted. Compassion will create a room of relief and joy in us. It is a fundamental thing for everyone to feel happiness and in any case, when we start feeling unhappy, depressed we think that we lost something or we made a mistake (Von Rosenberg 19). When we incorporate the right thinking, we will appreciate suffering and view pain as a transformation to have the right thinking. When someone faces pain, we always look for happiness and satisfaction rather than having the right thinking and honor the quality of precisely what is happening in your life. It makes people run away from discomfort facing them. The situation makes them disappointed and unhappy Thus, Pema Chodrun urges one to have the right thinking and view situations like this as trying to develop our inner strengths (Von Rosenberg 21). What is more important is considering the inner strength as something that is only available when we are facing discomfort. When certain situation threatens us, we need to view first how we found ourselves at the discomfort. Inner strength will help find why we are in the situation. Pema Chodrun urges that we should accept

Speech Act Theory

Speech Act Theory Introduction Speech act theory is a technical term in linguistics and the philosophy of language. The contemporary use of the term goes back to J. L. Austins doctrine of locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts. It is developed by the great philosopher J.L Austin in the 1930s and set forth in a series of lectures, which he gave at Harvard in1955. These were subsequently developed in 1962 as How to Do Things With Words. He founded the modern study of speech acts. The approach has been greatly developed since by the philosopher J.R.Searle (Austins pupil). The central insight of the speech act theory which is attributed to Austin, Searle and other philosophers is that speech is action and language is used to perform things not only to describe a state of affairs. Moreover, Austin pointed out that many utterances do not communicate information, but are equivalent to actions. When someone says, I apologize. , I promise , or I name this ship. the utterance immediately conveys a new psychological or social reality. Many scholars identify speech acts with illocutionary acts, rather than locutionary or perlocutionary acts. As with the notion of illocutionary acts, there are different opinions on the nature of speech acts. The extension of speech acts is commonly taken to include such acts as promising, ordering, greeting, warning, inviting someone and congratulating. Definition of speech act with elaboration A speech act is an act that a speaker performs when making an utterance. To Jennifer Spenader, speech act theory is: A theory where the effect of an utterance is analyzed in relationship  to the speaker and listeners behaviour. Speech act theory can also help us examine utterances from  the perspective of their function, rather than their form. Austin pointed out that when people use language, they are performing a kind of action. He called these actions speech acts. Traditionally, philosophers have distinguished between actions and speaking on the basis that speaking about something is quite dissimilar from doing it. Austin challenged this by demonstrating that utterances can be regarded as events in a similar way to other actions. The below lists are samples of speech acts which Austin reckoned that this sort of list could be extended further. Statement I live in Edinburg for five years Order Pay this bill immediately Question Where are you from? Prohibition No right turn Greeting Hello Invitation Help yourself Felicitation Happy new year (grudging) apology I hereby apologize as required by the magistrate (Griffiths, 2006:148) We can say that each utterance on the right is based on single sentence and the sentence is the level of language. Here, the language is used to accomplish actions as Austin stated. The above sentences are not used just to say things, that is to say describe states of affairs, but rather actively to do things. Further, one cannot assess such utterances as true or false. Moreover, most speech acts are not so official but they rely on the speaker using an utterance to signal his/her intension to achieve some action and the hearer inferring that action from the utterance. One can say that speech act cannot only be done in speaking but also in writing. The clue is the example number (7) in which it would be equally appropriate printed in a card or spoken. As a matter of fact, there are purposes behind any utterance. Consider these examples A-Somebody has broken my leg. In the above sentence, the following purpose appears The first one is to describe things which are not the basic purpose and the second purpose is to complain which is the basic purpose as it doesnt describe things. B-I love you. The purpose here is to please or to assure somebody. C-Watch out, the gun is loaded. The purpose is to warn someone. D-She is a fool. The purpose is to insult or to ease. Thus, the gist idea of speech act theory is to do acts (things) and not simply to describe because description is not the important function of language. Dichotomies (constative and performative) Many writers, in their books, define the dichotomy constative (descriptive) and performative clearly. Riemer in his books Introducing Semantics that an utterance is constative if it describes or states facts about a situation. Whereas performative is one which does not describe or state any facts, but which itself constitutes the performing of an action. The following pair of examples serve the above point A-I promise to visit tomorrow. B-She promised to visit tomorrow. In the first example, you promise to visit but if you dont visit it, the person you said it can complain that you broke your promise. Sentences which perform actions are known as performatives while other sentences are called constatives. Although constatives perform actions. The example (b) serves this point which performs the action of reporting her promise. Thus, the difference between the two (constatives and performatives) may not be as significant as the idea that all sentences can be used to perform actions of various sorts. Broadly speaking, all utterances are performative in the sense of constituting a form of action rather than a matter of saying something about the world. Ultimately, a single utterance can have both aspects constatives and performative elements; they are all sayings and doings simultaneously. Typical examples of performative verbs are ask, beg, beseech, command, congratulate, deny, deplore, declare, implore and warn. Only certain forms of the verb count as performing the speech act, mainly first person simple present active and third person present passive. Furthermore, a performative verb in a performative use can typically be accompanied by hereby. See the following A-I hereby declare the bridge open. B-I hereby command you to surrender. While in the below instances using hereby is not possible with non-performative verbs speaking. A-I hereby persuade you to accompany me. B-I hereby tell the truth. As we said earlier, the performative use of performative verbs is extremely restricted grammatically. They must be first person simple present active and third person present passive. Consider, first, active uses I hereby promise to pay you next week. Not: I herby promised you pay him the following week. Similar contrasts are possible with passive uses Passengers are hereby requested not to smoke. Not: Passengers were hereby requested not to smoke. You are hereby warned to leave immediately. Not: They will be hereby warned to leave immediately. Characteristics of Performative verbs The sense of the verb is always present. The subject is always first person (singular,plural) Since performative verbs are not descriptions but actions they are not subject to truth-value. In performative sentences the illocutionary act is explicit. Performative verbs like (affirm, allege, assert, forecast, predict, announce, insist, order, state, name, declare, bet, agree). For testing whether a verb is performative we can insert the word (hereby). The book entitled semantics and pragmatics by Dr. Misbah Mahmood gives extra examples about the distinguishing between performatives and constatives. Performatives Constatives I promise I will be there. I will be there. I warn you, the gun is loaded. The gun is loaded. I thank you. I am very grateful. I order you to read. You must read. I request you to send me the book. Send me the book. I apologize. I am sorry. Are Performatives truth-evaluable? Verschueren, in his book, entitled Understanding Pragmatics states that Austin drew a distinction between constative and performative utterances. In this dichotomy, constatives are utterances in which something is said which can be evaluated along a dimension of truth. Performatives, on the other hand, are utterances in which something is done which cannot be said to be true or false but which can be evaluated along a dimension of felicity. According to Austins account, it is an essential characteristic of performative utterances that they are neither true nor false, that is, not truth-evaluable, instead when something is wrong with them then they are felicitous (happy) or infelicitous (unhappy). The uttering of a performative is the doing of a certain kind of action , the performance would not normally be described as just saying or describing something. For example, when Tom says I promise to do the dishes in an appropriate context he does not just describe what he is doing; rather, in making the utterance he performs the promise; since promising is an illocutionary act, the utterance is thus a performative utterance. If Tom utters the sentence without the intention to keep the promise, the sentence is not false: it is rather unhappy, or infelicitous. In the absence of any such flaw, on the other hand, the utterance is to be assessed as happy or felicitous, rather than as true. What Leech states is that Constative utterances could be evaluated in traditional terms of truth and falsehood, performatives were neither true nor false: instead they were to be regarded as felicitous or non felicitous. (Leech,1983:176) By felicity and infelicity, as Yule points out, they can only be as appropriate that is the performance of a speech act to be recognized as intended or inappropriate that is if the speaker is not a specific person in a special context. Briefly, felicity and infelicity are not subject to truth-value. A sentence like I pronounce you man and wife, the performance, here, will be infelicitous on condition that the speaker is not properly qualified. Regarding felicity condition (happiness condition), it can be grouped under three headings: preparatory conditions, sincerity conditions, and essential conditions. Types of Felicity Conditions There are normally conditions which must be fulfilled before a speech act can be said to have been properly performed. These are usually called felicity conditions or happiness conditions. 1-Preparatory Conditions The preparatory conditions for a promise and warning are unlike. When I promise to do something, two conditions appear: first, the event will not occur by itself, and second, the event will have a beneficial effect. But when I utter a warning, it is not clear that the hearer knows the event will happen whilst the speaker does think the event will occur, and the event will not have a beneficial effect. 2-Sincerity Conditions They require the speaker to be sincere. When one promises to do something must genuinely intend to do it; someone congratulating somebody else must feel pleasure at that persons good luck. 3-Essential Conditions By the act of uttering a promise, an obligation created to carry out the action as promised. In other words, the utterance changes my state from non-obligation to obligation. When speaker A warns speaker B, speaker A changes his state from non-informing of a bad future event to informing. Aspects of Speech Acts Austin found great difficulty in drawing a completely clear distinction between performatives and constatives; he came to the conclusion that to state something is to perform an illocutionary act, which renders all constatives as performatives; Austin proposed that in uttering a sentence speaker is involved in three different acts. In other words, he isolates three basic senses in which in saying something one is doing something, and thus, three kinds of acts that are simultaneously performed. 1-Locutionary act. Lots of writers define locutionary act. One of them is Levinson in the book Pragmatics. Locutionary act is the utterance of a sentence with determinate sense and reference. (Levinson,1983:236) Another definition is by Finch. It refers simply to the act of saying something that makes sense in the language; in other words, that follows the grammatical rules of language. (Finch,2000:180) The last definition said by Cruse, in his book, Meaning in Language in which Austin explained as follows: the utterance of certain noises.. certain words in a certain construction, and the utterance of them with a certain sense and a certain reference. (Cruse,2000:331) From the above definition, we conclude that locutionary act is related to the inherent meaning of the lexical item and it is the province of semantics. It is the act of expressing the basic, literal meanings of the words chosen. Besides, performing the act of saying something that makes sense in the language; in other words, that follows the grammatical rules of language. For more elaboration, see the below instances For example, Tom is outside the room. In this sentence both words (Tom and the room) have meaning and we should know what the words (Tom and the room) refer to. In uttering the words, You will get your hands blown off, a speaker performs the locutionary act of stating that the hearer will get his hands blown off. Suppose speaker A says to hearer B There is a bear sneaking up behind you! (Fasold,2006:162) Speaker A utters the word there and refers to the addressee with the word you. 2-Illocutionary act Cruse, in his book, entitled A Glossry of Semantics and Pragmatics defined that illocutionary act is an act performed by a speaker in saying something (with an appropriate intention and in an appropriate context), rather than by virtue of having produced a particular effect by saying something (Cruse,2006:167) According to Finch illocutionary act is one which is performed through the medium of language: stating, warning, wishing, promising and so on. Context can be seen in the definition and this leads to remind us the province of pragmatics. If we come to talk about intention, which is also found in defining illocution, we can regard that the intention is to inform, complain, thank, apologize, threaten, etc. Consider the below instances Father: I will turn out your light. Here, the intention of father is to threaten her son. It is duty of pragmatics since the idea of threatening doesnt relate to meaning but the context. In the sentence like, There is a lion behind you, suppose that A is a speaker and B is a hearer. At the illocutionary level, A asserts a fact (that there is a lion behind B) and warns B that he/she is in danger. The speaker has the illocutionary force of warning. In short, context in which the sentence is uttered is crucial in interpreting the illocutionary force of a speech act. If someone says: I order you to leave now, the intention is ordering by virtue of having uttered the words, whether or not the addressee acts in the desired way. 3-Prelocutionary act Concerning prelocutionary Levinson states the bringing about of effects on the audience by means of uttering the sentence, such effects being special to the circumstances of utterance. While Fasold points that prelocutionary is an action which goes beyond communication such as annoying, frightening, or tricking. The contrasts between illocutionary and prelocutionary lies by lists of verbs Illocutionary: report, request, suggest, announce, predict, order, propose, reprimand, promise, thank, express, congratulate, admit, ask Prelocutionary: persuade, deceive, encourage, irritate, frighten, amuse, inspire, distract, impress, encourage embarrass. Briefly, prelocutionary is the act of producing an effect in the hearer by means of the utterance. It is outside the province of semantics and pragmatics, because it involves many other aspects of the situations. It is not always intended by speaker, is not under his control, and is not evident until after the utterance is made. The speaker tries to carry out a prelocutionary act for example to shock, to amuse, and to annoy somebody. The following examples serve the above point A-You will get your hands blown off. The above sentence might be to prevent the hearer from playing with a lighter and a stick of dynamite, to frighten the hearer. B-John is inside the hall. The prelocutionary act for the above sentence is perhaps to disappoint, shock or annoy. To explicate more about the three types of speech acts, we take instances to apply the three acts. A-There is a wasp in your left ear. The first act: we know speaker and listener. (reference) The second act: the intention is the act of warning. The third act: The hearer is panic (afraid). The hearer may scream and scratch his ears. Panic is not intended but the speaker tries to make the hearer panic. B-Someone says Good night late at night in forest. The first act: speaker and listener. (reference) The second act: leave-taking, there is greeting purpose behind saying good bye. The third act: to horrify or to frighten. C-Father: I will turn out your light. The first act: I refers to father, your refers to sons light, having meaning and reference. The second act: to intend the act of threatening The third act: to frighten the son to sleep. The father tries to frighten his son. It is not under the control of the speaker and it may not be intended of the speaker that he wants to frighten his son. Types of Illocutionary Acts Implicit and explicit illocutionary force Implicit performatives are those which dont have performative verbs. For example when one says I will turn off your light, it is implicit since there is no performative verb and besides, the force doesnt relate to the meaning of the words. Another example Be aware of the dog means that I warn you to beware of the dog. Whereas explicit performatives are those which have performative verbs, that is, a verb which names the action being performed. For example when I say I warn you that.., it is explicit as I am not describing or stating the existence of any independent fact; I am, instead performing an act (act of warning). Speech Act Classifications Searle (1976) has set up the following classification of illocutionary speech acts that one can perform in speaking. David Crystal in his book, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, sheds light on five basic types. 1-Representatives: the speaker is committed, in varying degrees, to the truth of proposition. For instance, affirm, believe, conclude, deny, and report. The following examples illustrate the point. A-The earth is flat. B-Chomsky didnt write about peanuts. C-It was a warm sunny day. In all the above instances, the speaker represents the world as he/she believes it is. 2-Directives: the speaker tries to get the hearer to do something. For example request, challenge, insist, command, advise, and suggest. A-Could you open the door, please? B-I suggest you take a taxi. C-Dont go too far. The above-mentioned examples illustrate that the speaker tries to make the world fit the words through the hearer. 3-Commissives: the speaker is committed, in varying degrees, to a certain course of action. For example, promise, oath, refuse, pledge, threat, guarantee, vow, and swear. The instances, which shown below, point out that the speaker undertakes to make the world adapt the words through the speaker. A-I will be back. B-We will not do that. 4-Expressives: the speaker expresses an attitude about a state of affairs. For instance, congratulate, excuse, thanking, deplore, apologize, welcome, and thank. A-Congratulations! B-I am really sorry. The sentences indicate the speaker makes words fit the world of feeling. 5-Declaratives: the speaker alters the external status or condition of an object or situation solely by making the utterance. For example, resign, sack, appoint, name, christen, sentence (in court), bid (at auction), declaring war, pronouncing someone husband and wife. The below instances clarifies more about what we said. A-Priest: I now pronounce you husband and wife. B-Referee: You are out. One can say that the speaker changes the world via words. Direct and Indirect Speech Acts It is obvious that we have three structural forms (declarative, interrogative, imperative) and the three general communicative functions (statement, question, command/order) respectively. The table below clarifies more about what we pointed out. Whenever there is a direct relationship between a structure and a function, we have a direct speech act. Furthermore, there is a match between sentence meaning and speaker meaning, that is to say, the form of the utterance coincides with what a speaker is intending to convey. But in case of having indirect relationship between the two which mentioned before we have indirect speech act. Therefore, when a declarative used to make a statement it is functioning as a direct speech act, but when it used to make a request it is functioning as an indirect speech act. Consider the following instances A-It is hot. B-I hereby tell you about weather. C-I hereby request of you that you open the door. It is clear that the sentence A is a declarative, the sentence B used as statement so, it is direct speech act but the last sentence C used as command therefore; it is indirect speech act. A speech act can be indirect where one illocutionary act is performed by another. Well-known examples are requests which are superficially question. We expect actions rather than answer. A-Can you pass the sault? B-Would you mind if I opened the door? So, the above mentioned sentences superficially are interrogative and they are direct speech act but if we look at them deeply they become request and in this case they are indirect speech act. It is quite true to say that different structures used to attain the same function. The examples below show that the speaker wants the addressee not to stand in front of the TV. A-Move out of the way! B-Do you have to stand in front of the TV? C-You are standing in front of the TV. D-Youd make a better door than a window. The basic function of all the utterances is a command. The first instance is direct speech act because its structure is imperative. Whilst the rest of the sentences are indirect speech acts because the interrogative structure is not used only as question and also the declarative structures are not used only as statement. Conclusion Needless to say, that conclusion shows the product of any turn paper, research and etc. In this turn paper, a formal account of speech acts provided. Throughout reading it, I infer that we can extend what a speaker means by his/her words. Thus, utterances are not uniquely used to describe states of affairs but rather they convey speakers intention to the addressee. Speech act comprises the notion of speaker meaning since through it the intentions of the speaker can be felt or found it. Also, I conclude that speech act is one of the helpful factors for decoding those words that uttered by a speaker. It is obvious that there is communication in speech act between speaker and hearer and this communication conveys not only linguistic meanings but also expressing attitudes, and understanding is a matter of recognizing the attitudes being expressed. Another conclusion which is not to be forgotten is that if a sentence is interrogative, the same sentence could be regarded as request if we look at it deeply. The sentence Could you sign the papers, please? is our evidence. So, this case only occurred in speech act, one is direct and the other is indirect and the sentence has two functions question and request.

Television Violence :: essays research papers

Television Violence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Violence in television, is it turning our children into violent, destructive, and hateful toddlers. Yes or no? In today's society television plays such a big role in our everyday lives that it is hard to see if it effects our children's behavior. Television has the potential of being a very constructive learning tool, if used correctly. On the other hand if used in a destructive manner it could, hypothetically, turn our children and future leaders of tomorrow into deadly hate mongers. I believe that television does effect the way people think and behave.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a survey given in 1978 at an unnamed college in Washington D.C., when asked if what was seen on T.V. effected the way they acted ,2% thought it did , 7% didn't know and ,91% didn't think it effected them at all(2). In 1993 a similar survey was given in London by the Broadcasting Standard Council( BSC ). When people were asked if they thought T.V. effected the way people behaved 41% said yes, 4% left without finishing the survey, and 55% said that they didn't think it effected the way people acted(14).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As seen in the survey the problem of television violence is being made more aware to the people of the world. The problem has also grown over the years to a more serious dilemma making the government start to try and solve the problem by initiating laws in which television stations must limit violence on T.V.(6). It is still not enough though the problem must be taken care of promptly before it changes society as a whole. If the problem is not taken care of swiftly then it could effect the future of the world by having violence rampage the streets of our towns.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the past when television was first invented it was a much happier time. people could walk on our streets without having to care if they were going to make it home alive. I'm not trying to say that television is the reason that society today is so dangerously violent, but as violence on television evolved so did the violence on our streets. In the past there were not as many violent T.V. shows if there were even any. Also T.V. was more of a family recreation, most families could only afford one T.V. set so when children watched T.V. they were supervised by their family making violence almost an impossible thing to see if parents were not interested. Today, there are an average of three televisions per household so it is harder for parents to make Television Violence :: essays research papers Television Violence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Violence in television, is it turning our children into violent, destructive, and hateful toddlers. Yes or no? In today's society television plays such a big role in our everyday lives that it is hard to see if it effects our children's behavior. Television has the potential of being a very constructive learning tool, if used correctly. On the other hand if used in a destructive manner it could, hypothetically, turn our children and future leaders of tomorrow into deadly hate mongers. I believe that television does effect the way people think and behave.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a survey given in 1978 at an unnamed college in Washington D.C., when asked if what was seen on T.V. effected the way they acted ,2% thought it did , 7% didn't know and ,91% didn't think it effected them at all(2). In 1993 a similar survey was given in London by the Broadcasting Standard Council( BSC ). When people were asked if they thought T.V. effected the way people behaved 41% said yes, 4% left without finishing the survey, and 55% said that they didn't think it effected the way people acted(14).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As seen in the survey the problem of television violence is being made more aware to the people of the world. The problem has also grown over the years to a more serious dilemma making the government start to try and solve the problem by initiating laws in which television stations must limit violence on T.V.(6). It is still not enough though the problem must be taken care of promptly before it changes society as a whole. If the problem is not taken care of swiftly then it could effect the future of the world by having violence rampage the streets of our towns.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the past when television was first invented it was a much happier time. people could walk on our streets without having to care if they were going to make it home alive. I'm not trying to say that television is the reason that society today is so dangerously violent, but as violence on television evolved so did the violence on our streets. In the past there were not as many violent T.V. shows if there were even any. Also T.V. was more of a family recreation, most families could only afford one T.V. set so when children watched T.V. they were supervised by their family making violence almost an impossible thing to see if parents were not interested. Today, there are an average of three televisions per household so it is harder for parents to make

Military vs. Civilian life Essay

5 A.M. and morning drill is blaring over troop’s heads. One more morning that doesn’t allow extra sleep. These are thoughts that are going through military member’s heads as they are herded down to chow like a bunch of cattle. They had a choice to become a respected member of the military community or fight for college and rent money out in the civilian world. Leading a â€Å"normal† life is a big decision. The option of military is thrown into senior’s heads pre graduation. This is the time to outweigh the pros and cons of such a life changing profession. When faced with the decision to go to college cost is always an issue. The options are limited on how it should be paid for. In general, civilian life offers more money. But there is a catch: more money must be spent to get educated. On the other hand, in the military college is completely paid for while on active duty. The college money doesn’t stop there. Upon getting out of the military, member’s get what’s called a GI bill. This is more money that is given every semester while in school, to further one’s education. The best part about the GI bill is that it does not have to be paid back. It is common knowledge that a degree is needed to get a well paying job, having the military pay for this is a great perk. Many things are either substantially cheaper or free in the military. Medical and dental care is an example of this. These bills can get outrageous for simple things as going in for a stomach ache. Military makes it a little easier on troops in that it provides most dental and medical services right on base. It is easy to make a phone call to a medical provider and be seen without having the stresses of cost and missing work. In the civilian world, if seeing a doctor is necessary during work hours, it is considered missed work and not paid for. Traveling the world at the military’s expense is a liberating experience. Most likely traveling to see several locations through deployment and temporary duty locations will happen. As a civilian paying for traveling expenses is a must, unless a job is found that pays for this. Vacation time is a major factor when traveling. Most civilian employers start an employee at 10-14 vacation days per year, with little increase until several years  have been devoted to the employer. If no vacation days have been acquired as a civilian then traveling is virtually impossible. However, in the military 30 days of vacation are guaranteed a year, those days are not counted against a member if they are sent to another air force base for work. Many times the military will send troops to a stateside base to attend some work issues. More often than not there is free time that allows the member to see the sights around where they were sent. So in a sense this is a â€Å"free† vacation. A normal thought that comes with joining the military is war, and all the above perks of the military are outweighed by the fear of dying. However, being faced with a life decision such as what to do after high school causes one to weigh the pros and cons of all their options. Joining the military or going to college and finding a job of that gives added perks, is based solely on what type of person he/she is and what one is looking for in life.