Course paper scientific supervisor: D. Yuldasheva tasdiqlayman

CHAPTER II. LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF SPEECH ACT TYPES
2.1 Usage of Direct and Indirect Speech Acts in the story “The Old Man and the Sea” (Ernest Hemingway)
Speech act is everything which we do at the time of conversing or set of verbal discussion (Austin, 1962: 94). Speech acts are not descriptive, instead they are pronounced to affect an actual situation. Speech acts usually do not refer to the past events. Speech act is the action performed by language to modify the state of the object on which the action performed. Speech act analysis can be applied in linguistics on the basis of literary works like poems, short stories, novels, movies and songs. The dialogues in the literature can be analyzed by speech act, because we know that the main point of speech acts is the utterance or conversation. From this reason this research tries to carry out some of speech acts analysis in a short story.
As it was mentioned above, Speech Acts can be classified into Direct Speech Act and Indirect Speech Act. Yule (1996) states that Direct Speech Acts will happen if there is direct relationship between the structure and the function of the utterance. Meanwhile, Indirect Speech Acts will happen if there is indirect relationship between the structure and the function of the utterance. For example, when someone says “it is cold outside”, the direct speech act of this utterance is to inform the hearer about the real conditions outside, but the indirect speech act of this utterance is to request or to give command to close the door, so the cold will not affect the speaker. When speaking every day, of course, people will use different ways to express what are on their minds. This phenomenon also occurs in literary works like short stories. One of the aims of this study is to investigate the types and functions of direct and indirect speech acts performed by main characters in the story “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway.
In the process of observing the story “The Old Man and the Sea” direct and indirect speech acts were identified and analyzed for their structure and function.
Direct Speech acts:
Stay with them.
If to analyze this utterance for its structure, from grammatical point of view, it is an imperative sentence in which the main verb is situated at the beginning of the sentence. Similarly, the function of the sentence is also imperative, which is uttered in an ordering or commanding tone. So the structure and the function of the utterance coincide and perform direct speech act.
How old was I when you first took me in a boat?”
The structure of this sentence is interrogative and it is regarded as a special question type grammatically. Similarly, the function of the utterance is to ask a question related to the past of the speaker and the listener. Therefore, this utterance is also considered to be direct speech act.
May I get the sardines?
From grammatical perspective, the structure of the sentence is interrogative. It is a general question type and it starts with the modal verb ‘may’, which is peculiar to this type of question. If to deal with the function of the utterance, it is also interrogative that aims to ask permission from the hearer to get the sardines. So the structure and the function of the utterance coincide and perform direct speech act.
I want to be out before it is light.
Structurally, this statement is considered to be a declarative one, as it follows the rules of Subject + Verb structure of affirmative sentence. And functionally the utterance declares the speaker’s intention about being out before it is light. Accordingly, we can see a direct relation between the structure and the function of the utterance.
What do you have to eat?
The structure of the sentence is interrogative. It is a special question type that commences with the ‘wh” question word. If to deal with the function of the utterance it, it is also aimed to ask for something to eat. So both structure and function of the utterance are the same. It is direct speech act.
Wake up, old man.
According to the structure, it is an imperative sentence. It starts with a phrasal verb ‘wake up’ and it is followed by the addressee ‘old man’, to whom the addresser is speaking. The function of the utterance is also imperative, as the speaker is commanding, ordering or asking the old man to wake up. So the structure and the function of the sentence are related and perform direct speech act.
I am still an old man. But I am not unarmed.
According to the structure, both sentences are declarative. Although one of them is affirmative and the other is negative, structurally, both of them follow the sequence of declarative sentences. If to comment on the function of these sentences, they are uttered with the purpose of declaring the self-condition of the speaker.
I killed him in self-defense.
The structure of the sentence is declarative. Grammatically, it is a sentence in past simple tense, which indicates the speaker’s action in the past. The function of the utterance is declarative too, as the speaker is declaring or announcing his action performed in the past. Thus, both structure and function coincide and this is peculiar to direct speech act.
I’ll fight them until I die.
If to deal with the structure of the sentence, it is a declarative one, which indicates the speaker’s future action. The function of the utterance is also declarative, as the speaker is announcing that a particular action will be done by him in the future. Due to the fact that both structure and function are aimed to declare, this utterance is considered to be direct speech act.
What are birds coming to?
The structure of the sentence is interrogative, as this is a special question type, which starts with ‘wh’ question word. And the function of the utterance is also interrogative, because the speaker is asking a question in order to know about something, which is unknown or unclear to him /her. So both structure and function are related to perform direct speech act.
Indirect Speech acts:
You must keep your head clear.
If to deal with the structure of the sentence, it is declarative, as we can see Subject + Verb structure in the sentence, which is peculiar to declaratives. However, the function of the utterance is quite different. The speaker is uttering this piece in a commanding tone and requiring the hearer to do a particular kind of job. So we can say that the function is imperative. So the structure and the function are not related and, therefore, it is regarded as indirect speech act.
But you have not slept yet, old man.
The sentence structure is declarative, as this is a negative sentence in present perfect tense. However, the function of the utterance is imperative. The speaker is pronouncing this piece with exclamation like ‘Go to sleep! You are tired!’ The usage of the words ‘but’, ‘yet’ and addressing to the hearer (old man) increases the imperativeness of the utterance. So this an indirect speech act, whose structure and function do not coincide.
You’re my alarm clock.
Structurally, this sentence is declarative. The sentence is affirmative and in present simple tense, though the function of the utterance is quite different. Here the speaker aims to remind the hearer to wake him/her up in the morning. This sentence sounds like ‘Wake me up!’, so the function of this utterance is imperative and it is indirect speech act.
But there was a moment when I could not find you.
The structure of this sentence is declarative. It is a complex sentence in past simple tense. But if to deal with its function, we cannot say that it is declarative. Any hearer who hears this utterance might commence to explain where he/she was at that very moment. It means this utterance has an interrogative function of the question “Where were you at that time?” As a result, this statement is considered to be indirect speech act.
Why am I so thoughtless?
As we see the structure of the sentence is interrogative. It is a special question type. However, usually this question does not require an answer due to the fact that it is aimed to declare about the speaker’s self-condition. Here the addresser is claiming that he/she is thoughtless because his/her previous action was wrong. So the function of the utterance is declarative and it is indirect speech act.
We’re going to have supper!
This statement is structurally a declarative sentence. It is an affirmative sentence, which indicates the addresser and the addressees’ future action. If to deal with the function of this utterance, it can be concluded from the exclamation mark at the end of the sentence that the speaker is calling the hearer(s) to come around the table. It sounds like ordering or requiring the hearer to approach and have supper. So the function is imperative and the utterance can be regarded as indirect speech act.
Now let me get through the eating of this dolphin and get some rest and a little sleep.
Structurally, the sentence is imperative. It starts with the verb ‘let’ and the subject ‘you’ in the sentence is hidden as it occurs in all imperative sentences. However, the function of the utterance is asking permission and it sounds like “Can I get through the eating of this dolphin and get some rest and a little sleep?” So it can be concluded that through uttering this piece the speaker is asking permission from the hearer to do some kinds of activities in the future. Consequently, this sentence is listed as indirect speech act.