Research Paper on 3 Purposes of Utterance: Thematic, Speech Act, Propositional

Introduction

When individuals talk, the purposes are categorized into three distinct parts of utterance, which include the thematic structure, the speech act, and the propositional content. Speaking is something cooperative, and for the productive conversation to occur, the person who is supposed to give out a talk has to pay more attention to the level of understanding of their listeners, their state of mind, and knowledge. The speaker can as well generate an assumption that listeners do not know or know what the speaker is trying to talk about. Therefore, the structure of the talk used enables the judgments of the speaker concerning the current mental state of their listeners (Bardovi-Harlig and Hartford, 2005, 11)

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There are three main functions of the talk that include; predicting and to subject, to convey new information, and to insert and frame. The structure of the conversation is the proposition with a preoccupying conception that is running through the text of the media, especially around the topic, which is initiating. It ties together many specific understandings strategically on the fact of a given common knowledge form of belief and perception (Bardovi-Harlig and Hartford, B.S., 2005, 12). The structure of the talk assist in making the text of the media very coherent since it generates the text around the theme which is central or many themes which are related and are running through a story (Buhrig and Jan 2006, 24)

Purpose of Talk Drawing on the Work of Malinowski

Many people will agree that talking has both relationship and information purposes. But in rare cases, one or the other purpose seems to be reduced. Malinowski touched something on the phatic talk which its primary purpose is when there are factuality and truth, low commitment to self-disclosure, and more responsibilities to the relational goals, which are positive. The phatic interpretations are received by the linguistic items such as; gossip, greetings, jokes, small talks, and back-channeling cues. More of the phatic negotiations consist of the expressions which are formulaic and builds on the traditions and serve as the binding function of the society among individuals who knows them (Rygg, 2016, 8).

Malinowski chose the term phatic because, according to him, the main objective was to know the kind of talk in which the union ties are built by just mere exchange of words. When communication is residing on its propositional content, the phatic talk, according to Malinowski, there is nothing like propositional content, which entails; conveying the meaning, sharing of the information, and having someone to do something, among others (Rygg, 2016, 10). Therefore, when a greeting like "how are you" is said in the mode of phatic, it is not meant to inquire about the well-being of a person, but it only acts to dissolve the tension which is unpleasant that may be brought about by the silence. Or it can also mean keeping the channel of communication open or acknowledging other people present.

Purpose of Talk Drawing on the Works of Jakobsbon

Jakobsbon emphasized on the six objectives of talk in which the verbal communication act can be adequately described, and each purpose has the factor which is associated with it. They include: (Coupland, 2007, 5)

• Referential purposes - they represent the mental state, object, or situation by corresponding to the context factor. Then referential use has the descriptive statements which encompass both definite descriptions and words which are deictic. For example, "the winter leaves have fallen now fully." Similarly, the referential purpose is incorporated with the element which has the exact value under questioning, especially when the actual cost is identical in both the assumptive and real universe.
• Conative purpose - it mainly engages the receiver of the message, which is communicated directly and is illustrated best by imperatives and vocatives. For example, "Jerry! Come inside and drink!"
• Poetic purpose - it is putting more focus on the message for its sake, and it is the poetry's operative purpose and also slogans.
• Metalinguistic purpose - it entails using the talk to describe or discuss itself.
• Emotive purpose - it is the purpose of the talk, which is relating to the sender of the message, and it is exemplified best by the changes in sound and interpolations that do not interfere with the utterance denotative meaning but adds the information about the internal state of the speaker typically. For example, "Wow, what a nice idea!"
• Phatic purpose - the phatic use entails the talk for the sake of interaction, and it is associated with the channel or contact factor. The phatic objects can be viewed majorly in the casual discussions as well as the greetings, especially with the stranger. Phatic purpose gives the key to maintain, open, close, or verifies the channel of communication. Example "Hello?" "Bye," among others.

Purpose of Talk Drawing on the Works of Halliday

Halliday focused more on the grammar to be systemic functional. Halliday claims that the explanation of how the talk is working needs to be placed together in a purposeful analysis because the language has changed in the process of conducting some essential functions as the interaction of human beings with their eco-social environment increased (Rose and Halliday, 2019, 5).

The grammar of Halliday is different from the old perception that is emphasizing individual words classification such as preposition, noun, pronoun, and verb in many written sentences. The model of Halliday concerning grammar conceives it as the way meanings are coded to form words that are both written and spoken. The grammar standards, according to Halliday, concern three different strands that are operating simultaneously (Rose and Halliday, 2019, 7). They entail inner and outer words representation, writer and reader or speaker and listener interpersonal exchange, and the cohesive written and spoken texts meanings from the whole text, which is within the clause. Therefore, grammar is essential in settling up the intonation while speaking.

The Meaning of Context

Context is the framework, setting, surrounding of occurrences or events, environment, and the background. In other words, context entails the circumstances which are forming the backdrop of a statement, idea, or an event in a manner which enables readers to conceptualize the literary piece or the narrative (Hardy, 2016, 136). It is critical to provide new concepts, words, and information in writing to develop thoughts. A situation where the writer uses a fact or a quote from some sources, it becomes crucial to issue their readers with some information concerning the source used to provide context to its use. The framework provides the relevance and meaning of the text and can be something social, cultural, political, or historical.

How Context Influence the Use and Interpretation of Particular Words and Phrases

The work of the context in the interpretation of some words and phrases has been considered several even from different perspectives. Setting can be subdivided into a situational or linguistic context. The situational context contains anything dealing with the socio-cultural background and the immediate situations in which an event of the language is happening. Whereas, linguistic context entails morphological, textual, phonetic or syntactic material surrounding the word (Coupland, 2007, 7)

It is important to note that the objective situational context only should not be taken into account because the intentions, experiences, perceptions, and beliefs of individuals can also interfere with how the construction of meaning is conducted for a given communication event (Buhrig and Jan 2006, 35).

Therefore, in both interpretation and production of particular words, there is always a process that is continuous of the selection among the senses, which are possible where the context is playing the fundamental role. Such an organization influences the linguistic unit, which is acquired and created without interfering with the whole category by introducing the new links to the real sense in the phrase (Hardy, 2016, 135). Having into consideration such an event, interpreting is simply a matter of gathering all pieces to construct the meaning. Therefore, the purpose which is conventional for the words that conform to an interpretation, initially known as the literal meaning, is just a small piece of the whole phrase. All the rest come from the context.

Bourdieu's Social Conditions and Context

Bourdieu was mainly concerned with the power dynamics in the society; usually, the diverse methods in which power is transferred, and the order is maintained across and within the social generations. Bourdieu claims that taste judgments are related to social positions, or they are the act of social positioning. Bourdieu was also more concerned with the nature of culture, exercise of power, reproduction, its transformation, and its connection to the social stratification (Asquith, 2019, 27).

Bourdieu viewed the social capital as the individual property rather than the collective property. The social capital enables an individual to put more power on the individual or group who mobilizes the resources. The social capital, according to Bourdieu, is not available uniformly to the group members or the collective group but to those people who use more effort to get it by obtaining power positions and status and by developing goodwill (Asquith, 2019, 32).

The social capital is firmly attached to the class and other stratification forms, according to Bourdieu, which are then associated with different kinds of advancement or benefit. Bourdieu also saw the social capital as the virtual or actual resources which are accrued and acquired by groups or individuals through the learning of less or more relationships, which are institutionalized of mutual recognition and acquaintances (Asquith, 2019, 35). Thus, social capital follows an individual as a result of the investments he has made.

Bourdieu's approach to social position is mainly based on his sociological theories, which are more full of the fields and habitus of practice. He puts more emphasis on the specificity and fluidity of his study objects, meaning that the social capital is more reliant on the context of a given social space. The social capital theory by Bourdieu is accompanied by the rich sociological theories set that consider the social environment complexity instead of seeking the reductionism and simplification (Asquith, 2019, 40)

Examples in Support of the Discussion

Starting a talk might be difficult; therefore, one should have tips to enable him to begin a talk and turn it to a conversation. Mainly the talk always starts with asking questions. Examples of questions are stated below;

"What do you do?" such a question is an opener for work or business events. And because everybody is there with one purpose, which is the work schedule, then they will be more ready for the work-talk. After such a question, which is an opener, there are various questions that one can follow up with. For instance, "Do you love your work?" "How long have you been here?" "What made you choose this company?" among other questions.

Another aspect that triggers the talk apart from asking questions to make the conversation more effective could be through dropping a compliment (Hardy, 2016, 130). Examples of compliments that one can drop include, "I love your dress! It is very classy. Where did you buy it?" "you look brilliant today," among others. Compliments are essential because they help in reducing the social distance, enhances opening up, and also eliminates the tension. On most occasions, in the...