Illocutionary Forces, Register, and Formulaic Elements

Illocutionary Forces, Register, and Formulaic Elements

1. Illocutionary Forces: the desired effect of a communication, purpose underlying the words, the speakers intentions

   • Types of Illocutionary Force
     • Statement: Intended to give information
     • Question: Intended to request information
     • Command: To encourage or solicit an action
     • Threat: To intimidate the listener
     • Warning: To elicit self-protective behavior in the listener
     • Promise: To predict action from speaker
   • ASL and Illocutionary Force
     • ASL more explicit than English with the use of performing verbs
       • Possible to leave out the performance verb found in the ASL sentence because the information will be implied in English
         • Omitting the Performance Verb can also help an interpreter keep up with the signer
         • A performance verb signed at the beginning of a sentence may not need to be stated because the complete meaning will be conveyed in English without it
     • Sometimes the purpose behind a sentence and the way the sentence is presented may appear to contradict one another
       • Rhetorical Question
         • When a Rhetorical question is used to introduce a new topic, the interpreter would interpret the message into a statement
     • There may also be more then one illocutionary force in a statement

2. Register and Implications for Interpreters

   • Register- language use in varying degrees of formality
     • Concept of register helps people communicate effectively and interact in an accepted manner. It takes into consideration the roles of the speaker and audience and what type of relationship the participants have with each other
     • Frozen/oratorical: Performances, public speeches and sacred texts
       • There is a script that is followed as part of a ritual.
         • Examples: Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, and the Serenity Prayer.
     • Formal: Presentations and Introductions
       • Occurs when the audience is larger and there is a difference in status between speaker and audience
       • Very little participation by the listeners, as the speaker is the one presenting and separated from the audience
     • Consultative: Interactions at meetings,at doctor's appointments, and during classroom teaching
       • Difference in status between the participants but the difference is because one is an expert in the matter under discussion.
       • Allows listener to ask questions which will affirm the relationship among participants and their difference of status.
     • Casual/Informal: Conversations at recreational or social activities
       • Two or more people may know each other fairly well and the status of everyone is equal
       • Sometimes referred to as #CLUB signing and is normally used in basic ASL classes
     • Intimate: Conversations between people who are very close to one another
       • Talk between couples and best friends who have so much background knowledge and common experience that most outsiders would have little or no idea what is being discussed

3. Working Within a Register

   • More experience one has working within a certain register, the more comfortable the person will be interpreting in that register
   • Interpreters must be alert to what is appropriate in different settings.
   • Even though there are 5 distinct registers, features of different registers may appear in one situations.

4. Formulaic Elements of English

   • Formulaic Element: a specific way something is said in a particular setting
   • Some of the vocabulary, phases, and sentences used in a story must follow a specific formula, and these words, phrases, and sentences enhance the story's flavor.

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