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From Utterances to Speech Acts

By Mikhail Kissine

"Kissine offers a new theory of speech acts which is philosophically sophisticated and builds on work in cognitive science, formal semantics, and linguistic typology. This highly readable, brilliant essay is a major contribution to the field."

--François Recanati, Institut Jean-Nicod

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Query Details


Query Subject:   Women's language
Author:   Hiroaki Tanaka
Submitter Email:  click here to access email

Linguistic LingField(s):  Sociolinguistics

Query:   Dear Linguists,
I have an undergraduate student who is working on her
graduation paper about the use of women's language in English.
Could you answer the following questions and help her write the
paper? Please answer me directly and make comments, if any. I
will have her post a summary soon.

- ------------------------------------------------
(i) Please choose the best expression between the two/three
phrases below. Which do you use off-handedly, in everyday
conversation? If possible, I'd like to know if you are male or female.
Please check * mark from which you choose. If you have any
comments, please don't hesitate to mae them.

I'm male/felmale.

(1) A: I have two tickets for the movie ''Air Force One.'' Do you have
time on Saturday?
B: Yes, I'd {( )love / ( )like} to.

(2) a. Everyone has {( )his/( )his or her/( )their} off days.
b. Someone knocked at the door but {( )he/( )he oe she/(
)they} had gone when I got downstairs.

(ii) The following examples are from the real, quoted examples. Do
you think that ''sort of'' in (1) and (2), and ''isn't it'' in (3) are
spoken by women?

(1) A: What was the nature of your aquantance with the late Mrs.
E.D?
B: Well, we were, uh, very close friends. Uh, she was even
''sort of'' like a mother to me.
Your guess and comments:

(2) A: you know what? Arbitrage has put out this, ''sort of''
_Introduction To_ tape for the business schools. Why don't we put
it in, and if you have any questions...
B: That would be great, thanks.
Your guess and comments:

(3) A: David? Is his name David?
B: Yes, it is.
A: That's funny. My name's David, too.
B: Tha is funny, ''isn't it''?
Your guess and comments:

- -------------------------------------------------
Thanks a lot in advance. Please mail me directly.

Best wishes,

Hiroaki Tanaka

Associate Professor
Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences
Tokushima University, Japan

1-1, Minamijousanjioma,
Tokushima, 770,
Japan

phone & fax: +81 886 56 7125
e-mail: hiro-t@ias.tokushima-u.ac.jp
LL Issue: 8.1712
Date posted: 28-Nov-1997



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