The conclusion of the chapter I In this chapter we have reviewed those speech act theories, which are relevant to the present study. Obviously, the above presentation does not cover all aspects of Speech Act Theory. Nonetheless, the most important problems have been examined. In particular, we have discussed the following:
- distinction between performative and non-performative (constative) utterances;
- distinction of illocutionary acts from other types of speech acts;
- proposed general classification system of speech acts (from their functional point of view);
- conditions concerning the appropriateness of use, i.e. felicity conditions;
- the nature of indirectness;
- classification into direct and indirect speech acts.
As may be noted, the nature of indirect speech acts is difficult to describe and analyze. I have indicated that in order to interpret and understand speech acts correctly (especially indirect speech acts), we have to peruse some more works concerned with the notion of politeness, since indirectness is a crucial element of it, especially in the case of directives.
In the present chapter I have considered and analyzed the main concepts and questions concerning the problems of notions ‘discourse analysis’ and ‘speech acts events’. We have arrived at the following conclusion.
So, the analysis of discourse is the analysis of the domain of ‘statements’ that is, of texts, and of utterances as constituent elements of texts. But that does not mean a concern with detail analysis of texts the concern is more a matter of discerning the rules which ‘govern’ bodies of texts and utterances. The discourse is used abstractly (as an abstract noun) for the domain of statements, and concretely as a count noun (a discourse, several discourses) for groups of statements or for the regulated practice (the rules) which govern such a group of statements.
We see discourses as ways of representing aspects of the world the processes, relations and structures of the material world, the mental world of thoughts, feelings, beliefs and so forth, and the social world. Particular aspects of the world may be represented differently, so we are generally in the position of having to consider the relationship between different discourses. Different discourses are different perspectives on the world, and they are associated with the different relations people have to the world, which in turn depends on their positions in the world, their social and personal identities, and the social relationships in which they stand to other people.
Discourses not only represent the world as it is (or rather is seen to be), they are also projective, imaginaries, representing possible worlds which are different from the actual world, and tied in to projects to change the world in particular directions. The relationships between different discourses are one element of the relationships between different people they may complement one another, compete with one another, one can dominate others, and so forth.
Discourses constitute part of the resources which people deploy in relating to one another keeping separate from one another, cooperating, competing, dominating and in seeking to change the ways in which they relate to one another (Fairclough, 2004).
To conclude, as is evident from the work presented, the nature and structure of the discourse event and speech event are complex due to the interrelationships among the participants and their aims, their expectations and assumptions, the ways in which meaning emerges, and the way participants represent those meanings in their languages. Studying discourse, its phenomena and speech event among and between the participants and the interpreter explicates how the interpreting process works and how the interpreter works within it.
In today’s linguistics the studies of discourse analysis and speech events seem envisaging further development from different scientific positions: discourse practice, discourse technologies, geosemiotics, process of globalization and others.