‭MA ELT‬

‭Semantics and Pragmatics‬‭(Eng508)‬

F‭ all 2022‬
‭Assignment No. 1‬
‭Student ID: *****‬

‭Q.‬‭Felicity‬‭conditions‬‭are‬‭a‬‭set‬‭of‬‭criteria‬‭that‬‭must‬‭be‬‭met‬‭in‬‭order‬‭for‬‭a‬‭speech‬‭act,‬‭such‬‭as‬
‭making‬ ‭a‬ ‭promise‬ ‭or‬ ‭issuing‬ ‭a‬ ‭command,‬ ‭to‬ ‭be‬ ‭considered‬ ‭successful‬ ‭or‬ ‭appropriate.‬ ‭Read‬
‭sufficiently about felicity conditions and answer the following questions:‬

‭●‬ ‭How does the audience play a role in felicity conditions?‬

‭●‬ ‭How do felicity conditions differ in the case of making a promise and issuing a‬
‭command? Provide an example for each.‬

‭Solution:‬

‭Q-1 How does the audience play a role in felicity‬‭conditions?‬

‭Answer:‬

‭In pragmatics, the study of how to do things with words and speech-act theory, the term felicity‬
‭conditions refer to the conditions that must be in place and the criteria that must be satisfied‬
‭for a speech act to achieve its purpose. In linguistics and philosophy of language, an utterance is‬
‭felicitous if it is pragmatically well-formed. An utterance can be infelicitous because it is self-‬
‭contradictory, trivial, irrelevant, or because it is somehow inappropriate for the context of‬
‭utterance.‬

‭The term Felicity condition of Felicity conditions is referred to the effectiveness of speech acts‬
‭use of the speaker. Austin held that in using speech acts one has to fulfill certain conditions‬
‭regarding the act that is being uttered. For example, when one is making a promise to another‬
‭person, he/she has to fulfill the condition of that the hearer or the promise to have a need‬
‭something to be promised, and the speaker or the promiser will have the intention to fulfill that‬
‭need; therefore, the act of promising will be valid to be regarded as felicitous condition. By‬
‭definition felicity conditions are a state when the utterances made has met the appropriate‬
‭conditions such as, appropriate context, conventional existence, authority, and also speaker's‬
‭sincerity. These kinds of utterance are only validly recognized as a felicitous‬

‭speech acts if the speaker meets required condition to be able to validate the context. This kind‬
‭of utterance is usually used by a priest or any other religious leader to pronounce a marriage‬
‭between a man and woman. Then this kind of utterance should be brought upon the wedding in‬
‭a for instance, church. Moreover, without the special privilege of a priest or any other‬
‭individuals given the special privilege to marry people this kind of utterance will not be‬
‭recognized as an appropriate use of speech acts or it has a different intention.‬

‭Q-2 How do felicity conditions differ in the case of making a promise and issuing a command?‬
‭Provide an example for each.‬

‭Answer:‬

‭Felicity conditions is the person's efficacy in the use of acts of speech while conversing or‬
‭speaking. The felicity situation is an environment in which the statements made have fulfilled‬
‭the necessary requirements, such as sufficient meaning, traditional presence, legitimacy, and‬
‭narrator sincerity. While speaking, a sentence might be grammatically correct and well-formed‬
‭but the context of the sentence must abide with the condition or the appropriateness of the‬
‭situation. If not, a sentence can be hurtful or misinterpreted by the audience. For performatives‬
‭to actually "perform," both speaker and audience must accept certain assumptions about the‬
‭speech act. These assumptions are called felicity conditions and are often divided into three‬
‭categories: essential conditions, sincerity conditions, and preparatory conditions. These‬
‭parameters set by John Searle are:‬

‭Preparatory Condition‬‭: The speech must have the command‬‭over the audience's thoughts. The‬
‭speaker must have a particular faith about his own act and the circumstances his audience is in.‬

‭Example‬‭, the difference between a promise and a threat‬‭"I swear to take revenge for my‬
‭brother's assault." Here the sentence isn't a threat to anybody, but a promise to the audience.‬
S‭ incerity‬ ‭Condition‬‭:‬ ‭A‬ ‭speaker‬ ‭must‬ ‭be‬ ‭willing‬ ‭to‬ ‭keep‬ ‭his‬ ‭word,‬ ‭the‬ ‭attitude‬ ‭towards‬ ‭his‬
‭content should be promising and must convey that he intent to do the act.‬

‭Example‬‭, "I will be running for presidential elections‬‭this year and I'm going to win it!"‬

E‭ ssential‬ ‭Condition‬‭:‬ ‭Where‬ ‭the‬ ‭speaker‬ ‭has‬ ‭made‬ ‭a‬ ‭commitment‬ ‭to‬ ‭its‬ ‭audience‬ ‭and‬ ‭is‬
‭committing to do what it promises to do.‬

‭ ropositional‬‭Content‬‭Condition‬‭:‬‭The‬‭audience/participants‬‭must‬‭comprehend‬‭the‬‭speech,‬‭and‬
P
‭not‬‭act‬‭to‬‭understand.‬‭The‬‭proposed‬‭content‬‭must‬‭be‬‭precise‬‭and‬‭affirmative,‬‭such‬‭as‬‭a‬‭order‬‭or‬
‭a promise.‬

E‭ xample‬‭,‬ ‭a‬ ‭command‬‭must‬‭state‬‭authority‬‭"Get‬‭up‬‭on‬‭the‬‭stage‬‭and‬‭hold‬‭the‬‭placard‬‭towards‬

‭the audience", here the speaker isn't requesting, his power over the hearer is clearly stated.‬