Pragmatics & Cognition - Volume 31, Issue 2, 2024

The paper outlines an analysis of the act of commenting within the author’s Austin-inspired speech-act theoretical framework. The general lines of that framework are concisely expounded, and it is suggested that the act of commenting should be described as belonging to Austin’s Expositives. The preliminary problem whether the act of commenting is illocutionary at all (given the absence of a performative use of the verb “to comment”) is discussed, and it is argued that nothing stands in the way of analyzing it as illocutionary. Some difficulties that can be found in dealing with commenting as an illocutionary act, concerning the variable linguistic form and the diversity of functions of the utterances that can be taken to be comments, are illustrated and discussed within the theoretical framework adopted. The characterization of commenting as having (among others) also a specifically expositive illocutionary effect is illustrated. Finally, some open problems worthy of further discussion are highlighted.

In this paper, I investigate the functional dimension of non-finite causal constructions, exemplified using the English because X constructions. The analysis identifies two functions of these constructions: expressing causality and commenting. Primarily, non-finite causal constructions express cause or reason. Secondarily, however, speakers can also use these constructions to offer a comment about the expressed cause or reason. These two functions represent two poles on a functional continuum. While some non-finite causal constructions only express causal meaning and some serve predominantly as comments, they usually combine both functions.

This article discusses “specified compliments” consisting of a positive evaluation of an ability or achievement; a preposition; and an area of expertise or excellence, e.g. “experts in security”. An analysis of 74 examples in comments on politicians’ Facebook posts during 2020–2021 revealed that specified compliments convey a predominantly ironic meaning in order to criticize the complimentee. Three different categories of ironic specified compliments are identified: (1) compliments where the area of expertise is positive and are interpreted as ironical based on their linguistic and extralinguistic context; (2) compliments where the area of expertise is negative and are thus understood as insincere; and (3) compliments in which the area of expertise is apparently positive but less than other areas, and therefore they are paradoxically interpreted as both sincere compliments in a specific area and a condemnation in general.

This paper takes the form of a case study which examines to what extent a comment can be analyzed as a type of speech action. This study analyzed 507 replies to a post on a popular Chinese social media application, Xiaohongshu, which concerns feminist issues. A speech act analysis of these replies offers new insights on comments as a type of speech act by showing their constructive functions across intra-utterance, inter-utterance, and extra-textual contexts. Comments can facilitate the securing of hearer’s uptake of an illocutionary act, may modify the actual hearer’s uptake of another illocutionary act, and may ultimately contribute to the construction of sisterhood within a redefined context. The performance of comments in this study is grounded in a particular circumstance and is highly context-dependent. Nevertheless, this finding leaves open the possibility that comments may display other effects in different contexts.

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the pragmatic marker “I think” and its translation into Turkish, specifically focusing on its use in TED Talks. Using a corpus-based approach, the research investigates the various functions and Turkish equivalents of “I think”, revealing significant insights into its role as a commenting speech action. Grounded in speech act theory, particularly expositive illocutionary acts, the study emphasizes the illocutionary pluralism of “I think” in managing discourse, expressing speaker attitudes, and engaging interlocutors. The findings highlight the high frequency and critical role of “I think” in spoken English, its function as a commenting speech action in maintaining discourse coherence, and the notable translation choices in Turkish, such as bence ‘in my opinion’ and sanırım ‘I suppose/I assume’. This study contributes to pragmatics by enhancing our understanding of the illocutionary pluralism of “I think” vis-à-vis its translation strategies.