Commissive Speech Act patterns in two selected novels “Color Purple and to the light House Socio-pragmatic studies.

Abstract

The term ‘sociopragmatics’ was coined by Leech to describe (the study of) the ways in which pragmatic meanings reflect ‘specific “local” conditions on language use’ (1983: 10), a sub-field of pragmatics that he distinguished from the study of more ‘general’ pragmatic meaning. In making sociopragmatics and, more particularly, ‘how communication of pragmatic meaning involves speakers’ presentation of their identities’ (p. 159) its central concern, Pragmatics for Language Educators offers a refreshingly different perspective from the mainstream approach to ‘general’ pragmatics taken by Leech and subsequently followed by the authors of most pragmatics text books. Within present study sociopragmatics is implemented to investigate sociopragmatics aspects of commissive verbs within two novels “The color purple by Alice Walker and To the light house by Virgina Woolf”.