The Exploration of Speech Acts and Politeness in Anandi and Overcoat: A Pragmatic Analysis

Abstract

This study highlights the integration of speech acts and politeness in two short stories, "Anandi" (an Urdu short story) and "Overcoat" (an English short story), both by Ghulam Abbas. The focus is on how speech acts and politeness contribute to the portrayal of societal image and the theme of appearance versus reality. The stories were selected by the same author to see from the comparative lens to analyze pragmatic features hidden behind the textual instances. For this purpose, ‘Speech Act Theory’ has been employed proposed by Langshaw Austin (1962). Different types of speech acts, including locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts, to see how they make language use more purpose-based in context. Politeness levels embedded in the content were also analyzed to understand their portrayal of societal norms. Results showed that speech acts significantly enhance language use by adding purpose and context. Locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts contributed to depicting societal norms and values. Politeness was crucial in portraying societal expectations and maintaining face in social interactions. Further studies should explore speech acts and politeness in various cultural contexts and genres to gain a broader understanding of their impact on communication. Additionally, examining other pragmatic aspects in different literary works can provide deeper insights into the role of context in meaning-making.