Requesting

Definition

Requesting is the act of asking someone to do something or to provide something, often characterized by a speaker's intention to influence the actions or responses of another person. It plays a crucial role in communication as it helps facilitate social interactions and exchanges, allowing individuals to express their needs and desires through language.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Requesting can be seen as a type of illocutionary act where the speaker's intention is to get the listener to perform a specific action.
2. Austin distinguished between constative utterances (which describe a state of affairs) and performative utterances (which enact actions), with requesting falling under performatives.
3. In effective communication, the context and politeness strategies used in requesting can greatly affect the likelihood of compliance from the listener.
4. Requesting can be expressed in various forms such as direct requests ('Can you help me?') or indirect requests ('Could you possibly lend me a hand?'), impacting how they are perceived.
5. Understanding requesting as an illocutionary act highlights the importance of the speaker's intention and the social dynamics involved in communication.

Review Questions

• How does requesting function as an illocutionary act in communication?
  • Requesting functions as an illocutionary act by embodying the speaker's intention to prompt a specific response or action from the listener. It goes beyond mere words; when someone requests something, they are performing an action aimed at eliciting cooperation or assistance. This highlights the social nature of language and how it can be used to influence interactions between people.
• In what ways do context and politeness strategies impact the effectiveness of requesting?
  • Context and politeness strategies significantly influence how requests are received and acted upon. For instance, a request made in a formal setting may require more polite language compared to an informal context among friends. Using strategies such as hedging or softening requests can increase their effectiveness by making them seem less demanding and more considerate of the listener's feelings, thereby improving the chances of compliance.
• Analyze how understanding requesting as a performative utterance can change our perspective on everyday communication.
  • Understanding requesting as a performative utterance shifts our perspective by emphasizing that language is not just about conveying information but also about performing actions that shape social interactions. Recognizing requests as acts that have consequences encourages us to consider the intentions behind our words and the potential impact on relationships. This awareness can lead to more mindful communication practices, fostering better connections through intentionality in our requests.

Related terms

illocutionary act: An utterance that serves a specific purpose in communication, such as asserting, questioning, or requesting, which conveys the speaker's intention.

performatives: Statements that not only convey information but also perform an action when spoken, such as 'I apologize' or 'I promise.'

speech act theory:

A framework for understanding how utterances function in communication, categorizing them into types like assertives, directives, commissives, expressives, and declarations.