Understanding Speech

Context, Speech Style, Speech

Act and Communicative
Strategy
Oral Communication in Context
 At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:
identify the different types of speech context, speech style, speech
act and communicative strategies engaged in by people in various
situations;
explain that a shift in speech context, speech style, speech act and
communicative strategy affects various factors such as language
form, interaction duration, relationship of speaker/s to audience or
receiver of message, roles and responsibilities of the speaker, the
message itself and the manner of delivery of the speaker; and
use effective communicative strategies in a variety of speech
situations.
Oprah Winfrey, a renowned American talk show host, once said that
successful communication always begins with connection. You have to
understand, however, that connection between two or more
communicators is only achieved if the conditions and factors relevant to
the communicative process make it so. Just like a balancing and juggling
act that needs to make adjustments with movements to keep everything
steady and controlled, communication is also a process where
connection is maintained through careful balancing and juggling of all
factors involved in the communication process.
 Factors affected by a
shift in Speech Context,
Speech Style, Speech Act,
and Communicative
Strategy
Language Form

This refers to the formality or

informality of the language used and
it involves the choice of words and
how sentences or utterances are
structured.
 Formal Language Informal Language
is used when talking with is used without much consideration
professionals or persons in authority to rules of convention or etiquette.
in a formal, official or ceremonial It is casual and mostly not well-
occasion, situation, gathering or thought-of or prepared because it is
event. Talking with a lawyer, a used to communicate with people
doctor or even with your teacher with whom you have close
often creates a formal ambiance in association with like parents,
communication. siblings and friends.
 Duration of Interaction

This refers to the amount of time a

conversation takes between and
among communicators.
Relationship of Speaker

This refers to the speech style used

by the speaker suited to his/her
relationship to the person with whom
he/she is communicating. Styles can
be classified as intimate, frozen,
consultative, casual or formal.
 Intimate Style
the speaker talks to family members, best
friends or romantic partners. This may
comprise private conversations or personal
interactions.

Frozen
the speaker addresses an audience in a formal
gathering such as ceremonial events, Eucharistic
celebrations or even court hearings. The style is
"set” or "fixed” and thus, it rarely or never
changes. Audience feedback is not required.
 Consultative
the speaker communicates with a person
whom he/she may have to clarify things,
discuss a problem, or seek advice.

Casual
the speaker shares close and personal
information with friends, classmates or
colleagues. This ordinarily occurs in everyday
life.
 Formal
the speaker has to deliver a pre-planned or
written speech to address a crowd of people
such as giving opening remarks during a
seminar, or the president making a public
announcement or delivering SONA.
 Role and Responsibility of
Speaker

This refers to the role and

responsibility of the speaker which
will depend on the purpose and
context of communication.
 Role and Responsibility of
Speaker

The speaker may be a person who gives information

and additional knowledge to another person or an
audience, someone who convinces others for a cause
or an individual who provokes laughter for diversion
and fun. Hence, his responsibility depends on his
purpose for communication which may be to inform,
to persuade, or to entertain.
Message

This involves the content of the

message. The message may be facts,
opinion, feelings, order, suggestions,
and questions.
 Delivery

This refers to the manner of delivery

involving verbal and nonverbal cues
made by the speaker.
 Delivery can be classified as:

Extemporaneous Impromptu Memorized Manuscript

 Extemporaneous Impromptu
speaking with limited preparation speaking without advanced
and guided by notes or outline preparation or unrehearsed speech

Memorized Manuscript

planned and rehearsed speech reading aloud a written message

Communicative
Competence
 In order to achieve communicative
competence, we must consider the
following:

Speech Context Speech Style Speech Act Communicative

Strategy
 Speech Context
This accounts for the background and purpose of a
discourse. Speech context assumes a more or less direct
relationship between situational, societal, political or
cultural "environment” in which the communication
transaction occurs. The type of audience, circumstances and
setting are taken into consideration.
 Speech context may be

Intrapersonal Interpersonal Public

 Intrapersonal
Intrapersonal communication is a
communication with oneself. It is the basic
form of communication where the 'self' is the
only consideration. This is true in moments
of self-reflection or introspection when you
contemplate and internalize things that
happened or may happen, or maybe think of
what may be done to solve a personal
problem.
 Interpersonal

Sharing your experiences with a friend or

discussing a topic within a group are
examples of interpersonal communication.
This kind of communication involves the
transmission of messages that is
deliberately extended to others.
 Public
Public communication addresses a large number of
people. For example, when you discuss to a large
group online about the effects of Covid-19 and the
precautionary measures in the time of pandemic,
you engage in public communication. In this way,
you communicate to a crowd of online viewers and
so your message may be heard by many. Another
example of public communication is a preacher
passionately delivering a sermon and a leader
emphatically persuading the people to support a
cause in a mass gathering.
 Speech Style
Another factor that affects the attainment of communicative
competence is speech style. A person may choose what style
or form of language to use in communicating with others;
however, personal preferences may not work at all times.
There are controlled instances when one may just go with
the flow of the communicative process because that is what
is required in the situation.
 Speech style has the following types:

Intimate Frozen

Casual Formal

Consultative
 Intimate

Communication happens between or among family

members because they are bound by close affinity.
There are things that are kept only within
themselves which other people do not or can not
know. Intimate communication may be private or
confidential.
 Casual
Friends and acquaintances often use casual
communication. They feel comfortable and
at ease with one another. They have no
inhibitions to share their feelings because
they consider their friends next to their
family. They laugh without ceasing over
not-so-funny things and at times, not even
getting sensitive to one another's criticisms.
 Consultative

Consultative means of communication is giving

pieces of advice as in a guidance counselor and a
client who needs it. This can be between a doctor
and his patient or parents who consult with a
teacher about their child's academic performance.
 Formal
The President delivering his SONA and a
principal presenting a school's financial
report to teachers, parents and other
stakeholders are both examples of a formal
communication. This type of
communication is well-planned in terms of
structure, sequence and coherence of ideas.
 Frozen
Those activities which are not changeable in
nature fall under frozen type of communication.
Saying a prayer like Our Lord's Prayer or the Hail
Mary and reciting the Patriotic Oath during flag
ceremonies are just two of the examples. These are
routinely done and may only be changed once
amended in the Philippine constitution. Frozen
communication is set and it is very rarely or
almost never altered.
 Speech Act
Speech act refers not only to the utterance (Locutionary act)
but also to the intention (Illocutionary Act) and response
(Perlocutionary Act) to a specific situation for an intended
discourse impact. The choice of words to use has to be
considered to suit the need of the occasion or the kinds of
audience to be addressed. This is also done to help express
the intention of the speaker and to elicit a response from
the listener.
 Types of Speech Act

Locutionary Illocutionary Perlocutionary

(Utterance) (Intention) (Response)

In linguistics or the scientific study of language, a speech
act refers not only to a word or group of words spoken by a
person but also to the action that is elicited from the
audience due to the words spoken. For example, the
question, "May I use your pen?” is considered a speech act
because the speaker's desire to use another person's pen is
expressed while also seeking permission to use it. The actual
saying of the words or the utterance of "May I use your
pen?” is the locutionary act, the implied request of "Can
you hand me your pen so I may use it” is the illocutionary
act, and the actual handing over of the pen as permitted or
given by the owner of the pen is the perlocutionary act.
 Communicative
Strategies
You are the class president and are the one presiding a
meeting. In the middle of the discussion, a heated argument
as to where the class fund goes takes place. What would you
do?

To begin a conversation and keep it going, we should employ

strategies that will help maintain its smooth flow.
 Different Communicative
Strategies

Nomination Restriction Turn-taking Topic Control

Topic Shifting Repair Termination

 Nomination Restriction
limitation to the topic to be
This starts the conversation
discussed in order to meet the
process
arranged and allotted time

Turn-taking Topic Control

is where you employ rules of
engagement regarding the procedure used to control and prevent
or sequence of each participant's unnecessary interruptions
turn to talk
 Topic Shifting Repair
makes the transition from refers to how speakers address the
one topic to another occur problems in speaking, listening, and
smoothly comprehending that they may
encounter in a conversation

Termination
the last part of the process where
the meeting is successfully ended
 Speech Context, Speech Style, Speech
Act and Communicative Strategy in a
Nutshell

The shift in speech context, speech style, speech act and

communicative strategy is always probable. The roller
coaster ride of intermingling scenarios allows causes and
effects to surface out, too. To achieve a successful
communication transaction, these factors all need to be
taken into careful consideration.
It is clear that the following elements are affected by a shift in the
communicative processes:
language form which could shift from formal to informal and vice versa,
the duration or the length of communication which could be shortened or
lengthened depending on how the conversation will be maintained,
the relationship of the speaker to the receiver of the message that could
be intimate, frozen, consultative, casual, or formal; and,
the role and responsibility of the speaker, the message and its delivery
which could vary depending on the context and purpose of
communication.
Thank you for
participating!