Utterance Definition and Examples in English

Utterance Definition and Examples in English In linguistics, an utterance is a unit of speech. In phonetic terms, an utterance is a stretch of spoken language that is preceded by silence and followed by silence or a change of speaker. (Phonemes, morphemes, and words are all considered segments of the stream of speech sounds that constitute an utterance.) In orthographic terms, an utterance is a  syntactic unit that begins with a capital letter and ends in a period, question mark, or exclamation point. EtymologyFrom the Middle English, outward, make known Examples and Observations [T]he word utterance . . . can refer to the product of a verbal act, rather than to the verbal act itself. For instance, the words Would you please be quiet?, spoken with a polite rising intonation, might be described as a sentence, or as a question, or as a request.  However, it is convenient to reserve terms like sentence and question for grammatical entities derived from the language system, and to reserve  the term utterance  for instances of such entities, identified by their use in a particular situation.(Geoffrey N. Leech,  Principles of Pragmatics,  1983. Routledge, 2014)Utterances and Sentences-  We use the term utterance to refer to complete communicative units, which may consist of single words, phrases, clauses and clause combinations spoken in context, in contrast to the term sentence, which we reserve for units consisting of at least one main clause and any accompanying subordinate clauses, and marked by punctuation (capital letters and full stops) in writin g.(Ronald Carter and Michael McCarthy, Cambridge Grammar of English. Cambridge University Press, 2006)- An utterance can take sentence form, but not every sentence is an utterance. An utterance is identifiable by a pause, a relinquishing of the floor, a change of speaker; that the first speaker stops indicates that the utterance is, temporarily, complete and awaits, invites a response.(Barbara Green, Experiential Learning.  Bakhtin and Genre Theory in Biblical Studies, ed. by  Roland Boer. Society of Biblical Literature, 2007) For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech,To stir mens blood: I only speak right on.(Mark Antony in William Shakespeares Julius Caesar, Act 3, scene 2)Intentionality[T]he problem of meaning can be posed as follows: How does the mind impose Intentionality on entities that are not intrinsically Intentional, on entities such as sounds and marks that are, construed in one way, just physical phenomena in the world like any other? An utterance can have Intentionality, just as a belief has Intentionality, but whereas the Intentionality of the belief is intrinsic the Intentionality of the utterance is derived. The question then is: How does it derive its Intentionality?(John R. Searle, Intentionality: An Essay in the Philosophy of Mind. Cambridge University. Press, 1983)The Lighter Side of Utterances: Kate Beckett: Um, do you know how you talk in your sleep sometimes?Richard Castle: Oh yeah.Kate Beckett: Well, last night you said a name.Richa rd Castle: Ooh.  And not your name, I assume.Kate Beckett: No.Richard Castle: Well, I wouldnt read anything into one random utterance.Kate Beckett: Fourteen utterances, and the name was Jordan. You said it over and over again. Whos Jordan?Richard Castle: I have no idea.Kate Beckett: Is it a woman?Richard Castle: No! Its nothing.Kate Beckett: Castle, I know nothing. Nothing is a dear friend of mine and this is not nothing.Richard Castle: Yes, it is. Besides, most of what I say is meaningless. Why would it be any different when Im asleep?(Stana Katic and Nathan Fillon, The Wild Rover. Castle, 2013)