Speech personality: communicative-pragmatic aspect (the case of speech behaviour of Sherlock Holmes)

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National Academy of the National Guard of Ukraine

Speech personality: communicative-pragmatic aspect (the case of speech behaviour of Sherlock Holmes)

Kulish A.R.

Senior Lecturer at the Department of Philology,

Translation and Strategic Communication

Abstract

The article discusses the speech personality of Sherlock Holmes in a communicative-pragmatic aspect. The aim of the article is to identify the main speech characteristics of Sherlock Holmes through the analysis of his speech behaviour according to the pragmatic function. The subject matter of this article is the speech intentions of Sherlock which he applies at each level of interpersonal communication. Respectively, the object is locution of the utterances, indicating the speech intention of Sherlock Holmes. The material of the research is video recordings and scripts of the TV episodes “Sherlock”. In each episode we find and focus on certain set of lexical and grammatical features that help identify Sherlock Holmes' speech intention. The chosen material and research direction determine the relevance of the presented topic and thereby defines the issue of the article. We consider Sherlock Holmes' speech behaviour with his speech intentions at different levels of interpersonal communication (social, business and personal). At each of these levels, Sherlock applies certain speech intentions. The purpose of speech intention - to inform, influence addressee, request information or encourage action (motivate), regulate communicative and social interactions of partners, establish "zones of commonality" for interlocutors in face-to-face communication, because the intentional component is formed as a strategic plan for the implementation of the statement. At the lexical and grammatical level to achieve the intentions Sherlock uses such a range of tokens as technical terms, proper names in Latin, abbreviations, verbs of the imperative mood, phraseology, comparison, negatively marked nouns etc.; all kinds of sentences for the purpose of expression and structure.

Key words: linguistic personality, pragmatic function, communicatice act, interpersonal communication, pragmalinguistics, speech intention.

Мовленнєва особистість: комунікативно-прагматичний аспект (на матеріалі мовленнєвої поведінки Шерлока Холмса)

Анотація

У статті розглядається мовленнєва особистість Шерлока Холмса в комунікативно-прагматичному аспекті. Метою статті є виявлення основних мовленнєвих характеристик Шерлока Холмса шляхом аналізу його мовленнєвої поведінки за прагматичною функцією. Предметом цієї статті є мовленнєві наміри Шерлока, які він застосовує на кожному рівні міжособистісного спілкування. Відповідно, об'єктом є локуція висловлювань, що вказує на мовленнєву інтенцію Шерлока Холмса. Матеріалом статті є відеозаписи й скрипти епізодів серіалу «Шерлок». У кожному епізоді ми знаходимо й зосереджуємось на певному наборі лексичних і граматичних ознак, які допомагають визначити мовленнєві інтенції. Обраний матеріал і напрям дослідження визначають актуальність викладеної теми і тим самим визначають проблематику статті. Ми розглядаємо мовленнєву поведінку Шерлока Холмса з його мовленнєвими намірами на різних рівнях міжособистісного спілкування (соціально-рольовому, діловому та інтимно-особистісному). На кожному з цих рівнів Шерлок застосовує певні мовленнєві інтенції. Призначення мовленнєвих інтенцій, що їх використовує Шерлок у своєму мовленні - інформувати, впливати на адресата, запитувати інформацію чи спонукати до дії, регулювати комунікативні та соціальні взаємодії партнерів, у фатичному спілкуванні встановлювати «зони спільності», адже інтенційний компонент формується як стратегічний задум до реалізації висловлення. На лексико-граматичному рівні для досягнення мовленнєвих намірів Шерлок використовує такий спектр лексем, як вузькогалузеві терміни, власні назви латиною, абревіатури, дієслова наказового способу, фразеологізми, порівняння, негативно забарвлені лексеми тощо; всі види речень за метою висловлювання і структурою.

Ключові слова: мовна особистість, прагматична функція, комунікативний акт, міжособистісне спілкування, прагмалінгвістика, мовленнєва інтенція.

Introduction

In recent decades, linguistics has increasingly explored the problems of the anthropological aspect, which is manifested in the study of language and speech in relation to human. Accordingly, the anthropological aspect is the result of the formation of a new discipline at the intersection of linguistics with other sciences that study human - linguopersonology. The object and subject of linguopersonology is the linguistic personality and its variation (speech\lingual personality, communicative personality etc.). In view of the subject of the study (speech behaviour of Sherlock Holmes) and thus the narrow range of research possibilities in the article we use the term of speech personality. Speech personality is a person who manifests in speech behaviour based on certain intentions in the communicative interaction [8, p. 111]. Speech behaviour and intentions of a personality during the communicative act are studied by the pragmalinguistics.

The aim of the article is to identify the main speech characteristics of Sherlock Holmes through the analysis of his speech behaviour according to the pragmatic function. Despite the interest of researchers to speech personality, there is a noticeable lag in the formation of speech portraits of TV characters in pragmalinguistics. Generally, the study of a speech personality starts from studying the level of communicative competence, discourse analysis, linguistic features of real representatives of a particular nation with the whole spectrum of speech manifestation. However, when it comes to a TV character or a fiction protagonist, the spectrum of speech manifestation is narrowed and restricted to a certain communicative situation (discourse). This article focuses on interpretation of Sherlock Holmes' speech behaviour through the pragmatics, thus, the material of our research is the TV series “Sherlock”. The chosen material and research direction determine the relevance of the presented topic and thereby defines the issue of the article.

The subject matter of this article is the speech intentions of Sherlock which he applies at each level of interpersonal communication. Respectively, the object is locution of the utterances, indicating the speech intention of Sherlock Holmes. The material of the research is video recordings and scripts of the TV series “Sherlock” [6, 11]. The series have 4 seasons, each includes 3 episodes, so a total of 12 episodes are under our scrutiny. In each episode we find and focus on certain set of lexical and grammatical features that help identify Sherlock Holmes' intentions.

Theoretical background

speech sherlock interpersonal communication

The theoretical foundations of the study of linguopersonology are laid in the works of a number of scientists, such as W. Humboldt, J.L. Weisgerber, I.O. Baudouin de Courtenay, W. Wundt, O.P. Potebnia, and V.V. Vinogradov. The tradition of studying the speech personality is originated in the works of Yu. Karaulov, V. Karasyk, O. Leontiev, G. Bogin, V. Krasnykh, and others. In modern linguistics, existing approaches to the study of speech (lingual) personality can be divided into five types: psychological analysis of speech personality (in psychology, many classifications of characters have been developed - each type of character is manifested in communication, i.e. it can be studied from a linguistic standpoint); sociological analysis of speech personality (certain social groups are identified and described in sociology and sociolinguistics); culturological analysis of speech personality (modeling of linguistic and cultural types - generalized known representatives of certain groups of society, whose behaviour embodies the norms of linguistic culture in general and affects the behaviour of all members of society); linguistic analysis of speech personality (description of communicative behaviour of elite or mass speech culture, characteristics of people from the standpoint of their communicative competence, analysis of creative and standard language consciousness); pragmalinguistic analysis of speech personality, which is based on the selection of types of communicative tone, characteristic of a particular discourse [1, p. 63]. By communicative tone we mean the emotional and stylistic format of communication that arises in the process of interaction of communicators and determines their intentions and choice of different means of communication. The latter type of analysis is taken as the basis of our study. Pragmalinguistics studies has a lot of questions, however, the most crucial notions of it are communicative situation, pragmatic intention, addresser and addressee, intention, speech act (C. Pierce and C. Morris, J. Austin, J. Searle, P. Grice, Z. Wendler, L. Wittgenstein etc).

Results and discussion

Different forms of communicative situation acquire the relevant functions according to which communication takes place as a process aimed at achieving a certain goal. Functional analysis of communication makes it possible to identify the social role it plays in society, and helps to better understand its essence. Pragmatic function is a function that regulates the behaviour and activities of communication participants, to coordinate their joint actions. It can be aimed at both addresser and addressee. In the course of this function there is a need to require the interlocutor to perform an action or prohibit any actions. After all, a person communicates to achieve certain goals, for which it carries out certain activities, which in turn requires constant monitoring and correlation [3, pp. 16-17]. This is what the pragmatic function of communication provides.

We consider Sherlock Holmes' speech behaviour with his intentions at different levels of interpersonal communication: social, business and personal [3 p. 17]. The intentions of the speech personality are represented by a pragmatic function.

Social level of communication is a set of organized actions (collection of information, its processing, transmission and verification of the impact of information on the interlocutor), aimed at exchanging socially important information and regulating social actions, interactions and relations between social subjects and objects in society (O. Kholod).

Sherlock opposes himself as a superhuman in a society of ordinary people. He understands all human issues and he has his own expert opinion on everything. He considers himself a highly active sociopath, i.e. despises social norms and rules. His worldview does not always coincide with others, his views are ironic, negative. In this kind of communication, Sherlock intends to point to his perfection and ignorance of his interlocutor at the same time.

To achieve the intention Sherlock in his speech uses narrative and motivational sentences, comparisons (usually negative), ironic remarks, examples:

SHERLOCK: What are you typing?

JOHN: Blog.

SHERLOCK: About?

JOHN: Us.

SHERLOCK: You mean me.

JOHN: Why?

SHERLOCK: Well, you're typing a lot.

SHERLOCK: I have high hopes for you, Inspector. A glittering career.

DIMMOCK: I go where you point me.

SHERLOCK: Exactly!

Sorry, did I say «murder»? I meant to say «marriage» - but, you know, they're quite similar procedures when you think about it. The participants tend to know each other, and it's over when one of them's dead. In fairness, murder is a lot quicker.

God is a ludicrous fiction dreamt up by inade- quates who abnegate all responsibility to an invisible magic friend.

I'm afraid, John, I can't congratulate you. All emotions, and in particular love, stand opposed to the pure, cold reason I hold above all things. A wedding is, in my considered opinion, nothing short of a celebration of all that is false and specious and irrational and sentimental in this ailing and morally compromised world. Today we honour the death- watch beetle that is the doom of our society and, in time - one feels certain - our entire species. [6, 11]

Business type of communication is the process of sharing information between people within professional activity. The importance of business communication involves constant flow of information and lies in presenting options and ideas, making plans and proposals, executing decisions and reaching agreements. professional communication for Sherlock is not a matter of teamwork, joint disclosure of criminal cases, it is a matter of individual work. There are many colleagues in his profession, but they play a secondary role of support, solving minor tasks while Sherlock plays the role of chief. In professional communication, Sherlock's main intentions are to persuade, dominate, present information, and disparage people who are intellectually poor. To achieve such intentions Sherlock uses motivational and narrative sentences filled with facts, rhetorical questions, imperative forms of verbs, ironic remarks, examples:

I know you're an Army doctor and you've been invalided home from Afghanistan. I know you've got a brother who's worried about you but you won't go to him for help because you don't approve of him - possibly because he's an alcoholic; more likely because he recently walked out on his wife. And I know that your therapist thinks your limp's psychosomatic - quite correctly, I'm afraid.

Victim is in her late thirties. Professional person, going by her clothes; I'm guessing something in the media, going by the frankly alarming shade of pink. Travelled from Cardiff today, intending to stay in London for one night. It's obvious from the size of her suitcase.

(sighing in exasperation) Did you see him? Morbidly obese, the undisguised halitosis of a single man living on his own, the right sleeve of an internet porn addict and the breathing pattern ofan untreated heart condition. Low self-esteem, tiny IQ and a limited life expectancy - and you think he's an audacious criminal mastermind?!

Lestrade. We've had a break-in at Baker Street. Send your least irritating officers and an ambulance.

Anderson, don't talk out loud. You lower the І.

Q. of the whole street.

Shut up, everybody, shut up! Don't move, don't speak, don't breathe. [6, 11]

Quantitative valuation of Sherlock's intelligence is higher than the norm of an ordinary person, so it can be argued that the protagonist is endowed with a high level of intelligence. This assessment of Sherlock helped him become a genius of his business - a detective. He is well-versed in almost all spheres of life (crime, physics, chemistry, music, culture etc.), so he never loses the chance to demonstrate his knowledge with the intention to show his excellence, his unique personality, examples:

This is my hard drive, and it only makes sense to put things in there that are useful ... really useful. Ordinary people fill their heads with all kinds of rubbish, and that makes it hard to get at the stuff that matters.

As ever, Watson, you see but do not observe. To you, the world remains an impenetrable mystery whereas, to me, it is an open book. Hard logic versus romantic whimsy.

I'm a consulting detective. Only one in the world. I invented the job. It means when the police are out of their depth, which is always, they consult me.

Your mind: it's so placid, straightforward, barely used. Mine's like an engine, racing out of control; a rocket tearing itself to pieces trapped on the launch pad. [6, 11]

During communication, Sherlock shares not only information and facts but also personal observations. Often he does this not with the intention of sharing information to solve a crime, but with the motive to despise the mental abilities of his interlocutor. Sherlock uses technical terms, Latin names, abbreviations, which are difficult for the average person to perceive, examples:

The Van Buren Supernova - exploding star, only appeared in the sky in eighteen fifty-eight.

Clostridium botulinum. It's one of the deadliest poisons on the planet! It's virtually undetectable.

Golem. Jewish folk story. A gigantic man made of clay. It's also the name of an assassin - real name Oskar Dzundza - one of the deadliest assassins in the world. The Golem squeezes the life out of his victims with his bare hands.

The glycerol molecule. PGPR! It's used in making chocolate. [6, 11]

Sherlock often operates with negatively marked lexemes in order to demonstrate his mental superiority and dominance during professional communication. He often does this to confuse, to silence or to embarrass the interlocutor, examples:

I dislike being outnumbered. It makes for too much stupid in the room.

Miss Mackenzie, you're in charge of pupil welfare, yet you left this place wide open last night. What are you: an idiot, a drunk or a criminal?

I don't care what people think. <... > that would just make them stupid or wrong.

Oh, forget him. He's an idiot. Why else would he think himself a suspect? [6, 11]

Personal (intimate-personal) communication is possible when a person can touch any topic and not necessarily resort to words, the interlocutor will understand everything by facial expressions, movements, intonation. In such communication, each participant has the image of interlocutor, knows his personality, can predict his reactions, interests, beliefs, attitudes. Most often, such communication occurs between loved ones and is largely the result of previous relationships. In contrast to business, this communication, on the contrary, focuses mainly on psychological problems, interests and needs that deeply and intimately affect a person's personality: the search for meaning in life, determining the attitude to a significant person, to what is happening around, internal conflict.

Sherlock is a person whose mental energy is directed inward, to himself; his thoughts, interests and even actions are addressed to the personal "I". As a result, Sherlock has a tendency to reflect, to constantly analyze his mental states. He is in contact with the environment by force and adapts worse to it; he is closed, he experiences everything in himself and cannot submit to an external object. In general, Sherlock supports conversations on topics related to personal life in order to establish "zones of commonality" for interlocutors in face-to-face communication. However he has no desire to "open" the soul, look for reasons and discuss the consequences of his closed nature. During this type of communication Sherlock resorts to intentions that contribute to the end of the conversation, change of the topic of communication, e.i. Sherlock shows indifference, irritability. In his speech, Sherlock uses short affirmative sentences, sometimes negative, examples:

JOHN: In real life. There are no arch-enemies in real life. Doesn't happen.

SHERLOCK: Doesn't it? Sounds a bit dull. What do real people have, then, in their «real lives»?

JOHN: Friends, people they know, people they like, people they don't like ... Girlfriends, boyfriends ...

SHERLOCK: Yes, well, as I was saying - dull.

JOHN: You don't have a girlfriend, then?

SHERLOCK: Girlfriend? No, not really my area.

JOHN: Mm. Oh, right. D'you have a boyfriend? Which is fine, by the way.

SHERLOCK: I know it's fine. No.

I concider myself married to my work and while I'm flattered by your interest, I'm really not looking for anyone.

MOLLY: Didn't you get John's text?

SHERLOCK: No. I delete his texts. I delete any

text that begins «Hi».

MOLLY: No idea why people think you're incapable of human emotion. [6, 11]

When it comes to sentiment topics, Sherlock uses the intentions of persuasion, informing and restrition. He uses negative sentences, expressions and phrases that describe the relationship in a negative light in order to convince the interlocutor of his\her wrongdoing and wrong worldview, examples:

JOHN: Why do you need to be alone?

SHERLOCK: If you are referring to romantic

entanglement, Watson - which I rather fear you are - as I have often explained before, all emotion is abhorrent to me. It is the grit in a sensitive instrument, the crack in the lens.

Look at me. I'm afraid, John. Afraid. I've always been able to keep myself distant. Divorce myselffrom feelings. But you see, body's betraying me. Interesting, yes? Emotions... grit on the lens, the fly in the ointment.

Oh, enjoying the thrill of the chase is fine, and creating the distraction of the game I sympathize entirely, but SENTIMENT... sentiment is a chemical defect found in the losing side <...> I imagine John Watson thinks love's a mystery to me, but the chemistry is incredibly simple and very destructive. When we first met, you told me that disguise is always a self-portrait; how true of you. The combination to your safe: your measurements - but this is far more intimate. This is your heart, and you should never let it rule your head. You could have chosen any random number and walked out of here today with everything you've workedfor, but you just couldn't resist it, could you? I've always assumed that love is a dangerous disadvantage. Thank you for the final proof.

I have no friends, no relationships. [6, 11]

To summarize we investigated the pragmatic functions of Sherlock Holmes' speech behaviour. It was revealed that Sherlock Holmes appeals to a certain speech intentions during the presented communicative acts of a social, business and personal nature.

Conclusions

At the communicative-pragmatic level, Sherlock Holmes' speech personality uses speech intentions (pragmatic functions) in terms of communicative situation. The article considered three types of communicative situations, in each of them Sherlock operates with the same motives, namely, the intention to inform, influence addressee, request information or encourage action (motivate), regulate communicative and social interactions, dominate etc. At the lexical and grammatical level to achieve the intentions Sherlock uses such a range of tokens as technical terms, proper names in Latin, abbreviations, verbs of the imperative mood, phraseology, comparison, negatively marked nouns etc.; all kinds of sentences for the purpose of expression and structure. The prospect of further study of the speech personality of Sherlock Holmes will be considered in terms of communicative competence. The level of communicative competence of Sherlock Holmes will be studied on the base of four areas of communicative competence: linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic.

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