423.7.1  : INTRODUCTION

     By now you might have realized that translation which involves only a search for TL equivalent words and structures may not fulfil the expectations of a translator. In other words, literal translation (word-to-word) does not have an effect on the reader equivalent to that of SL text reader. This is because SL text is not just words and sentences. That is, the meaning conveyed by an utterance is not just a product of the words in it but more than that. There are other aspects of meaning which are not derived solely from the meanings of the words used in phrases and sentences. When we read or hear bits of language, we usually try to understand not only what the words mean, but also what the write or speaker of those words intended to convey. Moreover, the utterances are all linked to each other in some way of the other both syntactically and thematically.

423.7.2: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

     J. Austin (1962) who is a philosopher from Oxford was the first one to investigate the ability of sentences to perform actions, to effect some purpose of communication besides the sense conveyed by the sum of the individual lexical items which the sentence consists of. He began his study by saying that there are two types of expressions - constatives and performatives. An expression is constative if it tends to describe an event. It is performative if (a) it describes a certain action accomplished by its speaker and (b) the production of it accomplishes that action. Performative expressions contain performative verbs. For example, the verbs in 'I do solemnly swear '; 'I declare the meeting adjourned' are performative verbs. The performatives have as a property that their intrinsic meaning cannot be obtained without a certain action being performed. For example, consider an interrogative form. In order to describe the meaning of an interrogative expression, we have to specify not only that the speaker is expressing his uncertainty and his desire for knowledge but also that he is accomplishing a particular act, i.e., interrogating. Austin noted all the utterances in addition to the basic meaning they convey, have some communicative force which is the dynamic element in communication. This element moves communication forward in the sense that linguistic transaction takes place between the interlocutors successfully. According to Austin there are three different kinds of actions which are performed when a language user produces an utterance. They are as follows: