Definitions of Speaking Function of Speaking

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CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Theoretical Review 1. Theory of Speaking Skills

a. Definitions of Speaking

There are some definitions of speaking. Speaking is the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts Chaney, 1998, p. 13. According to Brown, speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information Brown, 1994; Burns Joyce, 1997.Another word, speaking is an activity of conveying information or expressing ones thoughts and feelings in spoken language. In addition, speaking is also the activity of delivering speeches or lectures. The statements are also supported by Cindy 2012, that speaking can be also the activity to give a formal talk to a group of people. Therefore, it can be concluded that speaking is an oral activity of someone which is not only used to express feeling or thought but also to give lecture and speech in front of public. According to Nunan 2001 spoken language has some characteristics. Spoken language comprises short, often fragmentary utterances, in pronunciation range. Furthermore, it is also mentioned that spoken language has two basic language functions, i.e. the transactional and the interactional functions. Transactional speech involves communicating to get something done, including the exchange of goods and or services. In the other hand, interactional speech is communicating with someone for social purpose. To sum up, it can be concluded that speaking is the activity of giving information, using voices and words, done for making conversation. Speaking is also done for formal talks. It is done for several intentions, whether it is transactional or interactional.

b. Function of Speaking

There are some functions of speaking. According to Richards 2008, there are three functions of speaking. They are talks as interaction, talks as transaction and talks as performance. Talks as interaction refers to what we people normally call it as conversation. The aim of conversation is a person wish to be friendly and to establish comfortable zone of interaction to the others. In the other hand, people talks of transaction in order to make the other people react to what has been said. The main focus is on what is said and done. The last function of speaking is the talk of performance. This type of talks refers to the public talks that transmit information to audiences, for example, class presentation, public announcements and speeches. From the explanation above, it can be concluded that speaking has three functions whether as conversation, transaction or performance. In regard to the theory, the function of speaking which was promoted on improving the speaking skills belongs to talk as performance. There are some kinds of activity which could be classified as talk as performance, for example, public speaking activity; speech.

c. Types of Speaking