common the fact that they are both concerned with functions: the speaker s‘ short-term
purposes in speaking and long-term goals in interacting verbally. The discussion of the functions mentioned above will allow speech acts to be described more. Speech act
theory describes what utterances are intended to do, such as promising, apologising, thanking, describing, threatening and so on.
B. Identification of the Problems
As mentioned in the background of the study, second language students of English still find some difficulties in understanding people through their language,
especially English native speeches. Misinterpretations of the implied meaning of the speakers‘ speeches may occur when there is a complex pattern of language variety.
The fundamental problem is that the locution, or the form of words, can be delivered in many ways which may create various interpretations of the meaning. In fact, to learn
English skills needs to know English natives‘ habits, e.g. their language use, their wisdoms, their social lives, and many more so that the ESL students do not face
difficulties to learn under a reason of having cultural borders. Thus, to learn about the culture of the United States of America is also necessary to keep up with the context of
its people and its language. The language used in the speeches are relatively different with common
language use in everyday lives. As what is stated by Hymes in Wardhaugh 1986:245- 247, there are various factors that are involved in speaking. They are described as an
ethnography of a comunicative event which are relevant in understanding how that particular communicative event achieves its objectives. Most second language students
are unaware of how a speech should have what Hymes calls as ‗SPEAKING‘ for those
factors, they are as follows:
1 Setting and scene S
Giving a speech must see the setting and the scene. Setting refers to the time and place, i.e., the concrete physical circumstances in which speech
takes place. Scene refers to the abstract psychological setting, or the cultural definition of the occasion. In a graduation speech, setting and scene can be
exemplified by having a joyful scene, while in President of USA‘s inaugural
speeches, the situation will be a serious one within a designated setting. 2
Participants P This has various combinations of speaker-listener, addressor-
addressee, or sender-receiver. They generally fill certain socially specified roles. Participants can be exemplified by the relations between a teacher-a
student, a doctor-a patient, a parent-a kid, and many more. 3
Ends E This refers to the conventionally recognised and expected outcomes of
an exchange as well as to the personal goals that participants seek to accomplish on particular occasions. In a courtroom for example, each person
in that room has their personal goals they want to achieve because the court process has many participants itself, i.e., the judge, the jury, the witness, the
prosecutor, the accused, and the defence. 4
Act sequence A It refers to the actual form and content of what is said; the precise
words used, how they are used, and the relationship of what is said to the actual topic at hand. To join public lectures, casual conversations, or even
parties, each person has their own sense of act sequence. So, if the
participants wants to be mingle with, they need to follow the system of language and things talked within.
5 Key K
It refers to the tone, manner, or spirit in which a particular message is conveyed. Key is exemplified by the way the speaker tries to be serious,
sarcastic, humoruous, light-hearted, or from the gesture, posture, or even deportment.
6 Instrumentalities I
They refer to the choice of channel, e.g. oral, written, or telegraphic, and to the actual form of speech employed, such as the language, dialect,
code, or register that is chosen. 7
Norms of interaction and interpretation N They refer to specific behaviours and properties that attach to speaking
and also to how these may be viewed by someone who does not share them. The norms can be seen from the speaker‘s loudness, silence, gaze return,
and many more. 8
Genre G It refers to clearly demarcated type of utterance, such things as poems,
proverbs, riddles, sermons, lectures, prayers, and so on. They are indeed different with casual speeches. Genre simply can be seen from church
services conduct sermons, colleges have public lectures, poets read poems, and so on.
These problems above have been identified towards misinterpretations in learning the communicative event itself. In conclusion, this study is intended to bring
the contextualisation of how these factors are relevant enough to the speaking event.
This study also tries to describe the context affected by the speeches. It allows social dimension to encounter in the speech uttered by President Bill Clinton. Joseph 2006:
143 states that all the acceptances and refusals have political implications, starting at the interpersonal level and extending up to the national level. It is intended to prove
how this national speeches employ the intention of what Clinton was saying as he served the most influencial and powerful country at that time.
C. Limitation of the Problem
