d. Expressives
Expressives are acts in which the words state what the speaker feels, such as apologising, praising, congratulating, deploring, and
regretting. Out of 69 occurences in I Misled, it happened 11 times with 5 times of regretting, twice of apologising, twice of greeting, an
act of loving and thanking. While in I Have Sinned, out of 83 occurences, it appeared 20 times with 8 times of thanking, 4 times of
regretting, 4 times of apologising, 3 times of greeting, and an act of loving. Thanking was considered the most illocutionary acts
happening in I Have Sinned. Indeed, it meant that President Clinton delivered more gratitude for his society because they still cared for
him.
1 Regretting
Regretting is the act to feel sorry about a situation, especially something sad or wrong or a mistake that the
speaker has made. It is clearly become a part of an apology speech because it shows how the speaker is regretful upon
what he or she did wrongly. Here is the example: I deeply regret that.
SP1401:30-01:32 In the example above, it was assured that President Clinton
put a word ―deeply‖ to represent his deepest regret because
of his wrongdoing. However, this act of regretting was delivered in I Misled, thus, this did not work out well because
it was outnumbered by many acts of offense to the audience. President Clinton at least had put an attempt to feel wrong.
However, President Clinton made his right decision to deliver his second apology speech which resulted better
because his decreasing number of offense to the audience. Here is the example of regretting in I Have Sinned:
I agree with those who have said that in my first statement after I testified I was not contrite enough.
SP4501:23-01:30 Sometimes, the idea of regretting was included in the idea
of confessing as well. The example above in data SP4501:23-01:30 showed how President Clinton regret
for being not contrite enough in his first apology speech I Misled
. He agreed with the receivers that he did not confess fully, even to the level of apology, he agreed that he was not
contrite enough. He expressed his deepest regret, however, in his second apology speech which the audience felt that this
was it, the essence of being a human was responded very well by President Clinton, to make mistake, to muse over the
mistake, and to say sorry.
2 Apologising
Apologising is the act to tell someone that the speaker is sorry for having done something that has caused them
problems or unhappiness. The example is below:
I deeply regret that. SP1401:30-01:32
In data SP1401:30-01:32, it had been discussed in sub- section regretting, it was actually also included in the act of
apologising. It showed that President Clinton felt bad for his wrongdoing and he was sorry. However, this was the only
significant message that can be counted as apologising in the first apology speech I Misled which resulted as an insincere
apology speech. He did not particularly say which party that had been hurt mostly. It was very different with the act of
apologising in I Have Sinned as in the example below: It is important to me that everybody who has been hurt knows
that the sorrow I feel is genuine: first and most important, my family; also my friends, my staff, my Cabinet, Monica
Lewinsky and her family, and the American people. I have asked all for their forgiveness.
SP47-4801:38-02:04 Apologising is the center of an apology speech. It is
expected to maintain the harmony between the speaker and the hearer. The speaker, in this condition, is assumed to have
any offensive acts to another person, so to be responsible, the speaker needs to apologise. The example in data SP47-
4801:38-02:04 above showed how President Clinton trying to achieve that goal, to apologise sincerely to the people who
had been offended. He mentioned very tenderly who had been hurt and how he felt by stating one by one party
involved in the scandal. He humbly managed to tell from his deepest heart how he felt without being insincere and
ashamed.
3 Thanking
Thanking is the act to express to someone that the speaker is pleased about or is grateful for something that they have
done. This is the example of thanking in I Have Sinned: I am profoundly grateful for the support of so many
Americans who somehow through it all seem to still know that I care about them a great deal, that I care about their
problems and their dreams. SP6105:03-05:20
In the example above, President Clinton would like to send his deepest gratitude to his followers because of their
patience and willingness to believe that President Clinton would be better in the future to reach American dreams. It
was proven with his emphasis on profoundly to show how much he found the supports from many people around him. It
was delivered in a sincere intonation that was not found before in I Misled.
4 Loving
Loving is the act of showing a lot of love towards someone. This is the example in I Have Sinned:
And if my repentance is genuine and sustained, and if I can maintain both a broken spirit and a strong heart, then good
can come of this for our country as well as for me and my family.
SP6505:48-06:07 President Clinton in the example above showed how much
he loved his country and his family. He would like to do anything to make a better America. He sincerely asked for
Americans to support his way to move on from this misbehaviour scandal. It was very different when he
expressed the act of loving in I Misled. He said: I was also very concerned about protecting my family.
SP1701:44-01:48 The fact that he misled people, even his wife was very
embarassing. Yet, he lied for several times that he did not have any relationship with Ms. Lewinsky. In the data
SP1701:44-01:48, even he utilised the idea of protecting family as a shield to defend his lies. It means, the receivers
definitely found his insincerity in his sentence, he loved his family conditionally.
5 Greeting
Greeting is the act to welcome someone with particular words or a particular action, or to react to something in the
stated way. It is exemplified in: Welcome to the White House and to this day to which Hillary
and the vice president and I look forward so much every year.
SP3800:03-00:13
In the example above, President Clinton welcomed his people very warmly, especially when he said that he looked
forward so much in delivering this speech. It was conducted in the second apology I Have Sinned where many
distinguished guests invited. Is was very different with the greeting itself done in the first apology speech. Here is the
example of greeting in I Misled: Good evening
SP0100:06-00:07 In data SP0100:06-00:07, it was considered as if
President Clinton only greeted because of his formality reason, not more. It was concise yet unfriendly. Many fellow
citizens at that time directly criticised the way how President Clinton did not fulfil his goal of his speech which was to
apologise.
2. The kinds of the arrangement of President Clinton’s classical
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