Analysis Of The Speech Acts In Chinese Courtroom Discourse

As an important component of forensic linguistics, courtroom discourse has attracted more attention. The verbal actions in the courtroom trials are not only the perfect demonstration of courtroom discourse, but also consist of a set of speech acts. Courtroom trial as one kind of the most crucial legal practice, involves the problem whether it embodies procedural justice and judicial justice, and the interests of both parties concerned and the stakes of the rights of the accused and convictions. Therefore, the study on the speech acts in courtroom discourse is of great theoretical and practical significance.This thesis is based on Austin's and Searle's speech act theory as theoretical framework, combines with discourse analysis, and analyzes the speech acts in Chinese courtroom discourse from the perspective of pragmatics. At present, the studies on forensic linguistics in China have drawn much attention and focus on the lexicon, syntax and translation of forensic linguistics, whereas the research into the speech acts in courtroom discourse is seldom done. The thesis aims to apply speech act theory to elaborating the rules, characteristics and means of the speech acts in Chinese courtroom discourse and making a detailed analysis of the speech acts performed by major participants in courtroom trials: legal professionals. The study not only contributes to having a better understanding of the speech acts in courtroom discourse but also provides a new view for the regulation of legal language, the perfection of judicial system, and procedural and judicial justice.This thesis first gives a brief introduction to Austin's and Searle's speech act theory and the studies on courtroom discourse at home and abroad, then elaborates the constitutive rules, felicity conditions and classification of the speech acts in courtroom discourse based on speech act theory, and finally makes a particular analysis of the speech acts performed by the legal professionals in Chinese courtroom discourse by means of some cases in order to reveal their characteristics, means and functions, which is of some value to assessing whether the speech acts performed by the legal professionals such as judges and public prosecutors are standardized, and whether they enforce law impartially and perform their speech acts according to legal procedures.