Psalm 8 Speech Act
How majestic is your name
Psalm 8
Speech Act Analysis
The Speech Act layer presents the text in terms of what it does, following the findings of Speech Act Theory. It builds on the recognition that there is more to communication than the exchange of propositions. Speech act analysis is particularly important when communicating cross-culturally, and lack of understanding can lead to serious misunderstandings, since the ways languages and cultures perform speech acts varies widely.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Speech Act Analysis Creator Guidelines.
Summary Visual
| SPEAKER | VERSES | SPEECH ACT SECTIONS | ADDRESSEE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David | YHWH | |||||
| v. 2 YHWH, our lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, you whose glory is bestowed on the heavens. |
PRAISE
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| v. 3 Out of the mouths of nursing children, you have founded a fortress, because of your adversaries, in order to put an end to a vengeful enemy. |
MARVELLING
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| v. 4 When I see your heavens, that which your fingers made, the moon and stars which you have established, | ||||||
| v. 5 what is mankind that you should consider them, or a human being, that you should be mindful of him? | ||||||
| v. 6 And you caused him to lack being a heavenly being by a little, and you crowned him with honor and majesty. | ||||||
| v. 7 You caused him to rule that which your hands made. You placed everything under his feet. | ||||||
| v. 8 Sheep and goats and cattle – all of them, and even wild animals, | ||||||
| v. 9 birds in the sky and fish in the sea, that which traverses the paths of the sea. | ||||||
| v. 10 YHWH, our lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. |
PRAISE
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Speech Act Analysis Chart
The following chart is scrollable (left/right; up/down).
| Verse | Hebrew | CBC | Sentence type | Illocution (general) | Illocution with context | Macro speech act | Intended perlocution (Think) | Intended perlocution (Feel) | Intended perlocution (Do) |
| Verse number and poetic line | Hebrew text | English translation | Declarative, Imperative, or Interrogative Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type |
Assertive, Directive, Expressive, Commissive, or Declaratory Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type |
More specific illocution type with paraphrased context | Illocutionary intent (i.e. communicative purpose) of larger sections of discourse These align with the "Speech Act Summary" headings |
What the speaker intends for the address to think | What the speaker intends for the address to feel | What the speaker intends for the address to do |
If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.
| Emendations/Revocalizations legend | |
|---|---|
| *Emended text* | Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation. |
| *Revocalized text* | Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization. |
