Speech acts are difficult to perform in a second language because learners may not know the idiomatic expressions or cultural norms in the second language or they may transfer their first language rules and conventions into the second language, assuming that such rules are universal.peech acts include real-life interactions and require not only knowledge of the language but also appropriate use of that language within a given culture. Here are some examples of speech acts we use or hear every day: Greeting: Hi, Eric.
Chicago movie critic Gene Siskel, who made a career of trading thumbs-up and thumbs-down reviews with archrival Roger Ebert on their syndicated TV show, died yesterday, nine months after undergoing surgery for a brain tumor.
Jack Schaefer, a newspaperman turned author of westerns whose best-known work was the novel Shane, died Thursday at St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe, N.M. He was 83 years old. Mr. Schaefer, who had lived in Santa Fe for the last 20 years, died of congestive heart failure, said his wife, Louise Deans Schaefer.