Communicative Competence

Strategies in Various Speech

Situations
Arjay R. Alteza, LPT
Subject Teacher
 Communicative Competence
Strategies in Various Speech
Situations

1 2 3
Speech Speech
Context Style Speech Act
Analyze the statement. Write down
the different interpretations
that can be drawn from it.
“It’s raining outside”
Literal Meaning Underlying meaning Action that could be
done based on the
statement
“It’s raining outside” (The teacher's actual
utterance)

“It’s raining outside” (The speaker wants the

listener to stay inside)

“It’s raining outside”(The listeners respond by

getting umbrella)
“It’s warm in here”
“The door is open”
 SPEECH
This can be the part of the presentation where you introduce
yourself, write your email…

ACT
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Speech Act Illocution

01 What Are Speech Acts? 02

Locution Perlocution
03 04
 SPEECH ACT
language or words are used as a tool
to convey messages, ideas, and
opinions. However, speech goes
beyond the words that you literally
say. Each time you speak, you are
actually doing something; that is, you
are performing an action.
 SPEECH ACT
A speech act is an utterance that serves a
function in communication. We perform speech
acts when we offer an apology, greeting,
request, complaint, invitation, compliment, or
refusal. A speech act might contain just one
word, as in "Sorry!" to perform an apology, or
several words or sentences
 THE SPEECH ACT THEORY

● proposed by John Langshaw Austin in 1962

● further developed by John Rogers Searle in 1969

● concerned with what the speaker means—which is his or

her intention—when he or she says something rather
than what the utterance literally means in a language
 THE SPEECH ACT THEORY

● regards language as a sort of action instead of as a

medium for conveying and expressing ideas
● states that the very basic unit of communication is the
production or issuance of words, symbols, and
sentences; these establish the mutual understanding
between people and what they intend to communicate
KIND OF
UTTERANCE
 Kind of Utterances

Constative
Utterance Performative utterances
describe a situation or are words that incite
insinuate assertions. action.
Constative
Utterance
The word constative means statements or
expressions that describe or express facts or
situations in a story and therefore can be true or
false. In other words, constatives are words or
prejudices because they are used to describe or say
something, true or false.
Examples:
“She can write.”
“Tahani is getting married.”
“The weather seems fine.”
Performative utterances

Performative expressions are defined in verbal

expressions as sentences that not only do nothing
about the given truth, but change the truth they
describe.
In other words, A sentence or other linguistic
expression that, when expressed in the right context,
actually does or accomplishes something.
Examples:
“Leave.”
“I order you to keep silent.”
“Submit your project now.”
Taking into account only Austin’s first categories,
identify whether the given sentence is a
constative or performative utterance.

_____________1. Run!
_____________2. Marlowe made apple pie.
_____________3. Please be there.
_____________4. She wears a blue gown.
_____________5. I like that.
CLASSIFICATIONS
OF
SPEECH ACTS
1. Locution
2. Illocution
LOCUTIONARY ACT
is the act of making an expressive meaning, extending
the spoken language preceded by silence and then
followed by silence or a change of speaker – also
known as a locution or utterance act.

● It is the act of producing meaningful utterance.

● Locution is what is said or the actual words being spoken.

● Searle replaced the concept of locutionary act with the

propositional act. This pertains to the act of “saying something”
in the normal or traditional sense.
Functions of
Locution
● asking or answering a question

● announcing a verdict or an intention

● giving information

● pronouncing words

● making an appeal

● giving criticism
 Types of
Locutionary Act
1. Utterance act pertains to the word or string words said
that may not have a particular meaning.

Example:
Theresa was about to turn left when suddenly someone
appeared out of nowhere. Then, she uttered, “Oh!”
 Types of
Locutionary Act
2. Propositional act pertains to an utterance performed
when referring or predicating in an utterance. This does
not have to be complete sentence, nor does it have to
intend anything.

Example:
As the girl was walking in the park, she suddenly noticed
the pretty bouquets and exclaimed, “Oh, roses!”
 Examples of Locutionary Acts
1.The dog is on the floor – Declarative sentence
form that denotes a statement
2.Do you want some coffee? – Interrogative
sentence form used to ask questions

Good examples for sentences which are locutionary acts are any utterances
which simply contain a meaningful statement about objects. For example:
“the baby is crying” or “the sky is blue”. Other examples of locutionary acts
can help us understand them is linguistic terms of meaning and reference.
Such example sentences include: “there is a dog over there” or “Jack loves
Jill”. Once again, in order to give a good example of a locutionary act you
need to simply thing of a sentence that has meaning, and it is the meaning
part of that sentence which is locutionary.
ILLOCUTIONARY ACT
An illocutionary act is one of asserting, demanding, promising, suggesting,
exclaiming, vowing – essentially, anything that you can plausibly put the
pronoun I in front of (I warn you, I urge you, I thank you). Illocutionary acts are
declarations of personal view or intent.
• It is the meaning one wishes to communicate or
convey.
• It is the act that a speaker performs in saying the
utterance.
• This pertains to “what is done in uttering the
words.”
Categories of Illocution
1. Expressives

● express a speaker’s emotions and

attitudes toward a particular situation.
● include apologizing, welcoming,
thanking, and congratulating

Example:
“All the best on your upcoming movie.”
(congratulating)
 Categories of Illocution
2. Declarations

● bring about a change in the situation

upon being uttered
● include appointing, baptizing, declaring,
firing, and nominating

Example:
“Classes are suspended tomorrow.”
(declaring)
 Categories of Illocution
3. Assertives

● convey information regarding

something.
● Include concluding, stating, describing,
asserting, suggesting, and insisting

Example:
“Female senators are better than male
senators.” (asserting)
Categories of Illocution
4. Directives

● cause the individual being addressed to

do a particular action
● Include commanding, daring, challenging,
requesting, and asking someone to do
something

Example:
“Solve this equation.” (commanding)
Categories of Illocution
5. Commissives

● commit the speaker to doing a

particular action in the future
● Include promising, vowing, planning,
and offering

Example:
“I will finish this project tonight.” (vow)
ILLOCUTIONARY ACT
In an illocutionary act, it is not
just the act of saying something
but the act of saying something Examples of Illocutionary Acts
1.I will see you later – we could find three
for the purpose of: different assumptions of its meaning –
•Stating an opinion, confirming prediction, promise and a warning
2.I promise you to pay back – is an illocutionary
or denying something act as it is communicating
•Making a prediction, a promise, 3.There is too much homework in this subject –
opinion
request 4.I will do my homework later – promise
•Issuing an order or a decision 5. Go do your homework – order
•Giving an advice or permission
PERLOCUTIONARY ACT
act is one of getting somebody to do something; persuading (them to do
something), convincing (them to think something), scaring (getting them to be
afraid), insulting (getting them to be offended), amusing (getting them to laugh).
Perlocutionary acts have an agenda, an agenda directed at someone else. They
cannot take the pronoun I so easily.

• It is the effects, intentional or unintentional, the utterance has on

the behavior, thoughts, and feelings of the addressee.

• This is the result or effect produced by the utterance in the given

context.

• There is a perlocutionary act when, by saying something, a

 Examples of Perlocutionary Acts
The examples of perlocutionary acts which includes
persuading, convincing, scaring, enlightening, inspiring,
or otherwise affecting the interlocutor.

1."By the way, I have a CD of Debussy;

would you like to borrow it?“
2.“Fire” "In the perlocutionary instance, an act is
performed by saying something. For example, if
someone shouts 'fire' and by that act causes people to
exit a building which they believe to be on fire, they
have performed the perlocutionary act of convincing
other people to exit the building....
For example, when someone says
“it is raining” the perlocutionary part of
the utterance will manifest itself if
following that proclamation someone
takes an umbrella with him.
To give another example sentence: in
“don’t do that!” locutionary act is the
meaning of the words, the illocutionary act
is the attempt to warn someone and the
perlocutionary act is that someone no
doing that.
“It’s raining outside”
“It’s warm in here”
“The door is open”
"Our class will end in five minutes." (The
teacher's actual utterance)

"Our class will end in five minutes." (The

teacher wants the class to finish the task
before the bell rings)

"Our class will end in five minutes." (The

listeners respond by finishing their task)
THANKS!