SPEECH

ACT
Group - 4
 Objectives
1. Understand 3. Learn About
Speech Acts Performatives

2. Identify Types 4. Apply Communicative

of Speech Acts Competence
 Speech
Act
A speech act is an utterance that a
speaker makes to achieve an intended
effect. Some of the functions which are
carried out using speech acts are offering
an apology, greeting, request, complaint,
invitation, compliment, or refusal. A
speech act might contain just one word or
several words or sentences.
 Three Types of Speech
Acts
According to J. L. Austin (1962), a
philosopher of language and the
developer of the Speech Act Theory,
there are three types of acts in every
utterance, given the right circumstances
or context.
These are:
 Three Types of Speech Acts
01 Locutionary
uttering. act is the actual act of

Example:
"Please do the dishes"
Three Types of Speech Acts
02 Illocutionary act is the social function of what
is said.

Example:
By uttering the locution "Please
do the dishes" the speaker
requests the addressee to wash
the dishes.
Three Types of Speech Acts
03 Perlocutionary act is the resulting act of what is said. This
effect is based on the particular context in which the
speech act was mentioned.

Example:
"Please do the dishes" would
lead to the addressee
washing the dishes
 Indirect Speech
Acts
There are also indirect speech acts
which occur when there is no direct
connection between the form of the
utterance and the intended meaning.
They are different in force (i.e.,
intention) from the inferred speech act.
 Indirect Speech
Acts
For example, read the following
urterance:
"Can you pass the
rice"
Inferred speech act:
Do you have the
ability to hand over
the rice.
 Indirect Speech
Acts
For example, read the following urterance:

"Can you pass the rice"

Indirect speech
act: Please pass
the rice.
Indirect Speech
Acts
So while the utterance literally asks the
addressee if he or she has the ability to
hand a plate of rice, it actually indirectly
requests the addressee to pass the rice to
the speaker.
 Performati
vesintroduced the concept of
Austin also
performative utterances. Statements
which enable the speaker to perform
something just by stating it. In this
manner, verbs that execute the speech
act that they intend to effect are called
performatives. A performative utterance
said by the right person under the right
circumstances results in a change in the
For example, the phrase "I now pronounce you
husband and wife," when uttered by an
authorized person such as a judge will have the
actual effect of binding a couple in marriage.
However, if the same statement is uttered to the same
couple in the same place by someone who is not
authorized to marry them--as in the case of the
accompanying picture, a robot-then there is no effect
whatsoever because a condition was not met.
 Searle's Classifications of
As a response to Austin's Speech Act Theory, John
Speech Acts
Searle (1976), a professor from the University of
California, Berkeley, classified illocutionary acts into
five distinct categories.
 1. Assertive - a type of
illocutionary act in which
the speaker expresses
belief about the truth of a
proposition.
Some examples of an
assertive act are
Example: suggesting, putting
No one makes better forward, swearing
pancakes than I do. boasting, and concluding.
 2. Directive - a type of
illocutionary act in which the
speaker tries to make the
addressee perform an action.
Some examples of a directive
act are asking, ordering,
requesting,inviting, advising,
and begging.
Example:
Please close the
door.
 3. Commissive - a type of
illocutionary act which
commits the speaker to
doing something in the
future. Examples of a
commissive act are
promising, planning,
Example: vowing, and betting.
From now on, I will
participate in our group
activity.
 4. Expressive - a type of
illocutionary act in which the
speaker expresses his/her
feelings or emotional
reactions. Some examples of
an expressive act are
thanking, apologizing,
Example: welcoming, and deploring.
I am so sorry for not
helping out in our group
projects and letting you
do all the work.
 5. Declaration - a type of
illocutionary act which brings a
change in the external situation.
Simply put, declarations bring
into existence or cause the state
of affairs which they refer to.
Example: Some examples of declarations
You are fired! are blessing, firing, baptizing,
bidding, passing a sentence, and
excommunicating.
Always keep in mind that speech acts include concrete
life interactions that require the appropriate use of
language within a given culture. Communicative
competence (i.e.., the ability to use linguistic
knowledge to effectively communicate with others) is
essential for a speaker to be able to use and
understand speech acts. Idioms and other nuances in
a certain language might be lost or misunderstood by
someone who does not fully grasp the language yet.
Thank
You