Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of

English speaking countries/ ULIS – VNU

Lecture 5
Speech acts
1. Utterances
• Performative utterances
• Constative utterances
2. Speech acts
• Locutionary, Illocutionary and Perlocutionary
• Types of speech acts
• Felicity conditions
• Direct vs. Indirect speech acts
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t eUtterances
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The term ‘utterance’ can be used in two difference senses:
• In the process sense, utterances are now known as
speech acts
• In the product sense, utterances are referred to as
inscriptions, the verbal records of utterances.
• E.g. I would like to thank all of you for your help
– In the process sense, uttering this sentence is considered as the
act of thanking
– In the product sense, the utterance “I would like to thank you all
for your help” is the verbal record of the act of uttering this
sentence.

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Types of Utterance
(Austin, 1955)

Utterances

Performative Constative

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Performative
t
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• describes the act that it performs, i.e. it performs some act
and simultaneously describes that act.
• E.g. “I promise to pay you tomorrow” is performative
because in saying it the speaker does what the utterance
describes, i.e. He promises to repay the hear the next day.
That is the utterance both describes and is a promise.
• A typical performative utterance usually contains the first-
person pronoun “I”, followed by a certain type of verb in the
present tense.
I promise ...
I congratulate...
I admit ...

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Performative verbs
apologize, authorize, condemn,
pronoun, declare, name,
object, name, plead...

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Performative
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Utterances

Explicit Primary
(non-explicit)

• make explicit the kind of act
that is being performed
• contain a V denoting the act
performed
e.g.: I thank you for loving
me.
• make implicit the kind of act
that is being performed
e.g.: We owed our lives to
the skills of the pilots.

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Constative utterances
• A constative utterance is one which makes an
assertion, i.e it is often the utterance of a declarative
sentence, but is not performative.
• E.g. “I am trying to get this box open with a
screwdriver” is a constative utterance because it
makes an assertion about a particular state of
affairs, but is not performative, i.e. the utterance
does not simultaneously describe and perform the

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same act.
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Performativen vs. Constative
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i utterance
Performative Constative
utterance
Definition Action-performing Statement-making
utterance utterance
Truth neither true nor false either true or false
value
Function make part of the represent a state of
world conform to affair or experience
what is said
Example I sentence you to He is the most
death. famous businessman
in the world.

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Speech Acts

• A speech act is an act that a speaker performs when

making an utterance.

• A speech act, then, is best described as “in saying

something, we DO something”, such as when a minister
say, “I now pronounce you husband and wife”.

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Meaninge of utterances
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In speech act theory, utterances have two
kinds of meaning:
a. Propositional meaning (also known as
locutionary meaning). This is the basic
literal meaning of the utterance which is
conveyed by the particular words and
structures which the utterance contains

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Meaning of utterances

b. Illocutionary meaning (also known as

illocutionary force).

This is the effect the utterance has on the

listener.
e.g. I am thirsty
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Speech
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• According to J.L Austin, a distinction is made in the theory
of speech acts between three different types of act involved in
or caused by the utterance of a sentence.
Speech act

Locutionary Illocutionary Perlocutionary

Act Act Act

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Speech act theory

Illocutionary
act

Locutionary Perlocutinary
act act

Types of
acts
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Speechrn act theory
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Locutionary • the act of saying, the literal meaning
of the utterance
act • →what is said

• the extra meaning of the utterance

Illocutionary produced on the basis of its literal
act meaning
• → what is done

• the effect of the utterance on the

Perlocutionary hearer, depending on specific
act circumstances.
• → the effect on the hearer

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Locutionary act
• A locutionary act is the saying of something which is
meaningful and can be understood.
• To perform a locutionary act is to produce an utterance
with a particular form and a more or less determinate
meaning according to the rules of a given language.
• Austin further analyses the locutionary act into three sub-
types:
– Phonic act: the act of producing an utterance in the phonic
medium of sound
– Phatic act: the act constructing a particular sentence in particular
language
– Rhetic act: the act contextualizing a sentence.

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E.g. Your hands are dirty
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Illocutionary act
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• An illocutionarytact is any speech act that amounts to
in commanding, promising and so on. It
stating, questioning,
is an act performed in saying something, as contrasted
with a locutionary act, the act of saying something, the
locution. In short, an illocutionary act is using a sentence
to perform a function.
• E.g. Your hands are dirty
• The illocutionary act (or simply the illocution) carried out
by a speaker making an utterance is the act viewed in
terms of the utterance’s significance within a conventional
system of social interaction. Illocutions are acts defined
by social conventions, acts such as accusing, admitting,
apologizing, giving permission, greeting, leavetaking,
naming, offering, praising, promising, protesting, etc.

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Illocutionary force
• The illocutionary force is roughly the speaker’s intention
behind the production of an illocutionary act, including its
communicative point, attitudes involved, and
presuppositions. In other words, the Illocutionary force is
some kind of intended message that a speaker assigns to
the sentence he utters.
E.g. We thank you for all your support.
I promise not to be late again.
• Some utterances have less obvious illocutionary force
E.g. It’s cold in here.
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Do you think you carry this bagn
o for me?
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Perlocutionary act
t eact (or just simply the perlocution)
byna speaker making an utterance is the act of
• The perlocutionary
carried outi
causing a certain effect on the hearer and others. In other
words, a perlocutionary act is the results or effects that are
produced by means of saying something.
E.g. Would you mind closing the window?
• If communication is
successful, the illocution
and the perlocution are
alike or nearly alike.

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Types of speech acts (Austin’s)

1. Verdictives: typified by the giving of a verdict by a jury,
umpire, arbitrator such as acquit, grade, estimate, dignose.
2. Exercitives: which are the exercising of powers, rights, or
influence such as appoint, order, advise, and warn.
3. Commisives: which commit the speaker to do something,
but also include declarations or announcements of
intention such as promise, guarantee, bet, oppose.
4. Behabitives: a miscellaneous groups concerned with
attitudes and social behaviour such as apologies, criticize,
bless, challenge.
5.
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Expositives: which clarify how utterances fit into ongoing
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discourse,or how they are being used: argue, postulate,
affirm, concede.
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Types of speech
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1. in: a speech act that commits the speaker to
Commissive
doing something in the future, such as a promise, or a
threat.

- If you don’t stop fighting, I’ll call the police.

- I’ll take you to the movies tomorrow.

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Types of speech acts (Searl’s)

2. Directive: a speech act that has the
function of getting the listener to do
something, such as a suggestion, a
request, or a command.

- Please, sit down

- Why don’t you close the window

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Types ofte speech acts (Searl’s)
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3. Declarative: a speech act which changes
the state of affairs in the world

- I now pronounce you man and wife

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Types of speech acts (Searl’s)

4. Expressive:

a speech act in which the speaker expresses

feelings and attitudes about something, such as
an apology, a complaint, to thank someone, to
congratulate someone.

- The meal was delicious

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Types ofte speech acts (Searl’s)
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5. Representative:
a speech act which describes states or
events in the word, such as an assertion,
a claim, a report.
- This is a German car
6. Phatic act :

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Phatic act Commissive

Declarative

Representative

Expressive
Directive

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Types of speech
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1. Representatives: Speakers represent external reality by
making their words fit the world as they believe it to be:
stating, describing, affirming.
What’s the weather like in Dallas? It’s raining.
2. Commissive: Speakers commit themselves to a future act
which will make the world fit their words: promising,
vowing, threatening, offering.
Coco’s sick. I’ll take her to the vet
3. Directives: Speakers direct hearers to perform some
future act which will make the world fit the speaker’s
words: commanding, ordering, requesting, warning,
suggesting.
The garage is a mess. Clean it up.

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4. Expressives: The speakers express their feelings by

making their words fit their internal psychological world:
thanking, apologising, congratulating, condoling.
This wine is awful You are very kind.
5. Rogatives: through which the speakers ask for
information. In rogatives, the hearer, rather than the
speaker will make the words fit the world: asking querying,
questioning.
Who open the door?
6. Declarations: The speaker utters words that in themselves
change the world: naming ships, marriages, sentencing
I now pronounce you husband and wife
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I sentence you to 10 years in prison
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Relation betweenrn ‘words’ and ‘the world’
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Speech act category Relation b/t the words Who’s responsible
and the world for the relation
Declarations The words change the Speaker
world

Representatives The words fit the world Speaker

(outside world)

Expressives The words fit the world Speaker

(psychological world)

Rogatives The words fit the world Hearer

Commissives The world fits the words Speaker

Directives The world fit the words Hearer

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Types of speech acts (Finegan’s)

1. Representatives represent a state of affairs:
assertions, statement, claims, hypotheses, descriptions,
suggestions. Representatives can generally be
characterized as true or false.
2. Commissives commit a speaker to a course of action:
promises, pledges, threats, vows
3. Directives are intended to get the addressee to carry
out an action: commands, requests, challenges,
invitations, entreaties, dares.
4.
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Declarations bring about the sate of affairs they name:
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delcaring mistrials. o n
blessings, hiring, firings, baptisms, arrests, marryings,

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Felicity/appropriateness conditions
• In speechnact theory, felicity conditions are the
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conditions which must be fullfilled for a speech
act to be satisfactorily performed or realized. In
other words, in order for an utterance to achieve
its illocutionary force, certain conditions must be
met.
• These conditions relate to the conversational and
situational context and the roles, abilities and
beliefs of the speaker and listener.

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4 types of felicity conditions

• Preparatory Conditions - those existing prior to the
utterance.
e.g.: for a directive statement to have the force of an
order, the person uttering it must have authority over the
other person and that person must recognize that
authority

• Sincerity Conditions - relate to speaker’s state of mind

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e.g.: for a commissive statement to be taken as a
promise the speaker must intend to do o

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4 typestof e felicity conditions
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• Essential Condition - utterance recognizable as instance
of particular illocutionary act

e.g.: for a directive to have the force of a request the

hearer must recognize that the speaker is attempting to get
the hearer to do X.

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4 types of felicity conditions

• Propositional Content Conditions -
state of affairs predicated in utterance
e.g.: an expressive that performs the act of
congratulating must predicate a past act of
the hearer; an expressive that performs
the act of apologizing must predicate a
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past act of the speaker
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The felicity conditions necessary for promises are:
a. A sentence is used which states a future act of the
speaker.
b. The speaker has the ability to do the act.
c. The hearer prefers the speaker to do the act rather
than not to do it.
d. The speaker would not otherwise usually do the
act.
e. The speaker intends to do the act.

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Direct and indirect speech acts

• Direct and indirect speech acts can be distinguished on

the basis of structure.

• The four basic sentence types in English are:

- declarative
- interrogative
- imperative

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- exclamatory.

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• There is an easily recognized relationship
between the four structural forms and the
four general communicative functions:
statement, question, command/request
and exclamation.

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Direct speech acts

A direct relationship between the form or

structure of the sentence and the function
it performs.

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• Direct speech acts include:
– explicit performatives that have the force named by the
performative verbs.
– the four major sentence types in English and the
forces that are traditionally associated with them.
• A speaker using direct speech acts wants to
communicate the literal meaning that the words
conventionally expresses (also known as the literal
force).

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Indirect speech act (ISA)

• Indirect relationship between a structure
and a function.

- It ’s cold outside.
- I left my pen at home.

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• Could you move over a bit?
• Do you know where the nearest post office is?
– When I ask someone one of the questions above, do I expect that
person to ‘answer my question’ with “Yes, perhaps I could” or
“Yes, I do”?
– If that person does answer my questions in such a way, is his
answer appropriate?
– If you were that person, what are your answers?
– What do I actually do when I utter the questions above?
– Can you think of other ways to do it?

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ISA

A speacker using an ISA wants to

communicate a different meaning from the
apparent surface meaning.

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• Differenti n
structures can be used to accomplish the
same basic function.
• Asking someone blocking the TV screen to move.
– Move out of the way.
– This is a really exciting programme.
– You’d make a better door than a window.
– How about moving over just a teensy bit.
– Would you mind moving just a bit?
– Do you have to stand in front of the TV?
– You are standing in front of the TV.

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Characteristics of ISA
• Multiplicity of meanings
• Logical priority of meanings
• Rationality
• Conventionality
• Purposefulness

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Multiplicity
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inacts: one meaning (or illocutionary force)
• Direct speech
– It’s raining outside!

→Inform the hearer that it’s raining

• Indirect speech acts: more than 1 meaning

– This soup needs salt
→1. “I assert to you that this soup needs salt”: literal meaning
→2. “I request you to pass the salt”: conveyed meaning

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Logical priority of meanings

• Several meanings of ISA are NOT conveyed in

parallel.
- Haven’t you forgotten to clean the room?

→Literal meaning: I assert to you that you have forgotten

to clean the room.
→Conveyed meaning: I want you clean the room now

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The conveyed meaning is logically prior to the other.

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• A says to B: “This soup needs salt.”
They share certain background knowledge
• They are at the dinner
• She has just tasted the soup
• The salt- shaker is near B
• A’s utterance must be relevant to what is going on at
the moment of speaking.

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Conventionality
• There are conventions about which sentence should
be used for which ISA.
Eg: Requesting other to pass the salt, you may say:
- Can you reach the salt?
- Are you able to pass the salt?
- Could you please pass the salt for me?
- Is it possible for you to pass me the salt?

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Purposefulness
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• ISA are intended to have specific effect on the hearer.
• Speakers always have goals, plans they want to
achieve.→ use ISA and expect the responses from the
hear (in action, not the answer)
• Indirect speech acts are generally associated with
politeness in English.

Pragmatics 24