DEFINITION OF

SPEECH ACTS
John Richard P. Lagradilla & Sheena Cabiles
 TABLE OF CONTENTS.

01 THREE TYPES OF 02 SEARLE’S

SPEECH CLASSOFICATION OF SPEECH
ACT
WE WILL TALK
SPEECH ACT.
A UTTERANCE THAT A SPEAKER MAKES TO ACHIEVE AN
INTENDED EFFECT.
 SPEECH ACT

Some of the th function which are carried out using speech acts are
OFFERING, AN APOLOGY, GREETING, REQUEST, COMPLAINT,
INIVITATION, OR REFUSAL. A speech act might contain just one word
or several words or sentence. For example, “Thanks you always for
being there for me. I really appreciate it” both show appreciation
regardless of the leght of the statement.
 THREE TYPES OF
SPEECH ACT

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 J. L. AUSTIN
According to J. L. Austin (1962), a philipospher
of language amd the developer of the speech
act theory, there are three types of acts in
utterance, given by the right circumtances or
context.
THREE TYPES OF SPEECH ACT
Locutionary Act is the actual act of uttering.

“Please do the dishes.”

Illocutionary Act is the social function of what is said.

By uttering act the locution “please do the dishes” , the speaker request the addresses to wash
the dishes.

Prelocutionary act is the resulting act of what is said. This effect is based on the particular
context in which in the speech act was mentioned
“please do the dishes” woud lead to the addressee washing the dishes
There are also INDIRECT SPEECH ACTS which occur when there is no
direct connecton between the form of the utterance and the intended
meaning. They are different in force (i.e., intention) from the inferred
speech act.
For example, read the following utterance.

“Can you pass the rice?”

Inferred speech act: Do you have the ability to hand over the rice?

Indirect speech act: Please pass the rice.

 Performative
Austin also introduced the concept of
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 world.
Note that certain conditions have to be met
when making a performative utterance.
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
CLASSIFICATION
OF SPEECH ACT
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JOHN SEARLE
As a response to Austin’s Speech Act
Theory. John Searle (1976), a professor from
the university of California, Berkeley,
classified illocutionary arts into five distinct
categories.
 SEARLE’S CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH ACT
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 suggesting, putting,
forward, swearing, boasting,
and concluding.
Example:
No one makes better
pancakes than I do.
Directive – A type of
illocutionary act in which
the speaker tries to make
the addressee perform an
action. Some example of a
directive act are asking
order, requesting, inviting,
advising, and begging.
Example:
Please close the door.
Commissive – a type of
illocutionary act which
commits the speaker to
doing something in the
future. Examples of a
commissive act are
promising, planning,
vowing, and betting.
Example:
From now on, I will
participate in our group.
SEARLE’S CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH ACT
Expressive – A type of
illocutionary act in which the
speaker expresses his/her
feelings or emotional reactions.
Some examples of expressive
act are thinking, apologizing,
welcoming, and depioring.
Example:
I am so sorry for not helping out in
our group projects and letting you
do all the work.
Declaration – A type of illocutionary
act in which brings a change in the
external situation. Simply put
declarations bring into existence or
cause the state of affair which they
refer to. Some example of
declarations are blessing, firing,
baptizing, bidding, passing a
sentence, and excommunicating.
Example: You are fired!
By saying that someone is fired, an employer
case causes or brings about the person
unemployment, thus changing his external
situation
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!
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