Speech Acts and Conversation Strategies

Quiz on Speech Acts

• Locutionary Act: Literal meaning of an utterance
• Illocutionary Act: Speaker's intended meaning (e.g., promises, apologies)
• Perlocutionary Act: Effect of the utterance on the listener (e.g., persuading, convincing)
• Commissive Act: Commits the speaker to a future action (e.g., "I will call you tomorrow")
• Directive Act: Attempts to get the listener to do something (e.g., "Close the door")
• Assertive Act: Tries to state a fact or belief (e.g., "The sky is blue")
• Expressive Act: Expresses speaker's feelings or attitudes (e.g., "I apologize")

Conversation Strategies

• Turn-taking: Managing the flow of conversation, including how to take turns
• Nomination: Introducing topics into a conversation
• Repair: Correcting misunderstandings
• Topic Shifting: Changing the subject smoothly
• Restriction: Limiting the scope of a discussion
• Termination: Ending a conversation effectively

Types of Speech

• Informative: Provides neutral information (e.g., a lecture)
• Persuasive: Aims to convince the audience (e.g., a sales pitch)
• Entertaining: Aims to amuse or delight the audience (e.g., stand-up comedy)
• Demonstrative: Shows skills or knowledge (e.g., cooking demonstration)
• Special Occasion: For specific events like weddings or graduations

Speech Act Examples

• "I apologize": Expressive act
• "Close the door, please": Directive act
• "I promise to help you tomorrow": Commissive act
• "The Earth revolves around the Sun": Assertive act
• "I now pronounce you husband and wife": Declarative act