Speech Act Analysis PDF

 Speech act an utterance that a speaker makes to achieve an intended effect. Some of the functions which are carried out using speech acts are a. offering an apology, b. greeting, c. request, d. complaint, e. invitation, f. compliment, or g. refusal.  Perform...

 Speech act an utterance that a speaker makes to achieve an intended effect. Some of the functions which are carried out using speech acts are a. offering an apology, b. greeting, c. request, d. complaint, e. invitation, f. compliment, or g. refusal.  Performatives  statements which enable the speaker to perform something just by stating it.  verbs that execute the speech act that they intend to effect.  A performative utterance said by the right person under the right circumstances results in a change in the world. Note: Certain conditions have to be met when making a performative utterance.  Performatives For example: “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 Speech Act  by John Searle (1976), a professor from the University of California, Berkeley. Searle’s Classifications of Speech Act  Illocutionary acts in 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 suggesting, putting forward, swearing, boasting, and concluding. Example: No one makes better pancakes than I do. Searle’s Classifications of Speech Act  Illocutionary acts in five distinct categories. 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. Searle’s Classifications of Speech Act  Illocutionary acts in five distinct categories. 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, welcoming, and deploring. Example: I am so sorry for not helping out in our group projects and letting you do all the work.  Searle’s Classifications of Speech Act  Illocutionary acts in five distinct categories. 5. Declaration– atype 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. Some examples of declarations are blessing, firing, baptizing, bidding, passing a sentence, and excommunicating. Example: You are fired! By saying that someone is fired, an employer causes or brings about the person’s unemployment, thus changing his external situation