Pragmatics

SPEECH ACTS & EVENTS

 Speech acts:

Actions performed via
utterances
•  Locutionary Acts: Performed via producing a
meaning linguistic expression
•  Illocutionary Acts : Performed via the
communicative force of an utterance
•  Perlocutionary Acts: Performed via the effect of
the utterance on the hearer
Locution / Illocution / Perlocution

Distinction between the following:

•  Locution => (“the words that are uttered or

written”)

•  Illocution => (“the speaker’s or writer’s intention

[...]”)

•  Perlocution => (“the intended effect [...]”)

 Problem
•  The same utterance can potentially
have quite different illocutionary acts
•  How can speakers assume that the
intended illocutionary act will be
recognized by the hearer?
 Solution

•  Illocutionary Force Indicating Devices

(IFIDs)
•  Felicity conditions
Illocutionary Force Indicating
Devices (IFIDs)
•  Performative verbs
–  Used in a simple positive present tense
sentence
–  1st person singular subject
•  I promise…
•  I sentence you…
•  I apologize…
Test of Performative Verbs
•  I hereby V …
– I _______ name the ship ‘Elizabeth’.
– I _______ warn you not to sleep in
class.
– I _______ believe that there’s no Santa
Claus.
 Felicity conditions

The appropriate circumstances for the

performance of a speech act to be
recognized.
Felicity conditions
“I promise to see you tomorrow’.
•  General condi,ons
–  The u1erance is understood.
•  Content condi,ons
–  The content of the u1erance is about a future event and the speaker
is commi1ed to the act.
•  Preparatory condi,ons
–  The event does not happen by itself.
–  The event will have a beneficial effect.
•  Sincerity condi,ons
–  The speaker does have a genuine inten,on to carry out the future act.
•  Essen,al condi,ons
–  The u1erance changes the speaker’s state from non-obliga,on to
obliga,on
Speech act classification
•  Declarations
•  Representatives
•  Expressives
•  Directives
•  Commissives
 Declarations
•  The speech acts that change the state of the
world via utterances.
–  I now pronounce you husband and wife
–  We find the defendant guilty.
 Representatives
•  The speech acts that states what the speaker
believes to be the case or not.
•  Statements of fact, assertions, conclusions, and
descriptions
–  The world is flat.
–  It is a sunny day.
 Expressives
•  The speech acts that state what the speaker
feels.
•  Psychological states (pleasure, pain, likes, joy,
sorrow…)
–  I am sorry.
–  Congratulations.
 Directives
•  The speech acts used by the speaker to get
someone else to do something.
•  Commands, orders, requests, suggestions.
–  Go away!
 Commissives
•  The speech acts that speakers use to commit
themselves to some future ac,ons
•  Promises, threats, refusals, pledges.
–  I can’t do that.