 COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCIES

LESSON 10: TYPES OF SPEECH ACTS

SPEECH ACTS
 Developed by John Langshaw Austin in 1962.
 An utterance that a speaker makes to achieve an intended effect from a listener.
 Some of the functions which are carried out using speech acts are offering an apology, greeting, request, complaint,
invitation, compliment, or refusal.
 A speech act might contain just one word or several words or sentences.
TYPES OF SPEECH ACTS
A. LOCUTIONARY
 The actual act of uttering.
 The utterance has sense, and most importantly, has the same meaning to both the speaker and the listener.
 Examples:
o “Please do the dishes.”
o “Duh!”
o “What?”
o “It’s a bird!”
B. ILLOCUTIONARY
 the social function of what is said.
 The real actions performed by the utterance.
 It is not just saying something but the act of saying something with the INTENTION of:
o Stating an opinion, confirming, or denying something
o Making a prediction, a promise, or request
o Issuing an order or a decision
o Giving advice or permission
 Examples:
o “Please do the dishes.” - the speaker requests the addressee to wash the dishes.
o “There’s too much homework in this subject.” (opinion)
o “I’ll do my homework later.” (promise)
o “Go do your homework!” (order)
C. PERLOCUTIONARY
 the resulting act of what is said.
 This effect is based on the particular context in which the speech act was mentioned.
 This is seen when a particular EFFECT is sought from either the speaker, listener, or both.
 The response may not necessarily be physical or verbal.
 This is elicited by Inspiring or insulting, persuading or convincing, deterring or scaring
 The aim is to change feelings, thoughts, or actions.
INDIRECT SPEECH ACTS
 occur when there is no direct connection 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:
o “Can you pass the rice?”
o Inferred speech act: Do you have the ability to hand over the rice?
o Indirect speech act: Please pass the rice.

SPEECH ACTS: PERFORMATIVES

 statements which enable the speaker to perform something just by stating it.
 These are verbs that execute the speech act that they intend to effect.
 certain conditions have to be met when making a performative utterance.
 Examples:
o “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Who is authorized to utter this statement? Will it be legal if a beggar was the one who said this statement?

JOHN SEARLE’S CLASSIFICATIONS OF ILLOCUTIONARY SPEECH ACTS

A. ASSERTIVE
 speaker expresses belief about the truth of a proposition. Some examples of an assertive act are suggesting,
putting forward, swearing, boasting, and concluding.
 Examples:
o “No one makes better pancakes than I do.”
o “It’s better to give than to receive.”
o “Honesty is the best policy.”
B. 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.
Examples:
o “Please close the door.”
o “Let’s go to the mall.”
o “May I borrow your pen?”
C. 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.
 Examples:
o “From now on, I will participate in our group activity.”
o “I will do my homework later.”
o “For my New Year’s Resolution, I will go on a healthy diet and exercise regularly.”
D. 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.
 Examples:
o “I am sorry for not helping out in our group projects and letting you do all the work.
o “Thank you for inviting us to your party.”
E. DECLARATION
 a type 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.
 Examples:
o “You are fired!”
o “I now declare a State of Lawlessness!”
o “The court hereby find you GUILTY of the crime…”

Prepared by:

MA. CHARISMA ANGELYNNE S. LIM

Oral Communications in Context Teacher
STEM