SPEECH ACT

● concerned with what the speaker means—which is his or her intention—when he or she says
something rather than what the utterance literally means in a language

Utterances

-To utter means "to say.

- an act of uttering; vocal expression.

manner of speaking; power of speaking

open door”, “pour milk”, “light on”,

“Cuddle teddy”, “eat apple”.

Kinds of Utterances

1. Constative utterances describe a situation or insinuate assertions.

Examples:

“She can write.”

“Tahani is getting married.”

“The weather seems fine.”

2. Performative utterances are words that incite action.

Examples:

“Leave.”

“I order you to keep silent.”

“Submit your project now.”

Classifications of Speech Acts

1. locution

2. illocution

3. perlocution
LOCUTION
Locutionary Act

● Locution is what is said or the actual words being spoken.

Types of Locutionary Act

1. Utterance act pertains to the word or string words said that may not have a particular meaning.

Example:

Theresa was about to turn left when suddenly someone appeared out of nowhere. Then, she uttered,
“Oh!”

2. Propositional act pertains to an utterance performed when referring or predicating in an

utterance. This does not have to be complete sentence, nor does it have to intend anything.

Example:

As the girl was walking in the park, she suddenly noticed the pretty bouquets of tulips and exclaimed,
“Oh, roses!”

ILOCUTION
● It is the meaning one wishes to communicate or convey.

● It is the act that a speaker performs in saying the utterance.

Categories of Illocution

1. Expressives

● express a speaker’s emotions and attitudes toward a particular situation.

● include apologizing, welcoming, thanking, and congratulating

Example:

“All the best on your upcoming movie.” (congratulating)

2. Declarations

● bring about a change in the situation upon being uttered

● include appointing, baptizing, declaring, firing, and nominating

Example:

“Classes are suspended tomorrow.” (declaring)

3. Assertives

● convey information regarding something.

● Include concluding, stating, describing, asserting, suggesting, and insisting

 Example:

“Female senators are better than male senators.” (asserting)

4. Directives

● cause the individual being addressed to do a particular action

● Include commanding, daring, challenging, requesting, and asking someone to do something

Example:

“Solve this equation.” (commanding)

5. Commissives

● commit the speaker to doing a particular action in the future

● Include promising, vowing, planning, and offering

Example:

“I will finish this project tonight.” (vow)

PERLOCUTION
Perlocutionary Act

● It is the effects, intentional or unintentional, the utterance has on the behavior, thoughts, and
feelings of the addressee.

● This is the result or effect produced by the utterance in the given context.

● There is a perlocutionary act when, by saying something, a speaker gets an addressee to do

something.

Example:

Ali : It’s getting dark in here.

Luna : I’ll turn the lights on.

Ali : Great!

Example:

Carl : It’s the Rockers’ lead singer!

Jess : Where?! (screams and runs toward where the singer is)

Types of Communication Strategies

Nomination – involves the opening and establishing of a topic in a conversation

Jasmine, may I talk to you about our science project?

Restriction

– involves limiting what the participants can contribute to the conversation or discussion

If you had to choose just three words to describe yourself, what would those three words be?

Turn-taking – refers to the process in which a participant stops speaking and yields the floor to another
participant so that he or she can speak

Vanessa: Do you think this is already okay? Or should we add more designs?

Hazel: I think this is good to go. Adding more designs would probably make it look cluttered and
overwhelming.

Vanessa: Yeah, you’re right.

Topic control – occurs when the main or assigned speaker manipulates the discussion in order to
maintain its flow without moving away from or changing the topic

That’s a good question, but it’s no longer connected to our topic. Let’s discuss this first, and I can answer
that question later.

Topic shifting – occurs when one intentionally or unintentionally changes the direction of the flow of
ideas in a conversation

Ryan: Were you able to watch the basketball game on television last night?

Ruel: Yes. It was a really good game. It made me miss playing basketball. Would you like to play a game
over the weekend? I’ll invite some of our classmates too.

Repair – refers to the act of fixing the violations in a communication situation

The meeting is going to be on the 25th . . . oh I mean on the 24th of May.

Termination – refers to the act of ending a conversation

I really would love to talk more, but I have a meeting in five minutes. I’ll call you later, okay?

VIOLATIONS IN COMMUNICATION SITUATIONS

Common Violations in Communication Situations

Grabbing the floor

● also called interruption

● occurs when a speaker is not able to fulfill his or her purpose because a participant takes over
the role of being a speaker, without allowing him or her to finish his or her turn first

Overlapping

● similar to grabbing the floor

 ● both of the participants talk simultaneously

● may also happen when two or more participants start speaking at the same time

Hogging the floor

● occurs when the speaker continues speaking and ignores others who try to join or take over the
discussion

Being silent

● also called dead air

● occurs when no one wants to speak or take over the discussion

Trouble in speaking, hearing, or understanding

● includes improper articulations, use of the wrong word, failing to hear or be heard, incorrect
understanding by the listener, and trouble on the part of the recipient to understand

PERSUASIVE SPEECH

● aims to influence the audience to accept the speaker’s position or stand on an issue

● examples: sales pitches, political campaign talks, business presentations, and debates

Kinds of Persuasive Speech

1. Convincing Speech

● the speaker attempts to convince the audience to adopt his or her way of thinking or to change
the way they think about things

1. Actuation Speech

● designed to urge the audience to take a particular action

● the speaker seeks to persuade the audience to start doing the action now

ENTERTAINMENT SPEECH
● aims to amuse audience members and put them in a jovial mood

● its primary focus is to entertain an audience or create a pleasant or interesting diversion

● may be delivered during casual dinners, parties, graduations, and weddings

● does not need to be funny at all times and all throughout

● gets the attention of the audience by speaking of interesting topics that create an enjoyable
experience for them
EXPOSITORY/ INFORMATIVE SPEECH

● aims to provide the audience with information about a topic or to expand their knowledge about
a topic with which they are already familiar

Types of Informative Speeches

1. Descriptive Speech

● provides a vivid picture of a person, a place, or an object

● provides an image of the subject in the audience’s minds through sensory details such as sight,
sound, smell, touch, and taste

2. Explanation Speech

● explains or defines a concept, term, or an abstract topic

● provides facts, etymology of words or concepts, classification, examples, and others relevant
details.

3. Demonstration Speech

● presents information about how to do something or how something is done

● gives the audience detailed information of a certain process

4. Reportorial Speech

● describes or explains an event or an issue that is interesting, significant, or unusual

● helps explain to the audience what happened, why it happened, and what resulted from the
event.

● promotes understanding by presenting the reasons for why an issue exists and what its
implications and effects are.

Characteristics of an Expository or Informative Speech

1. Credible

2. Accurate

3. Clear

4. Memorable

OVERVIEW OF THE TYPES OF SPEECHES ACCORDING TO PURPOSE

Public Speaking

● the act of speaking in front of a sizable number of people

● involves a single speaker and an audience

Classification of Speeches

1. according to purpose

2. according to delivery

Three Basic Types of Speeches According to Purpose

1. Expository/Informative Speech
2. Persuasive Speech
3. Entertainment Speech
Expository/Informative Speech
● provides the audience with information regarding a topic or to expand their knowledge
about a topic that they are already familiar with
● may be a description speech, an explanation speech, a demonstration speech, or a
reportorial speech
Persuasive Speech
● aims to influence the audience to accept the speaker’s position or stand on an issue
● may be convincing speeches or actuation speeches
Entertainment Speech

● aims to amuse audience members and put them in a jovial mood