What do you think does the speaker mean when

he/she says, “Can you open the door?”

A. The speaker wants to know if I have the ability
to open the door.
B. The speaker is requesting me to open the
door.
C. The speaker does not make sense.
D. The speaker is asking me a question.
What do you think does the speaker mean when
he/she says, “Can you open the door?”
A. The speaker wants to know if I have the ability
to open the door.
B. The speaker is requesting me to open the
door.
C. The speaker does not make sense.
D. The speaker is asking me a question.
Which of the following statements commits the
speaker to doing something?
A. “I checked her profile picture yesterday.”
B. I’m in love and I’m happy.”
C. “I promise to love you for better or for
worse.”
D. I think following my suggestion will get us a
high grade.”
Which of the following statements commits the
speaker to doing something?
A. “I checked her profile picture yesterday.”
B. I’m in love and I’m happy.”
C. “I promise to love you for better or for
worse.”
D. I think following my suggestion will get us a
high grade.”
 TYPES OF SPEECH
ACTS
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

What role does communicative

competence play in
understanding speech acts?
Objectives:
⚫Define speech acts
⚫Distinguish types of speech acts
Viewing activity
⚫What greeting is used by the customer service
agent?
⚫What form of personal identification is used
by the agent?
⚫What pre-closing signals are used by the
agent?
⚫What closing is used by the agent?
• What is the video about?
Through the interaction of the two
people, something was achieved (i.e., the
man was able to order flowers). In
making speech acts, the same idea
applies: when a speech act is uttered,
an action is carried out.
Independent Learning
⚫ What is speech act?
⚫ What are the three types of speech act according to J. L.
Austin?
⚫ What are performative utterances?
⚫ How did John Searle classified the speech acts?
⚫ Why is communicative competence important in using
or understanding speech act?
Supplementary Information
⚫The conditions that have to be met for a
statement to be classified as performative
are called felicity conditions.
⚫Austin lists three felicity conditions:
Supplementary Information
o There must be a conventional procedure
with a conventional effect.
E.g.:
In a wedding of two people: the frozen ritual
and the effect of the couple getting married
Supplementary Information

o The circumstances and the persons must be

appropriate.
E.g.:
A teacher cannot sentence a convicted felon
to prison because he/she does not have the
correct qualifications.
Supplementary Information
o The procedure must be done correctly and
completely.
E.g.:
If a priest weds two couples, but in an
informal setting, it is not considered a
performative act.
Lesson Highlights
⚫Different types of speech acts are used to
express different kinds of intentions.
⚫Communicative competence is needed to
understand a language and be able to
understand speech acts.
Point to Ponder

What role does

communicative
competence play in
understanding speech
acts?