Scribd
Upload
111 views3 pages

Speech Act

A speech act is a communicative act performed through language. Speech act theory distinguishes between locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts. The locutionary act is the literal meaning of an utterance. The illocutionary act is the intent or function, such as a request, complaint, or promise. The perlocutionary act is the consequence or effect of the utterance, such as convincing or persuading someone. Speech act theory was developed by philosophers Austin and Searle to understand how language is used to perform actions through communication.

Uploaded by

Maria Elizabeth De Guzman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
111 views3 pages

Speech Act

A speech act is a communicative act performed through language. Speech act theory distinguishes between locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts. The locutionary act is the literal meaning of an utterance. The illocutionary act is the intent or function, such as a request, complaint, or promise. The perlocutionary act is the consequence or effect of the utterance, such as convincing or persuading someone. Speech act theory was developed by philosophers Austin and Searle to understand how language is used to perform actions through communication.

Uploaded by

Maria Elizabeth De Guzman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

SPEECH ACT

Speech Act
● An act that a speaker performs when making an utterance defined in terms of a
speaker's intention and the effect it has on a listener
● is different from physical acts or mental acts
● “communicative act”

Speech Act Theory


● Speech-act theory was introduced in 1975 by Oxford philosopher J.L. Austin in "How to
Do Things With Words " and further developed by American philosopher J.R. Searle.
● When we speak, our words do not have a fixed meaning in and of themselves. What we
say is very much affected by the situation, the speaker and the listener.
● It considers three levels or components of utterances: locutionary acts, illocutionary acts,
and perlocutionary acts.

Locutionary Act
● A locution is the phrase or sentence that has meaning (vocabulary) and structure
(grammar).
● A Locutionary Act is the act of making a meaningful utterance. Also known as an
utterance act (Austin, 1962).
● American philosopher John Searle has replaced Austin's concept of the
locutionary act with what Searle calls the propositional act—i.e., the act of
expressing a proposition.
● Example: “You should wash the dishes.”

Illocutionary Act
● is the speaker’s intention in delivering an utterance
● Refers to a type of speech function of what is said
Example:
● By uttering the locution “You should wash the dishes,” the speaker suggests the
addressee to wash the dishes.

Kinds of Illocutionary Act


Greeting:
“Hi, Lizzie. How are things going?”

Compliment
“Hey, I really like your dress.”

Request
“Could you pass me the bread, please?”
Complaint:
“We are told the refrigerator will be delivered in three days, but we’ve already been
waiting two weeks for it.”

Refusal
“Oh, I’d love to go to the concert with you but this Sunday isn’t just going to work.”

Invitation
“Martha’s having some friends over Saturday evening and wanted to know if you’d like
to join her.”

❖ An illocutionary utterance is spoken with the intention of making contact with a


listener.
❖ “warn, congratulate, complain, predict, command, apologize, inquire, explain,
describe, request, bet, marry, and adjourn, to list just a few specific kinds of
illocutionary act.“ - Daniel R. Boisvert

Perlocutionary Act
● Refers to speech acts that have an effect on the feelings, thoughts or actions of
either the speaker or the listener
● It is the resulting act of what is said.
● This effect is based on the particular context in which the speech act was
mentioned.
● Example:
- “You should wash the dishes” would lead to the addressee washing the
dishes.

Three-interrelated speech acts


❖ A speaker utter sentences with a particular meaning (locutionary act), and with a
particular intention or force (illocutionary act), in order to achieve a certain effect
on the hearer (perlocutionary act).
❖ To summarize, locutionary is what we say, illocutionary is what we mean when
we say it, and perlocutionary is what we accomplish (effect) by saying it.

LOCUTIONARY ILLOCUTIONARY PERLOCUTIONARY

“You are such a compliment “Thank you.”


wonderful person!” “You are too!”
“Fire!” warning Convincing the people to leave the
building/

People are convinced to leave the


building.
“It’s hot in here.” complaint Someone opened the window.
“Let me open the window.”

You might also like