Speech acts: Theory & Types

Speech Acts

'Language describes the world around us'. That's the common view. A sentence (for example, 'it's cold in here, isn't it?') describes a situation. But is there more going on than that? When we speak, are we only ever describing the world around us? Or are we also somehow 'acting within it'.

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What is a speech act?

An action that is performed in saying something.

Who introduced the concept of speech act theory in his book How to do things with words?

J. L Austin

J. R Searle classified speech acts into 5 categories. What are they?

Declarations, assertives, expressives, directives, and commissives.

According to Austin and Searle, there are three main actions related to speech acts: locutionary act, illocutionary act and what?

Perlocutionary act.

Which speech act aims to change the behavior of others?

Locutionary act
Illocutionary act
Perlocutionary act

C. Perlocutionary act.

According to Searle's 5 types of speech acts, what is the purpose of commissives ?

The speaker is committing to do something in the future.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Speech Acts

What is a speech act?

A speech act is an action that is performed in saying something. We perform speech acts all of the time! For example, when we offer an apology, extend an invitation, make a complaint, or give a compliment.

What is speech act theory?

Speech act theory is concerned with the way words can be used to not only give information but also to perform certain actions. The theory, created by J. L Austin and further developed by J. R Searle, is an important subfield of pragmatics.

What are the types of speech acts?

Searle classified the purpose of different speech acts under the following 5 categories: Declarations, Assertives, Expressives, Directives, and Commissives.

What is a direct speech act?

In the case of pragmatics, direct speech refers to a speech act that has a direct relationship between the type of sentence and the function.

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