SUMMARIZED BY:
Speech Act NURUL CHOJIMAH
UIN SATU TA
MARCH 24, 2023
Speech Act theory and speech act
• Speech act (SA) theory is • Speech act is an act
a theory believing that which can be performed
there is an action behind by uttering or by stating or
an utterance. by mentioning such as
• Ada tindakan di balik agree, disagree, promise,
tuturan. proclaim, name, declare,
congratulate, and others.
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SA theory proceeded
from the philosophers’
The evolution opinion believing that a
of Speech Act sentence is meaningless
unless its truthfulness
(SA) theory and falsity can be tested.
by Austin Sentences having such
property is declarative
sentence or constative.
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1. Mathematics is one of
courses in my school.
Examples of 2. Universitas Brawijaya is
one of state universities
constative: in Indonesia.
3. Indonesia is a populous
country.
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(1)is true or false by looking at official
How to test the documents, confirming to officials,
students and teachers in my school.
truthfulness and
(2) Is true or false, we can check out
the falsity of those official documents in the management
sentences? of Universitas Brawijaya.
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Austin’s Objections to Constative as the only
requirement of being meaningful
• 3. I apologize for my • A sentence does not
being late. necessarily describe
• 4. I name my cat catty. something.
• 5. I promise to be home • A sentence might perform
earlier. actions.
• 6. I pronounce you • A sentence is intended to
husband and wife. do things.
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Austin’s Objections to Constative as the only requirement
of being meaningful cont…
• (3), (4), (5), and (6) do not • (3), (4), (5), and (6)are
describe how I apologize, performative because
name, promise, and they reflect actions rather
declare, but they reflect than description.
that I do the actions. • Despite the absence of
description, (3), (4), (5),
and (6) stay meaningful.
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Austin’s Objections to Constative as the only
requirement of being meaningful cont…
• In conclusion: while uttering (3), (4), (5), or (6) a
speaker is performing actions as well.
• While uttering an utterance, a speaker does
something. ➔ This is the essence of speech act
theory.
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Constative and performative
• Constative sentence or • Performative sentence or
constative (for short) is performative (for short) is
tested through its tested through felicity
truthfulness and falsity. condition.
• Performative verb is the
one whose action is
explicitly denoted in the
verb.
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Performative
• Relying on (3), (4), (5), and (6) Austin set up the
requirements of performative:
a. The subject is first person pronoun I or we;
b. The sentence is active construction;
c. The tense is simple present;
d. It is likely to insert the adverb ‘hereby’.
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Performative cont…
• Please compare (3), (4), (5), and (6) with the
following:
• (7) I am pronouncing you husband and wife.
• (8) I pronounced you husband and wife.
• (9) he pronounces you husband and wife.
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Other performative sentences
• Sometimes we say (10) Go out!,
• instead of (11) I order you to go out.
• Also, we frequently use (12) I will be here tomorrow,
• instead of (13) I promise to be here tomorrow.
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Austin conceded that an
utterance does not
Conclusion necessarily need
performative verbs in
from (10) order to be performative
and (12) since empirical data
prove that performatives
can be performed in
cruder devices and less
explicit.
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Cruder devices to realize performative
• Mood (type of sentence) Likewise, English grammar
Take a look at (10) and confirms that a promise
(12). English grammar can be realized in future
confirms that ordering tense using will as in (12).
others to do something • Intonation
can be realized in
imperative as (10).
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Conclusions:
Speech act can be
Speech act can be realized implicitly 3 acts are simultaneously
performed in every
realized explicitly utterance
• Explicit speech act is • Implicit speech act is • 1. Locutionary act
the one whose action is the one whose action is (locution)
explicitly denoted in the not explicitly denoted in
• 2. Illocutionary act
verb (performative the verb; no
(illocution)
verb) such as agree, performative verb such
declare, disagree, as (14) I will pass you all. • 3. Perlocutionary act
promise, and others. (Perlocution)
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Three simultaneous Acts
Speech Acts
Perlocutionary act is the
Locutionary act is (1) the Illocutionary act is the act bringing about the
act of producing the behind an utterance effects on the addressee
utterance, (2) the literal such as the act of by means of illocutionary
meaning of the disagreement behind the acts. The perlocutionary
utterance. verb disagree. effect of (14) is that
everyone gets happy.
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Note:
the focus of Austin’s interest is the
second act (ILLOCUTIONARY ACT).
The term speech act refers to this
act.
Walt Disney
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The summary of the evolution of SA
theory
THREE
PERFORMATIVES SIMULTANEOUS
•The truthfulness and •Direct SA ➔ explicit ACTS
falsity are testable. performative verbs
•First person pronoun
•e.g. UB is one of state •Indirect SA ➔ no •Locutionary act
as the subject
universities in performative verbs; •Illocutionary act
Indonesia. •Present tense cruder devices. •Perlocutionary act
•Active construction
•The adverb ‘hereby’
•e.g. I pronounce you
husband and wife DIRECT AND
CONSTATIVES
INDIRECT SA
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Austin’s Classification on Illocutionary
Act
Exercitives: Commissives:
Verdictives:
They are related to the They deal with
they deal with judgments:
decision in doing commitment to a certain
fairness Vs Unfairness
something: appoint, action: promise, agree,
(estimate, grade, etc)
dismiss, etc. disagree, etc.
Behabitives:
Expositives:
They reflect reaction to
They expose views,
other people’s behavior,
arguments, references,
fortunes, and misfortunes:
and others: inform, affirm,
congratulate, condole,
remark, etc.
thank, etc.
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The refinement on Austin’s Illocution
Classification by Searle
Illocutionary Act Classification by Searle
EXPRESSIVE
DIRECTIVE
REPRESENTATIVE ➔ The expression of DECLARING
➔ the speaker’s COMMISSIVE
➔ the speaker’s speakers’ ➔ Statements
attempt to direct ➔ The speaker’s
commitment to the psychological states causing immediate
others to do commitment to future
truth of something, such as thanking, changes such as
something, e.g. actions such as
e.g. asserting, congratulating, proclaiming
requesting, asking for promising,
concluding, condoling, independence,
help, ordering, threatening, offering,
assessing, and apologizing, declaring war,
suggesting, and warning, and others.
others. welcoming, and naming, and others.
others.
others.
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Indirect Speech Act
Austin: explicit and implicit performative
• The force (the action) is explicitly or implicitly
denoted in verbs such as I promise to be earlier Vs I
will be earlier.
Searle: Indirect Speech Act
• It is the act realized in another act such as
command act realized in question act.
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Testing the directness and indirectness
by Grundy
• For making declaration, statements
Declarative
• For making questions
Interrogative
• For making requests/orders
Imperative
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Testing the directness and indirectness
by Grundy cont…
The mid-term
test will be
Making
administered match Direct SA
assertion
next week
(declarative)
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Testing the directness and indirectness
by Grundy cont…
Thank you for COMMAND Do not
not smoking Indirect SA
(function) match
(declarative)
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Potential topics for research
• 1. speech acts from the perspective of addressees
(Perlocutionary act);
• 2. strategies of speech act realizations in local languages;
• 3. comparison of a single speech act in two languages in
terms of its directness and indirectness;
• 4. speech act and politeness;
• 5. speech acts in Holy Book.
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Thank you
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