Pyonah Marie B.
Juarez
Gr.11-Tesla
Oral Communication: Types of Speech Act
In linguistics, a speech act is an utterance that serves a function in communication. It
is the action that the speaker wants to provoke in his/her listener's thoughts. People perform
speech acts when they want to express an apology, greeting, request, compliment, invitation,
complaint, warning, promise, refusal, or declaration. A speech act may contain a word like
"Sorry" to express an apology like in the sentence, "I am so sorry for not calling you when I got
home." Speech acts require not only the knowledge of the language but also the appropriate
use of language in a given context. One can say that speech acts are an important aspect of
communication.
Speech Acts are actions done by saying them. The listener must first determine the type
of act being performed before he can determine which way a speech act is to be interpreted.
These speech acts are categorized as follows:
Locutionary Acts
Locutionary acts are, according to Susana Nuccetell and from Gary Seay (from
Philosophy of Language: The Central Topics) 2007, "the mere act of producing some linguistic
sounds or marks with a certain meaning and reference." Locutionary act refers to any
utterances that may contain statements or words about objects. It may be a word, or even a
phrase that has a meaning.
For example:
"It is raining."
"My teacher is wearing a red dress today."
"I love dogs”
Illocutionary Acts
Illocutionary act is the acting part of the speech act. It carries a directive for the
audience. It may be a command, an apology, an expression of thankfulness or just an answer
to a question for the information of other people in the communication process. There are two
kinds of illocutionary acts. The first is called constantive, or making something true or false by
saying it. This is commonly done by someone in authority like a judge or an official.
Examples:
I name this dog Chubby.
You are free to leave.
You are not my friend anymore.
The meeting is adjourned.
The second is doing something by just saying it. It is also called performative.
Examples:
I nominate Lancer for president.
I accept the challenge.
I promise to take care of you as long as I live.
I challenge you to prove me wrong.
You are invited to my birthday celebration.
Illocutionary acts can be categorized into common families of speech acts. The following is
John Searle's categories of illocutionary acts. Each has its own illocutionary purpose.
1. Assertive- a type of illocutionary act in which the speaker expresses belief about the truth of
a proposition like boasting, suggesting, asserting. concluding, and swearing
Example: I am still the best student in class.
2. Directive- a type of illocutionary act in which the speaker tries to make the addressce
perform an action by way of commanding, requesting. begging, inviting, pleading, or insisting
Example: Take me to that place.
3. Commissive- type of illocutionary act which commits the speaker to future actions such as
promising, planning, vowing, and betting.
Example: I will take you to school every day starting tomorrow.
4. Expressive- a type of illocutionary act in which the speaker expresses his/her feelings or
emotional reactions. Some examples of expressive acts are thanking. apologizing, welcoming,
and deploring.
Example: I am so sorry for not wearing the complete uniform today.
5. Declarative- a type of illocutionary act which brings a change in an external situation.
Simply put, declarations bring into existence, or cause the state of affairs which they refer to.
Some examples of declarations are blessing, firing, baptizing, and bidding.
Example: You are fired!
Perlocutionary Acts
Perlocutionary act is the third aspect of speech acts. It is a speech act that produces an
effect, intended or not, achieved in an addressee by a speaker's utterance. Perlocutionary act
can bring about a consequence to the audience.
They have an effect to the listener in feelings, thoughts, or actions such as changing someone's
mind. Unlike illocutionary act, perlocutionary act can project a sense of fear in the audience.
Consider the following utterance, "By the way, I have a CD of Debussy. Would you like to
borrow it?" Its illocutionary function is an offer, while its intended perlocutionary effect might
be to impress the listener, or to show a friendly attitude, or to encourage interest in a
particular type of music.
