SPEECH ACT

Fakultas Sastra . Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 - Surabaya

 CONTENTS:

01 WHAT IS SPEECH ACT ?

LOCUTION , ILLOCUTION , PERLOCUTION

02 TYPE OF SPEECH ACT

03 FELICITY CONDITION

04 DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH ACT

01

WHAT IS SPEECH ACT ?

Speech act !!

SPEECH ACT is an act that a speaker

performs when making an utterance. is
also an action performed in saying
something
 According to Austin , Speech act can be
analyzed on three level :

01 02 03

LOCUTION ILLOCUTION PERLOCUTION

for example :

1 it’s hot in here

LOCUTION

Locutionary act is the act of saying

something or ‘what is said’ .

2 it’s so cold
in this room
 ILLOCUTION

illocutionary force is what the speaker intends to communicate

to the hearer or addressee. It is ‘what is done in uttering the words’
for example :
1 it’s hot in here It could be :
• an indirect request for someone to
open the window.
• an indirect refusal to close the
window.
 ILLOCUTION

for example : 2 it’s so cold in this room

It could be :
• an indirect request for
someone to turn off the
air condition.
 PERLOCUTION
Perlocutionary effect is the effect on the hearer, or can be said ‘what is done
by uttering the words’. The aim is to change feelings, thoughts, or actions.

for example : it’s hot in here

Its intended perlocutionary
effect might be to ask
someone to turn on the air
conditioner.
It’s so cold in
this room

Its intended perlocutionary

effect might be to ask
someone to turn off the air
conditioner.
02

TYPE OF SPEECH ACT ?

01 DECLARATIONS

02 REPRESENTATIVES

03 COMMISSIVES

04 DIRECTIVES

05 EXPRESSIVES
01 DECLARATIONS
These are words and expressions that
change the world by their utterance,
such as :
I bet , I declare, I resign
For example

1. I hereby pronounce you man and wife

Means that two singles into a married couple

2. I baptise this girl Nikmatul Ulfa

Means , changes a nameless baby into one
with a name
02 REPRESENTATIVES
These are act in which the words state what the
speaker believes to be the case or not.
Such as ;
Describing, claiming, hypothessing,
insisting, predicting.

For example :
1. I voted for Jokowi in the last election
2. I swear I have never seen the man before
3. It is raining
03 COMMISSIVES
The act which he words commit the speaker
to future action. Such as ;
Promissing, offering, threatening,
refusing, vowing, and volunteering.
For example :

1. I will wash your clothes

2. I’ll be back
3. I promise to be on time
04 DIRECTIVES
These are act in which the words are
aimed at making the hearer do something.
Such as :
Commanding, requesting, inviting, forbidding
, suggesting, and so on
For example :
1. You must arrive next Monday at 2 p.m
2. Smoking is not permitted in the lavatories
3. I suggest you to consume it every night
05 EXPRESSIVES
This act in which the words state what
the speaker feel. Such as ;
Apologising, praising, congratulating
, deploring, and regretting.
For example :

1. I’m sorry for what i’ve done

2. I confess that I miss you
3. What a great day !
03

FELICITY CONDITION
 FELICITY CONDITION
• felicity condition are conditions that must be in place and are
criteria that must be satisfied for an utterance or speech act to
achieve its purpose.

For example :
I sentence you to six months in prison.

The performance won’t be appropriate if the speaker is not a

specific person in special context.
So, in this case, the speaker must be a judge in a courtroom.
 FELICITY CONDITION
Another example ;
1. Arwan said to his classmate that there is no Mr. Bram classes
today.
The reaction of the students from utterance made by
Arwan were varied. Some didn’t believe, some happy
and some were confused if he was just playing jokes.
2. Mr. Bram said that there is no classes today.
The reaction of the students when Mr. Bram declared
that there is no classes today, the students immediately
celebrated for their holiday. Because Mr. Bram is
appropriate person to declaration of no classes
04
DIRECT AND INDIRECT
SPEECH ACT
 DIRECT AND INDIRECT
SPEECH ACT

• Direct speech are words that • Indirect speech act is communicating

spoken directly by the speaker
are their literal meaning.There
is direct relationship between
the form and function.
For example :
1. Finza said, “I have been to
Bali once.” (declarative form)
2. He asked me, “open your
book” (imperative form)
a different meaning from the apparent
surface meaning; the form and function
are not directly related.
For example :
A : Would you like to playing game with me?
B : I have an exam tomorrow
In this case, B utter a declarative
sentence which is a form of an indirect
speech act and act of refusal.
05

SPEECH ACTS &

SOCIETY
 SOCIAL DIMENSION
• Indirect speech acts is associated with
politeness. For example :
Thank you for not smoking (expressive)
being used because it sounds more polite
and friendly than ‘No Smoking’ (directive)
• Speakers use indirect directives for the
reasonableness of the task, the formality
of the context and social distance. Social
distance can give speakers power and
authority, and it is generally those of the
less dominant role and so on who tend to
use indirectness.
CULTURAL DIMENSION
• Speech acts and their linguistic realizations
are culturally bound. The ways of expressing
speech acts vary from country to country. For
example :
‘How fat you are’ considering as praising in
a country where malnutrition is common, like
Mauritania and South Africa. However, in
South Korea, these words express speech
act of criticizing, since their fashion and
lifestyle have conditioned their people into
thinking that slim is beautiful.
• Differences in speech acts conventions can
cause difficulties cross culturally.
SPEECH ACT THEORY
LIMITATIONS

• Sometimes there is an overlap when we try to

categorize utterances in terms of speech act.
• Speech act model has no provision for the messiness
of everyday spoken language.
MACRO-FUNCTIONS
 TRANSACTIONAL AND
INTERACTIONAL FUNCTION

• Transactional is the function which • Interactional is that function involved in

language serves in the expression expressing social relations and personal
of content and the transmission of attitudes, showing solidarity and maintaining
factual information. social cohesion.

For example : For example :

Making an appointment for a Chatting with classmate , or greeting
possible job interview. someone we met
Thank you