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UNIT 5: SPEECH ACT THEORY
5.1. Introduction: the work of Austin and Searle
Speech act theory focuses on the question of what people are doing when they use language. Austin’s ideas were expanded and incorporated into linguistic theory by John Searle in Speech acts. Austin argued that all expressions of language must be viewed as acts. In saying something three kinds of acts are simultaneously performed:
- The locution, i.e. the physical act of producing an utterance
- The illocution, i.e. the act that is committed by producing an utterance
- The perlocution: the production of an effect through locution and illocution Consider, for example, the execution of an order or a request by the addressee in: There is a draft here. The locution is the production of the utterance. Depending on the situation, the illocution could be a request, an order, a complaint, etc. the perlocution could be that a door or window is closed or that the addressee replies that he is not a servant. Renkema (2004: 13-14) quotes an example to show the complexity of utterances; the term ‘uptake’ refers to the perlocution Provide three different illocutions and perlocutions (or ‘uptakes’) for the following utterance: In Speech Act Theory the term speech act, or illocutionary act, has come to refer exclusively to the illocution. Austin and Searle also concerned themselves with the felicity conditions of speech acts, that is, with the conditions or requirement for a speech act to be successful. The felicity conditions include, for instance, aspects such as whether the authority of the speaker and the circumstances of the speech act are appropriate to its being performed successfully E.g. if the speech act involves sentencing someone to prison, the speaker of the speech act must be a judge, and not anyone; the place for performing the speech act must be the court, not the street, etc. Searle (1969, 1979) also attempted to develop a taxonomy of specific categories of speech acts. He proposed the following five (universal) categories:
- Assertives = speech acts that commit a speaker to something being the case, to the truth of the expressed proposition. Assertives (also ‘Representatives’) can be characterized ( inter alia ) as true or false. Examples: “John called”, “The sun will rise tomorrow”, etc. Some associated illocutionary verbs: affirm , assert , swear (that something is/was), put forward , state , etc.
- Directives = speech acts that are attempts (of varying degrees) by the speaker to get the hearer to do something or to take a particular course of action. Examples: “Clean your room!”, “I suggest you take the Volvo”. Some associated verbs: ask, beg, order, command, plead, pray, entreat, invite, permit, advise, warn , etc.
- Commissives = speech acts that commit a speaker (in varying degrees) to some future course of action, e.g. promising, threatening, inviting, etc. Examples: “I promise I’ll clean the kitchen”, “You’ll get it done by Monday!” Some associated verbs: promise, commit oneself to, etc.
- Expressives = speech acts that express the speaker's attitudes and emotions towards the state of affairs specified by the proposition. Examples: “Congratulations for the award!”, “I hate Physics”. Some associated verbs: thank, congratulate, apologize, condole, deplore, welcome, regret, detest , etc.
- Declarations = speech acts that bring about immediate changes in the institutional state of affairs. In other words, declarations ‘change the world’ as a result of having been performed. If I successfully perform the act of appointing you chairman, then you are chairman. (EX.) Specify two possible categories of speech act for each: (a) Is this your coat on the floor? A request (Directive) / A suggestion (Directive) (b) I can't hear a word An order (Directive) / A complaint (Expressive) (c) I'll tell your father A threat (Comissive) / A promise (Comissive) (d) I had a flat tyre An excuse (Expressive) / An apology (Expressive) (e) It is seven o'clock A statement (Assertive) / A warning (Directive) (f) It is getting quite late A suggestion (Directive) / A complaint (Expressive) (g) It is raining outside An advice (Directive) / A statement (Assertive)
5.2. Clause types, illocutionary acts and illocutionary force
The propositional content of a sentence is that part of its meaning that determines what propositions it can be used to express clause type, however, contributes to non-propositional meaning (a) Kim is in Paris (b) Is Kim in Paris? (a) and (b) differ in formal features such as the order of subject and verb
Indirect speech act: order (Directive) Cf. Please, let me know what time it is (direct speech act) Sleep well Clause type: imperative Direct speech act: directive (see Table 2) Indirect speech act: wish (Expressive) Cf. I wish you sleep well (direct speech act) How are hearers able to correctly interpret indirect speech acts? According to Searle (1975: 61), hearers are able to correctly interpret indirect speech acts by relying on: 1) Their mutually shared background information, both linguistic and nonlinguistic and 2) The general powers of rationality and inference on the part of the hearer. So, to interpret an indirect speech act correctly the situational context is crucial, as is the relationship between speaker and hearer. Adequate command of the language in question, of its linguistic conventions, and of a number of stereotyped situations in everyday life is also essential. This explains why the interpretation of indirect speech acts can prove difficult for foreign speakers. In addition to these various clues to interpretation, utterances can also contain markers of indirect force of various kinds, which can help us to interpret the primary illocutionary force of a given utterance. Some examples of such markers of indirect force (from Huddleston & Pullum 2002: 864, emphasis added): Will you please open the window? I’d like a cup of coffee, please. Prosody and punctuation commonly serve as markers of indirect force: Could you turn your radio down a little. [punctuated without a question mark in writing and spoken with falling intonation, instead of the rising intonation which is typical of questions] > the difference in intonation indicates that the interrogative clause is indirectly conveying a request (i.e. a directive) rather than a question. Isn’t she fantastic! [punctuated with an exclamation mark in writing and spoken with falling intonation] > along similar lines, intonation indicates that an interrogative clause is indirectly conveying an exclamatory statement. Note: in spite of the final exclamation mark, the form of this clause is that of an interrogative, with the characteristic inversion of verb and subject. Performative verbs are also markers of illocutionary force (advise, apologize, ask, beg, bet, order, promise, etc.) I apologize for the delay in my response > The performative verb indicates that the illocutionary force of the declarative clause is that of an apology. Indirect speech acts are a pervasive phenomenon in human communication, to the extent that some kinds of illocutionary act are more often performed indirectly than directly This is the case with requests in English. Thus, instead of just saying Please open the window , native speakers of English are far more likely to use one of the following indirect utterances: Can/could you please open the window? Would you mind opening the window? I wonder if you could open the window The motivation for using indirect speech acts is often tact and politeness. Since the primary act intended by the speaker is only indirectly mentioned, it is more polite towards the interlocutor, who is less under pressure to carry out the act in question
(EX.) For each of the utterances below: 1) name the speech act performed; 2) decide whether the speech act is direct or indirect and explain in terms of clause type and illocutionary force. a) Can you make your bed? (request or order, indirect speech act) b) Have a safe journey (wish, indirect speech act) c) Where do you live? (question/offer, direct/indirect speech act) d) I wonder what happened to Mary (question, indirect speech act) e) I hear there's a fire in the next building (warning, indirect speech act) f) Enjoy yourself (wish, indirect speech act) g) Can you people at the back hear me? (question/offer, direct/indirect speech act) h) Is this the new dress you bought yesterday for 29€? (question/request, direct/indirect speech act) i) Where is your book? (question, direct speech act)
5.4. Performative verbs
Austin applied the label performative to verbs such as admit, advise, apologize, ask, beg, bet, claim, command, commend, concede, congratulate, entreat, name, order, promise, recommend, repudiate, request, resign, sentence, suggest, swear, thank, urge, warn, welcome , etc. Also to a few expressions consisting of a verb + dependent: declare… open , give one’s word (that something is the case), dar el pésame , etc. Performative verbs (also called illocutionary verbs) are verbs that denote illocutionary acts. When used in the first person present tense in a declarative sentence, a performative verb effects the performance of the illocutionary act it denotes. Compare : I always book the tickets early (the verb is not performative ) I promise to book the tickets early (the verb is performative). As Huddleston & Pullum (2002: 861) note, a unique feature of performatives is that sentences containing them have two illocutionary forces. The primary illocutionary force of the utterance is more explicit and precisely specified than it normally is elsewhere. I order you to stop talking (Primary illocutionary force: order and secondary illocutionary force: statement) I warn you, you’ll get no help from me (Primary illocutionary force: warning and secondary illocutionary force: statement Though the list of performative verbs in English is quite extensive, most English verbs are not performative. Thus if I say: I run every day-Me estás pisando These have the illocutionary force of statements, but no additional act is being denoted by the verb. As mentioned, to count as performatives, performative verbs have to occur in declarative clauses in the first person present tense. Thus the following sentences have no performative force: I promised to book the tickets early (past tense) Yesterday I ordered you to leave (past tense) Te pide que vengas (third person) Te apostaría mil duros (conditional simple) Nonetheless, passive clauses, or active clauses with impersonal subjects (in which the semantic subject can still be identified as the ‘speaker’), have the same effect and are thus usually analyzed as performative utterances too: You are advised to book the tickets early, Iberia
