CLASSIFICATION OF SPEECH ACTS (SEARLE, 1975)

Illocutionary speech acts:

Assertives

Directives

Commissives

Expressives

Declaratives

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ASSERTIVES

Are speech acts that commit a speaker to the truth of the expressed proposition

Next week we are having a seminar.

She is well past forty, but she doesn’t look her age.

Kyiv is going to be flooded.

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DIRECTIVES

are speech acts that are to cause the hearer to take a particular action, e.g. requests, commands and advice

Would you make me some coffee, please?

Make me some coffee (please). If I were you, I’d apologize

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COMISSIVES

are speech acts that commit a speaker to some future action, e.g. promises and oaths

I’ll do it for you.

I swear to tell the truth

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EXPRESSIVES

are speech acts that express on the speaker's attitudes and emotions towards the proposition, e.g. congratulations, excuses and thanks

Well done!

Thank you ever so much! I’m so sorry!

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DECLARATIVES

are speech acts that change the reality in accord with the proposition of the declaration, e.g. baptisms, pronouncing someone guilty or pronouncing someone husband and wife

I declare the meeting open

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MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF SPEECH ACTS

According to М. Halliday:

SA is an elementary speech unit, succession of language expressions uttered by one speaker and understood by at least one hearer

SA is the final one in the course of other actions; they can be universal (ie confirmation)and socially bound (asking about marital status, salary)

perlocution is always universal, illocutions can be univeral and specific being differently represented in different languages

SA can be smaller or bigger than the sentenceSpeech act connects verbal and non- verbal behaviour;

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SPEECH ACTS CHARACTERISTICS (CTD)

SA, viewed as a surface structure of the sentence, reflects textual connections and grammar rules;

The typical task of SA is influencing on addressee’s thoughts;

SA presupposes grammatical description, pragmatic context and speaker’s and hearer’s roles, underlying conventions and norms of a society.

The literal meaning of the utterance is not decisive, it is important to understand the aim of SA: detecting of illocutionary force of the utterance is important;

SА connects the sentence with the utterance.

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SA PARTICIPANTS

The addresser

The addressee

The speech act

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THE (IN)DIRECT ADDRESSEE

Direct addressee (A) is an intended direct recipient of the speaker's (S) communication.

A listener is either an

addressee (A) or a bystander (B), indirect addressee.

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