Oral Communication Unit 6 Speech Acts

Speech act

-Each time you speak, you are actually doing something; that is, you are performing an action.

Speech act theory

-regards language as an action instead of as a medium for conveying and expressing ideas.
-the very basic unit of communication is the production or issuance of words, symbols, and sentences.

Constative utterances
Performative utterances

Kinds of Utterances:

Utterances

-believing that their meaning varies from how the speaker expresses them and how the listener perceives them.

Constative utterances

-describe a situation or insinuate assertions.
“The door is open.”
“Josh is seventeen years old.”
“She can cook.”

Performative utterances

-are words that incite action.
“No talking.”
“I command you to take your seat.”
“Go!”

-John Langshaw Austin
-John Rogers Searle

In 1962, ____ ___ _____ proposed the speech act theory. This theory was further developed by _____ _____ ____ in 1969.

locutionary act

-is defined as the act of producing meaningful utterance.

-Utterance act
-Propositional Act

Types of a Locution:

Utterance act

-This pertains to a sound that is made or something that is said, be it a single word or a string of words that may not have a particular meaning.
-This is something that is said without any intention to communicate meaning.

Propositional act

-This pertains to an utterance performed when referring or predicating in an utterance.
-Does not have to be a complete sentence, nor does it have to intend anything.
-specifies, points out, or identify.

Illocution

-is the meaning one wishes to communicate or convey. It is the act that a speaker performs in saying the utterance.

Expressives
Declarations
Assertives
Directives
Commissives

(E D A D C) Categories of Illocution:

Expressives

-These express a speaker’s emotions and attitudes toward a particular situation.
-Expressives include apologizing, welcoming, thanking, and congratulating.

Declarations

-These are speech acts that, upon being uttered, immediately bring about a change in the situation.
-Appointing, baptizing, declaring, firing, and nominating.

Assertives

-Basically, these convey information regarding something.
-Concluding, stating, describing, asserting, suggesting, and insisting.

Directives

-These are speech acts that cause the individual being addressed to do a particular action.
-Commanding, daring, challenging, requesting, and asking someone to do something.

Commissives

-Commit the speaker to doing a particular action in the future.
-Promising, vowing, planning, and offering.

Perlocutionary act

-is the effects, intentional or unintentional, the utterance has on the behavior, thoughts, and feelings of the addressee.