Lesson 3 Speech Act and Communicative Strategy

Talks about the speech acts or how a message is being sent or understood by the receiver.

1. SPEECH ACTSPEECH ACT

2. LEARNING TARGETS
define speech acts
distinguish types of speech act
recognize that communicative competence
requires understanding of speech acts
reflect on your learning on the types of
speech acts
I can …

3. SPEECH ACT
It is an utterance that a speaker makes
to achieve an intended effect
It might contain just one word or
several words or sentences.

4. AccordingtoJ.L.Austin(1962),aphilosopher
oflanguageandthedeveloperoftheSpeech
ActTheory,therearethreetypesofactsin
everyutterance,giventherightcircumstances
orcontext.

5. •Locutionaryactistheactualact
ofuttering.
•Illocutionaryactisthesocial
functionofwhatissaid.
•Perlocutionaryactistheresulting
actofwhatissaid.

6. Therearealsoindirectspeechactswhich
occurwhenthereisnodirectconnection
betweentheformoftheutteranceandthe
intendedmeaning.Theyaredifferentinforce
(i.e.,intention)fromtheinferredspeechact.

7. Forexample,readthefollowingutterance.
“Can you pass the rice?”
Inferred speech act: Do you have the
ability to hand over the rice?
Indirect speech act: Please pass the rice.

8. Austinalsointroducedtheconceptof
performativeutterances:statements
whichenablethespeakertoperform
somethingjustbystatingit.

9. Aperformativeutterancesaidbytheright
personundertherightcircumstances
resultsinachangeintheworld.Notethat
certainconditionshavetobemetwhen
makingaperformativeutterance.

10. AsaresponsetoAustin’sSpeechAct
Theory,JohnSearle(1976),aprofessor
fromtheUniversityofCalifornia,
Berkeley,classifiedillocutionaryacts
intofivedistinctcategories.

11. Assertive–atypeofillocutionaryactin
whichthespeakerexpressesbeliefabout
thetruthofaproposition.

12. Directive–atypeofillocutionaryactin
whichthespeakertriestomakethe
addresseeperformanaction.

13. Commissive–atypeofillocutionaryact
whichcommitsthespeakertodoing
somethinginthefuture.

14. Expressive–atypeofillocutionaryactin
whichthespeakerexpresseshis/her
feelingsoremotionalreactions.

15. Declaration–atypeofillocutionaryactwhich
bringsachangeintheexternalsituation.Simply
put,declarationsbringintoexistenceorcause
thestateofaffairswhichtheyreferto.

16. Alwayskeepinmindthat
speechactsincludeconcrete
lifeinteractionsthatrequire
theappropriateuseoflanguage
withinagivenculture.

17. Communicativecompetence(i.e.,the
abilitytouselinguisticknowledgeto
effectivelycommunicatewithothers)
isessentialforaspeakertobeableto
useandunderstandspeechacts.