The academic writers update, convince, influence, enlighten their audience and also provide them with the generated knowledge. For doing all this, the learning writers should be fully aware of how linguistic resources can be used for the performance of their tasks. Particularly, they should have sufficient understanding of what speech acts are and how they are used productively. Further, they should fully understand the terminology that is common in this area. This post has been composed for assisting the new writers so that they can write their texts competently.
1. Speech Act Theory
In communication, language is not used only to convey information, but also to perform actions through utterances. This view suggests that words along with their literal meanings, can be used to do things, e.g., making promises, requesting actions, or expressing emotions. This concept about language is called Speech Act Theory which examines how words are used for carrying out actions along with the presentation of information.
There are two key aspects of this theory. First, utterances are actions, i.e. language not only describes reality, but also serves as an instrument for performing actions. Second, various things, such as context, speaker’s intention, and the listener’s intention and perspective can influence the meaning of an utterance.
Speech Act Theory is important in a number of ways. First, it helps the language users understand how they can use language and can achieve various goals in everyday communication. Second, its guides the ESL learners to use language pragmatically and appropriately in different social contexts. On the whole, this theory helps learning scholars understand how humans can communicate in a better way.
2. A Speech Act
A speech act is the action performed through the use of language, e.g., making a promise, putting a question, or giving a suggestion, etc. In other words, a speech act is an utterance that is considered as an action with some special intention, purpose, or effect of speech. A speech act is composed of three components. These components are: illocution (the speaker’s purpose behind the utterance); locution (the utterance of the message); and perlocution (the resultant influence on the addressee). These are the three things which the speaker or writer tries to achieve through the employment of a speech act (See 28. Content and Construal as Meaning Sources).
2.1 A Speech Act and its Components
A speech act is an utterance with an intention to perform something, e.g. to direct, to give commitment, etc. There are three components of a speech act, such as locution, illocution and perlocution. Locution is an utterance of words that conveys literal meaning. Illocution is the speaker’s intended meaning or purpose behind the utterance. Perlocution is the effect of the utterance on the listener or recipient of the message. The following scenario can help us understand these terms. The scenario is: two people are in a room; weather outside is cold and the window of the room is open. One person says “Aren’t you feeling cold?” and the other person gets up and closes the window. Herein, if the utterance “Aren’t you feeling cold” is taken literally, it is locution. If the intention or purpose of the speaker is considered, i.e. ‘please, close the window’, it is illocution. If the impact of this utterance on the listener is taken, i.e. ‘he closed the window’ is perlocution.
2.2 Direct & Indirect Speech Acts
The direct speech acts are the statements like “Give me some space” or “switch off the light”. These statements are the direct speech acts because herein the speaker’s intent is clear. Further, in the case of direct speech acts, usually there is strong connection between form and function of the linguistic construction. In other words, the something said is directly correlated to what is meant. On the other hand, an indirect speech act occurs when the utterance employed indicates its intended purpose. Commonly, one thing is said and another is meant. As in the example given above: “Aren’t you feeling cold?”
3. Types of Illocutionary Acts
Illocutionary acts have been classified by John Searle into a number of categories, such as assertives, directives, commissives, representatives, declaratives, and expressives. Speakers’ act is assertive when they express the way things are in the world. When speakers through their utterance commit themselves to doing something, their act is commissive. If they make an attempt to get their hearers do something, their act is directive. In case, speakers do things at the moment of utterance only by saying that they do, their act is declaratory. When speakers express their attitudes about objects and facts in the world, their act is expressive (See 27. Illocutionary Shell Nouns).
3.1 The Function of Assertive Acts
The function of assertive acts is to make the speaker committed (in varying degrees) to something’s being the case, i.e., the truth of the proposition. The psychological state, that an assertive act expresses, is a belief. The degree of belief may be very high or it even reaches to zero (e.g. in the case of lies). Assertion indicates more commitment. On the other hand, guess and conjecture mark the least commitment of all. When a that-clause is associated to a contention, the noun characterizes assertions as acts of defending and safeguarding one’s own position. In such a context the content is asserted very strongly. For example:
- There is an issue in the struggle for women rights: fighting the contention that men and women innately and physically are mostly not equal—this is the point which is generally not considered.
3.2 Asserting Vs Suggesting
When one asserts, it imposes a responsibility on the speaker to propagate an assertion or to depend on it in connection with some further assertion. However, every speech act does not incur the requirement of justification as is the case with suggesting. In case of suggesting, the speaker is not committed to having good evidence. If a speaker/writer discards his commitment to having sufficient justifications, it does not stop him from having commitment to the truth communicating content. In reality, the speakers may stay committed to their proposition being true in terms of what they consider true at the utterance time only. Nouns such as suggestion and presumption characterize assertive speech acts. They do this in a way that the speaker and hearer become aware that the speaker is not fully clear about the proposition’s truth. They become fully clear that proposition has been considered as such for the sake of the argument. When this content premise is revised and reassessed, it may look significant.
3.3 Presumption
Presumption, as a speech act, is in between assertion and supposition. It means that the proponent of the proposition does not have a burden of proof. The burden on the proponent is to disprove contrary evidence if it arises in the sequence of dialogue. Therefore, a presumption stays at its position for a certain number of moves in a dialogue. However, it is not permanent or non-retractable commitment for either party that remains present at its place for the duration of the dialogue. Further, a presumption works to provide the argument with some provisional basis for its advancement even firm premises known to be true are absent. For example:
- Rehman: He has capability to perform wonders. Though it is a presumption, it is not entirely baseless.
3.4 Speech Acts (Nouns) that require justification
Speech acts such as argument, supposition, allegation, affirmation, claim and statement are different from presumption and suggestion. They are so because they do not require justification. It means presumption and suggestion do not require justification whereas the nouns marked by italics above require this. For example:
- Individuals from the lower stratum of society cannot have leading role in society. This assertion is based on the argument that for having a leading role in society one must have wealth.
Two more speech acts are elaborated below owing to their importance in communication.
3.5 Hint
A hint (a suggestion or clue) is an instrument which serves as a means of expressing what the reality might be. However, it is neither a declaration, nor a speculation. Further, it can be understood as an allusion instead of an explicit statement. Actually, a hint is an expression with which an audience is led to the truth. In other words, it is a partial revelation. Furthermore, it is more private than public. When speakers or writers aim at softening the impact or avoid direct confrontation, they use indirect expression of thoughts and feelings through hints. However, the excessive use of hints in communication can lead the audience to misinterpret the expressions. Thus they cannot receive the intended message.
3.6 Guess
Whether it is verbal or written communication, guessing or making inferences on the part of audience is very common. It is so because it allows them to fill in missing information and interpret what the speaker or writer means. However, excessive reliance on guessing may lead to difficulties, particularly when participants come of different cultural backgrounds.
This post presents a number of concepts, i.e. speech act theory, illocutionary acts, function of assertive acts, speech acts, and categories of speech act nouns. These speech act nouns have crucial role in daily life as well as academic communication. This is what makes it imperative for the learning speakers and writers to know the categories of these nouns. They should know how these can be used to communicate effectively.
Sources Consulted:
- Searle (1979)
- Searle and Vanderveken (1985)
- Vergaro (2015)
