Speech Act Classification
1- DECLARATIONS: change the world via an utterance. A
specific role, in a specific context, to perform a
declaration appropiately.
• “I now pronounce you husband and wife” (Priest)
• “You’re out” (referee)
2- REPRESENTATIVES: what the speaker believes to
be the case or not.
Statements of fact, assertions, conclusions,
descriptions, etc.
• “The Earth is flat.”
• “Chomsky didn’t write about peanuts”.
3- EXPRESSIVES: speech acts that state what
the speaker feels.
They express psychological states and can be statements of pleasure,
pain, likes, dislikes, joy, or sorrow.
• “I’m really sorry!”
• “Congratulations!”
4- DIRECTIVES: speech acts used to get
someone else to do sth.
They express what the speaker wants. They are: commands, orders,
requests, suggestions. They can be positive or negative.
• “Gimme a cup of coffee. Make it black”.
• “Don’t touch that”.
• “Could you lend me a pen, please?”
5- COMMISSIVES: speech acts used by speakers
to commit themselves to some future action.
They are: promises, threats, refusals, pledges, etc.
• “ I’ll be back”.
• “We are going to get it right next time.”
• “We won’t do that”.
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH ACTS
• DIRECT: direct relationship between …(declarative, interrogative,
imperative) and its …(statement, question, commnad/request.)
• INDIRECT: Indirect relation between the structure and function.
Example of indirect speech acts:
• “Move out of the way!” – (the only direct command.)
• “Do you have to stand in front of the T.V?”(A question functioning as
an indirect command)
• “You’re standing in front of the T.V!”.( a declarative functioning as an
indirect request)