SPEECH ACTS & SPEECH EVENTS

Introduction
Not only do people produce utterances containing grammatical structures and words, but they also perform actions via those utterances.
Youre fired is an act of ending someones employment by the boss.

Action performed via such utterances is called Speech Act and usually given specific labels such as apology, complaint, invitation, promise, or request.
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 On any occasion, the action performed by producing an utterance will consist of THREE related acts.
Locutionary act (also known as proposition) is the basic literal meaning of the utterance which is conveyed by the particular words and structures which the utterance contains. Illocutionary act is formed via communicative force of an utterance. We form an utterance with some kind of function in mind. This force is known as illocutionary force.
I am thirsty. (intended as a request for something to drink)

 Perlocutionary act reveals the effect the speaker wants to exercise over the hearer. This is also known as perlocutionary effect.
Would you close the door, please?

The question is an utterance can represent different illocutionary force.

Ill see you later.

How can speakers assume that the intended illocutionary force will be recognized by the hearer?
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Illocutionary Force Indicating Device (IFID)

An indication in the speakers utterance of the communicative force of that utterance which includes word order, stress, intonation, punctuation, the mood of the verb, and performative verb.
In English, for example, the interrogative mood is supposed to indicate that the utterance is (intended as) a question; the directive mood indicates that the utterance is (intended as) a directive illocutionary act (an order, a request, etc.); the words "I promise" are supposed to indicate that the utterance is (intended as) a promise 5

Felicity Conditions
Expected or appropriate circumstances (conditions) for the performance of a speech act to be recognized as intended
I sentence you to six months in prison.

This performance will be infelicitous (inappropriate) if the speaker is not a specific person in a special context (in this case, a judge in a courtroom).
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Types of Conditions
General conditions presuppose the participants knowledge of the language being used and his nonplayacting. Content conditions concern the appropriate content of an utterance. Preparatory conditions deal with differences of various illocutionary acts (e.g. those of promising or warning). Sincerity conditions count with speakers intention to carry out a certain act. Essential conditions combine with a specification of what must be in the utterance content, the context, and the speakers intentions, in order for a specific act to be appropriately (felicitously) performed.
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Dont go out in the rain, or youll get cold! For this speech act to take effect, certain conditions must be met:
General Condition: the hearer must make sense of the language being used. Content condition: the utterance must refer to future event. Preparatory condition: it isnt clear the hearer knows the event will occur; in the case it occurs, the event will not have a beneficial effect. Sincerity condition: the speaker believe the future event will a negative effect on the hearer Essential condition: the utterance changes the speakers state from non-informing of a bad future event 8 to informing.

Performative Hypothesis
Performative hypothesis assumes, for speech act to be performed via utterance (U), there is a clause containing performative verb (Vp) which makes the illocutionary force explicit. The structure is as follows:
I (hereby) Vp you (that) U
In this clause, the subject must be first person singular (I), followed by the adverb hereby, indicating that the utterance counts as an action by being uttered. There is also a performative verb (Vp) in the present tense and an indirect object in second person singular (you).
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Types of Performatives
Explicit performatives: those containing a performative verb, such as promise, deny, warn, which names the speech act or illocutionary force of the sentence.
I hereby tell you that work was done by Piseth and myself. I hereby order you that you clean up this mess.

Implicit performatives: those not containing a performative verb.

The work was done by Piseth and myself. Clean up this mess!
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Explicit Performatives Vs. Implicit Performatives

Explicit performatives
It makes interpretation of utterances clear It indicates that certain adverbs are only used in explicit performatives, rather than implicit performatives

Implicit performatives
It makes utterances less of an impact on the hearer It is not clear as to what verbs can be treated as performative verbs.

How can speech act be interpreted since it is not known as to how many performative verbs exist in any language?
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Speech Act Classification

Declarations
Those kinds of speech acts that change the world via utterance
For example, during the wedding ceremony the act of marriage is performed when the phrase I now pronounce you man and wife is uttered.

Representatives
Those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker believes to be the case or not
This is a German car.
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 Expressives
Those kinds of speech acts in which the speaker expresses feelings and attitudes about something, such as an apology, a complaint, or to thank someone, to congratulate someone
The meal was delicious.

Directives
Those kinds of speech acts that have the function of getting the listener to do something, such as a suggestion, a request, or a command.
Please sit down. Why dont you close the window?
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 Commisives
Those kinds of speech acts that commit the speaker to doing something in the future, such as a promise or a threat.
If you dont stop fighting, Ill call the police. (threat) Ill take you to the movies tomorrow. (promise)

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Direct and Indirect Speech Acts

In English language, there are THREE structural distinctions:
Declarative: You wear a seat belt Interrogative: Do you wear a seat belt? Imperative: Wear a seat belt!

Each structure has a function to tell, to ask, and to command respectively.

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 Whenever there is a direct relationship between a structure and a function, we have a direct speech act.
It is cold outside I hereby tell you about the weather. I hereby request of you that you close the door.

Whenever there is an indirect relationship between a structure and a function, we have an indirect speech act.
Do you have to stand in front of the TV? Youre standing in front of the TV. Youd make a better door than window.
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