SPEECH ACT

CLASSIFICATIONS
BY JOHN ROGERS SEARLE
 TWO PROPERTIES OF SPEECH ACTS

Direction of Fit Illocutionary Point

The way the word matches the The purpose of the speech act
world or the way the world
matches the words
 POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS OF FIT

1) Word-to-world
2) World-to-word
3) The double direction of fit (both word-to-world and world-to-word)
4) The null direction of fit
 SEARLES TAXONOMY OF
ILLOCUTIONARY SPEECH ACTS
 ASSERTIVES/REPRESENTATIVES

They relate to states or events in the world.

FORCE: acts that commit the speaker to the truth of a proposition
FIT: word-to-world (the speaker puts forward the proposition
expressed by the utterance as a true description of some part of the
world)
Examples: Assert, swear, define, report, etc
 DIRECTIVES

Acts that cause the hearer to do something

FORCE: they attempt to get the hearer to do something
FIT: world-to-word direction (the speaker is trying to get the hearer
to make the world conform to what he says)
Examples: command, request, invite.
 COMMISSIVES

Acts that commit the speaker to do something in the future

FORCE: they commit the speaker to doing something in the future
FIT: world-to-word (the speaker intends to (try to) make the world
conform to what he has said)
Examples: undertake, promise, threaten
 DIFFERENCE

COMMISSIVES DIRECTIVES
Commissives express speaker Directives express desires that the
intentions speaker has about what the hearer
is to do.
 EXPRESSIVES

Acts that express the speakers feelings towards something

FORCE: the speaker expresses feeling regarding a state of affairs that
the expressive refers to
FIT: null direction of fit (they express an emotional attitude towards a
fact presumed to be true)
Examples: thank, congratulate, welcome
 DECLARATIONS

Acts that change reality (utterances that change the world rather than describing
it)
FORCE: acts that bring about immediate changes in how things are
FIT: double direction of fit (word-to-world and world-to-word) (to utter one
successfully is to bring about a change in the world: the words uttered change
the world so that the world fits the words)
Examples: baptizing, pronouncing someone guilty, etc
 INDIRECT SPEECH ACTS

A single utterance could contain more than one type of speech act, a
primary one which is indirect and not literally performed and a
secondary one which is direct and is performed in the literal utterance
of the sentence.
 Hugh: I wish I was at toys R us.
Paul: OK, ill take you.

Here, the primary act of the speaker (a child) is to persuade Paul (an
adult) to take him to toys r us and buy him a toy. The secondary act is
simply the literal statement of wishing to be at toys R us.
 Can you pass the butter?

The grammatical form of this sentence is more closely associated with

asking questions than making requests.