Indirect Speech Acts

1. INDIRECT SPEECH ACTS
In this comic strip taken from The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes (Bill Watterson) we can see
how the utterance “Where are you going?” leads to a “misunderstanding”.
This is due to the fact that this example belongs to the Indirect Speech Act theory (Searl), more
specifically to “the primary illocutionary act. The indirect one, which is not literally performed.”
That is, the question above mentioned is not performed as such. Calvin's mother isn't asking where
he's going, but rather telling him to stay because she knows he hasn't done his homework yet.
→ Indirect Speech acts can be performed through other types of Illocutionary Speech Acts
Searle (1975) has set up the following classification:
• assertives = speech acts that commit a speaker to the truth of the expressed proposition, e.g.
reciting a creed
• directives = speech acts that are to cause the hearer to take a particular action, e.g. requests,
commands and advice
• commissives = speech acts that commit a speaker to some future action, e.g. promises and
oaths
• expressives = speech acts that express the speaker's attitudes and emotions towards the
proposition, e.g. congratulations, excuses and thanks
• declarations = speech acts that change the reality in accord with the proposition of the
declaration, e.g. baptisms, pronouncing someone guilty or pronouncing someone husband
and wife
Thus, we can say that, as the initial interrogative isn't used (only) as such, but as a request or
command (depending on our perception of the tone in the comic stripe), i.e. a directive, this is an
example of an Indirect Speech act.