This document discusses speech acts, which were proposed by John Austin in 1962 as a functional unit of communication. It defines speech acts as consisting of three components: locution, the physical utterance; illocution, the intended meaning; and perlocution, the resulting action. As an example, it analyzes the speech act "The coffee tastes great" in terms of these three components and their possible interpretations.

2. Nafia Nahid Maha
2nd year, 3rd semester
Class roll- 22
Department of Linguistics
University of Dhaka.

3. Dr. Feroza Yasmin
Assistant professor
Course teacher, Semantics & Pragmatics
Department of Linguistics
University Of Dhaka

4. “Speech act is a functional unit in
communication.”(Austin’s Theory 1962)
Concept of speech act proposed by John
Langshaw Austin in 1962 one of the founder of
pragmatics and later developed by John R.
Searle in 1969.

5.  Locution: physical utterance by the speaker.
 Illocution: The intended meaning of the
utterance by the speaker. (performative)
 Perlocution: The action that results from the
locution.

6. Specific words
Locution
Desire
Illocution
Effect
Perlocution

7. The coffee tastes great
 Locutionary act: same
 Ilocutionary act:
1.to invite
2.To offer
3.or simply as statement of fact
 Perlocutionary act: the effect produced in listener
or reader by listening locutionary act.