This document discusses speech act theory, describing the three types of speech acts: locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts. It then provides more details on illocutionary acts, explaining how they are classified based on their illocutionary point (force, direction of fit, sincerity conditions). Five categories of illocutionary acts are described: assertives, directives, commissives, expressives, and declarations. The document concludes by discussing how to appropriately choose a speech act based on preparatory conditions and rules of politeness.

1. lezione 15 del corso teorie della comunicazione – Genova
CP

2. 1. what are they?

3. LOCUTIONARY ACT
(act of saying)
ILLOCUTIONARY ACT
(act we do in saying...)
[conventions]
phonetics (form)
syntax
semantics (content)
felicity conditions
(illocutionary “force”)
PERLOCUTIONARY ACT
(act we do by saying...)
[consequences]
context dependence
(2 examples Mario and “her”)

4. 2. how to classify them?

5. 1)
“explicit performatives” (Austin)
(illocutionary clause (Searle))
2) different criteria (Searle):
*Illocutionary point* (essential condition)
– illocutionary force
– direction of fit
– sincerity conditions (psychological state)

6. Ill. force
direction of fit
sincerity condition
Assertion
worldwords
believe in what you assert
Command
wordsworld
will of future action
Commitment wordsworld
intention to fulfill the action
Expression
possibility to express psic.states

Declaration words world
will of future action

7. 1. Assertive: represents a state of affairs. E.g. stating, claiming,
hypothesizing, describing, telling, insisting, suggesting, ...
2. Directive: getting the addressee to do something. E.g. ordering,
commanding, daring, defying, challenging
3. Commissive: getting the speaker to do something. E.g. promising,
threatening, intending, advising, warning, betting, vowing to do or
to refrain from doing something ...
4. Expressive: expressing the mental state of the speaker about an
event presumed to be true.. E.g. congratulating, thanking,
deploring, condoling, welcoming, apologizing
5. Declaration: bringing into existence the state of affairs to which it
refers. E.g. blessing, firing, baptizing, bidding, ...

8. 3. when and how to use which speech acts?

9. 1) open the window!
2) will you open the window, please?
1) what time is it?
2) do you know the time?

10. John Searle:
preparatory condition
Robin Lakoff:
following the rules of the “logic of politeness”

11. 1.
Don’t Impose
2.
Give Options
3.
Make your Receiver Feel Good

12.  is the speaker able to fulfill the sincerity conditions?
 or better: can he realize the illocutionary point?
 (felicity conditions in general include intentions,
sentiments, psychological states, but also
conventions, physical possibilities, practical
possibilities...)
 what does the choice of a particular kind of
illocutionary act reveal of the speaker?