This is a Clilstore unit. You can link all words to dictionaries.

Speech act theory

Speech act theory
 
1. Code Model
 
A sentence represents a proposition/state of affairs:
E.g. 'Snow is white' represents the fact that snow is white.
When I communicate, my words represent just those states of affairs. The hearer decodes what I said and thus gets to know what I meant.
 
A problem: there are sentences representing the same state of affairs that can be used for different purposes:
                 - You will come tomorrow
                 - Will you come tomorrow?
                 - Come tomorrow!
 
 
2. Speech act theory (Austin)
 
 
Watch video 1 and do exercise 1.
 
Remember what you have just learned:
 
- Locutionary act: utterance of a meaningful statement. The act of saying something. 
E.g. the utterance of 'I promise that today I won't be late'

- Illocutionary act: the action performed by the mere fact of having uttered something meaningful (assertions, questions, promises, etc.). The act performed in saying something.
E.g. a promise

- Perlocutionary act: the effect achieved by the utterance.The act performed by saying something.
E.g. getting someone not to feel anxious
 
For further information, check out links 1 and 2 (you can use multidict to read them).
 
 
 
3. Linguistic contents
 
3.1 Read the webpage in link 3 and do exercise 2
 
3.2 Now watch video 2. Write down three sentences whose perlocutionary and illocutionary forces vary depending on whether the speaker is using them literally or as figures of speech (e.g. metaphors, hyperboles, etc.)
                                                                    
 
 

Short url:   https://multidict.net/cs/5028