3. The most important, unlike perlocutionary acts, most illocutionaryacts used to communicate have the feature that one performs themsuccessfully simply by
getting one’s illocutionary intentions recognized.
2.4.2 The Categories of illocutionary Act
Leech 1983:205 classifies illocutionary acts into four corresponding verbs namely: 1. Assertive Verbs normally occur in the construction ‘S verb … that X’ , where S
is the subject referring to the speaker, and where X refers to a proposition, example: affirm, allege, assert, forecast, predict, announce, insist.
2. Directive Verbs normally occur in the construction ‘S verb O that X’ or S’ verb O to Y’, where S and O are subject and object referring to s
2
and h
2
respectively, where that X’ is a non-indicative that-clause, and where to Y’ is an infinitive clause, such as: ask, beg, bid, command, demand, forbid, recommend,
request. Unlike the that-clauses following assertive verbs, these non-indicative that-clauses contain a subjunctive or modal like should, since they refer to a
mand rather than to a proposition; for example: We requested that the ban should be lifted.
3. Commisive verbs normally occur in the construction ‘S verb that X’ where the that-clauses again non-indicative, or S’ verb to Y’, where to Y’ is again an
infinitive construction; for example: offer, promise, swear, volunteer, vow. Commisive verbs, which form a relatively small class, resemble directive verbs
in having non-indicative complementizers that-clauses and infinitive clauses, which necessarily have posterior time reference in example time reference later
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than that of the main verb. There is therefore a case for merging the directive and commisive verbs into one ‘superclass’.
4. Expressive verbs normally occur in the construction ‘S verb prep O prep Xn’, where ‘prep’ is an optimal preposition, and where Xn is an abstract noun
phrase or a gerundive phrase; for example: apologize, commiserate, congratulate, pardon, thank.
Yule 1996:48 states that one general categories system list five types of general function performed by speech acts: declaration, representatives, expressive,
directives, and commisives. Declarations are those kinds of speech acts that change the world via their
utterance. As example in illustrate below, the speaker has to have a special institutional role, in a specific context, in order to perform a declaration
appropriately. 9 Priest
: I now pronounce you husband and wife. 10 Referee
: You’re out 11 Jury Foreman
: We find the defendant guilty. In using a declaration, the speaker changes the world via words.
Representatives are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker believes to be the case or not. Statements of fact, assertion, conclusion, and
descriptions, as illustrated in below, are all examples of the speaker representing the world as he or she believes it is.
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12 The earth is flat. 13 Chomsky didn’t write about peanuts.
14 It was warm sunny day. In using a representative, the speaker makes world fit the world of belief.
Expressives are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker feels. They express psychological state and can be statement of pleasure, pain, likes,
dislike, joy, or sorrow. As illustrated below, they can be caused by something the speaker does or the hearer does, but they are about the speaker’s experience.
15 I’m really sorry 16 Congratulation.
17 Oh, yes, great, mmmm, ssah In using an expressive, the speaker makes words fit the world of feeling.
Directives are those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to get someone else to do something. They express what the speaker wants. They are commands,
order, request, suggestion, and as illustrated below, they can be positive or negative. 18 Give me a cup of coffee. Make it black.
19 Could you lend me a pen, please? 20 Do not touch that.
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In using the directive, the speaker attempts to make the world fit the words via the hearer.
Commissives are those kinds of speech acts that speaker use to commit themselves to some future action. They express what the speaker intends. They are
promises, threats, refusals, pledges, and, as shown below, they can be performed by the speaker alone, or by the speaker as a member of a group.
21 I will be back. 22 I’m going to get it right next time.
23 We will not do that. In using a commissive, the speaker undertakes to make the world fit the words via
the speaker. Searle 1979:13-23 categorizes them into five main categories, they are:assertive,
directives, commissives, expressive, and declarations. Assertives show thatthe point or purpose of the members of the assertive
class is to commit the speaker in varying degrees to somethings being the case, to the truth of the expressed proposition. All of the members of the assertive class are
assessable on the dimension of assessment which includes true and false. For example, consider: boast and complain.They both denote assertives with the
added featurethat they have something to do with the interest of the speaker. Conclude and deduce arealso assertives with the added feature that they mark
certainrelations between the assertive illocutionary act and the restof the discourse or the context of utterance.
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For Example: 24 I inform you that our lecturer makes wrong decision.
25 It’s raining. Directives is the illocutionary point that consists in the fact that they are
attempts of varying degrees, and hence, more precisely, they are determinates of the determinable which includes attempting by the speaker to get the hearer to do
something. They may be very modest attempts as when I invite you to do it or suggest that you do it, or they may be very fierce attempts as when I insist that you
do it. Verbs denoting members of this class are ask, order, command, request, beg, plead, pray, entreat, and also invite, permit, advise,dare, defy and challenge.
For example: 26 Don’t eat that
27 Can you reach the salt for me? Commissives then are those illocutionary acts whose point is to committ the
speaker again in varying degrees to some future course of action. The direction of fit is world-to-word and the sinceritycondition is Intention. The propositional content
is always that the speakerdoes some future action. For example:
28 We will complete the task. 29 I’m going to paint the house tomorrow.
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Expressives are the illocutionary point to express the psychological state specified in the sincerity condition about a state of affairs specified in the
propositional content. The paradigms of expressive verbs are thank, congratulate, apologize, condole, deplore, and welcome. Notice that in expressive types, there is
no direction of fit. In performing an expressive, the speaker is neither trying to get the world to match the words nor the words to match the world, rather the truth of the
expressed proposition is presupposed. For example:
30 I congratulate you on winning the race. 31 I thank you for paying me the money.
Declarationshas special characteristic of this class that the successful performance of one of its members brings about the correspondence between the
propositional content and reality, successful performance guarantees that the propositional content corresponds to the world.
For Example: 32 I declare that your employment is terminated.
33 I declare that my position is terminated.
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Cruse 2000:342-343 classifies illocutionary acts into five categories such as: Assertives commit the speaker to the truth of the expressed proposition: state,
suggest, boast, complain, claim, report, warn that. Notice that boast and complain also express an attitude to the proposition expressed other than a belief in its truth.
Directives have the intention of eliciting some sort of action on the part of the hearer: order, command, request, beg, beseech, advise to, warn to, recommend,
ask, ask to. Commissives commit the speaker to some future action: promise, vow, offer,
undertake, contract, threaten. Expressives make known the speakers psychological attitude to a
presupposed state of affairs: thank, congratulate, condole, praise, blame, forgive, pardon.
Declaratives are said to bring about a change in reality: that is to say, the world is in some way no longer the same after they have been said. Now in an
obvious sense this is true of all the performative verbs: after someone has congratulated someone, for instance, a new world comes into being in which that
congratulation has taken place. . So, if someone says resign, then thereafter they no longer hold the post they originally held, with all that that entails. resign, dismiss,
divorce in Islam, christen, name, open e.g. an exhibition, excommunicate, sentence in court, consecrate, bid at auction, declare at cricket.
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2.4.3 Illocutionary Force Indicating Device IFID
