Illocutionary classification Illocutionary Act

The trouble is ‘in what way are the locution is used’. When the performing of a locutionary act, the speech is used, but in what way precisely are the speech used? For there are very numerous functions of or ways in which the speech used, and it makes a great difference to our act in some sense. Which way and which sense the speech is being ‘used’. It makes a great difference whether it was advising, or merely suggesting, or actually ordering, whether it was strictly promising or only announcing a vague intention, and so forth. For example, in order to make a promise one must make clear to one’s hearer that the act she is performing is promise, and in the performance of the act one will be undertaking an obligation to do the promise thing: so promising is an illocutionary act. In other words, illocutionary act is the contextual function of the utterance. Performance of an act in saying something as opposed to performance of an act of saying something; Austin refers to types of function of language or what Austin called ‘illocutionary forces’.

2.2.2.1. Illocutionary classification

Austin 1962: 150 made classes of utterance, classified according to their illocutionary force, by the following more-or-less rebarbative names: 1. Verdictives

2. Exercitives

3. Commissives

4. Behabitives

5. Expositives

Universitas Sumatera Utara 1 Verdictives Verdictives is the utterance in which the speaker is verdicting something. Verdictives consist of utterances used in delivering findings, official or unofficial based on evidence. “Verdictives are typified by the giving of a verdict, as the name implies, by a jury, arbitrator, or umpire. But they need not be final; they may be, for example, an estimate, reckoning, or appraisal. It is essentially giving a finding as to something-fact, or value which is for different reasons hard to be certain about.” Austin 1962: 150 Examples by Austin 1962: 152: Acquit convict find as a matter of fact Hold as a matter of fact interpret as understand read it as rule calculate reckon estimate locate grade rank rate assess value describe characterize diagnose analyze date measure place Austin 1962: 152 continues explaining: “A verdictives is a judicial act as distinct from legislative or executive acts, which are both exercitives. But some judicial acts, in the wider sense that they are done by judges instead of for example, juries, really are exercitives. Verdictives have obvious connexions with truth and falsity as regards soundness and unsoundness or fairness and unfairness. That the content of a verdict is true or false is shown, for example, in a dispute over an umpire’s calling ‘Out’, ‘Three strikes’, or ‘Four balls’.”

2 Exercitives

Exercitives cover utterances that involve some authority. Austin 1962: 150 explains exercitives are the exercising of powers, rights, or influence. They are Universitas Sumatera Utara characterized by the giving of a decision in favor of or against a certain course of action. It is a very wide class. Examples by Austin 1962: 154: appoint degrade demote dismiss excommunicate name order command direct sentence fine grant levy vote for nominate choose claim give Bequeath pardon resign Warn advise plead Pray entreat beg Urge press recommend Proclaim announce quash Countermand annul repeal Enact reprieve veto Dedicate declare closed declare open

3 Commissives

Commissives are typified by promising or otherwise undertaking. The whole point of a commissives is to commit the speaker to a certain course of action. Examples by Austin 1962: 156: Promise covenant contract Undertake bind myself give my word Determined to intend declare my intention Mean to plan purpose Propose to shall contemplate Envisage engage swear Guarantee pledge myself bet Vow agree consent Dedicate myself to declare for side with Adopt champion embrace Espouse oppose favor Universitas Sumatera Utara

4 Behabitives

Behabitives are a very miscellaneous group, and have to do with attitudes and social behavior. Examples are apologizing, congratulating, commending, condoling, cursing, and challenging. “Behabitives are a class of speech acts used in reaction to other people’s behavior and fortune and of attitudes and expressions of attitudes to someone else’s past conduct or imminent conduct. There are obvious connections with both stating or describing what our feelings are and expressing, in the sense of venting our feelings, though behabitives are distinct from both of these.” Austin 1962: 159 Examples by Austin 1962: 159: a. For apologies we have ‘apologize’. b. For thanks we have ‘thank’. c. For sympathy we have ‘deplore’, ‘commiserate’, ‘compliment’, ‘condole’, ‘congratulate’, ‘felicitate’, ‘sympathize’. d. For attitudes we have ‘resent’, ‘don’t mind’, ‘tribute’, ‘criticize’, ‘grumble about’, ‘complain of’, ‘applaud’, ‘overlook’, ‘commend’, ‘deprecate’, and the non-exercitives uses of ‘blame’, ‘a approve’, and ‘favor’. e. For greetings we have ‘welcome’, ‘bid you farewell’. f. For wishes we have ‘bless’, ‘curse’, ‘toast’, ‘drink to’, and ‘wish’ in its strict performatives use. g. For challenges we have ‘dare’, ‘defy’, ‘protest’, ‘challenge’.

5 Expositives

Austin 1962: 151 explained that “expositives are difficult to define”. “They make plain how our utterances fit into the course of an argument or conversation, how we are using words, or, in general, are expository. Expositives are used in acts of exposition involving the expounding of Universitas Sumatera Utara views, the conducting of arguments, and the clarifying of usages and of references. Examples are ‘I reply’, ‘I argue’, ‘I concede’, ‘I illustrate’, ‘I assume’, ‘I postulate’.” Here then is a list of expositives by Austin 1962: 161: Affirm deny state describe class Identity remark mention interpose inform Approse tell answer rejoin ask Testify report swear conjecture doubt Know believe accept concede withdraw Agree demur to adhere to object to recognize Repudiate correct revise postulate deduce Argue neglect emphasize begin to turn to Conclude by interpret distinguish analyze define Illustrate explain formulate mean refer Call understand regard as Based on Austin’s classification of illocutionary acts, it can be concluded that one can exercise judgment Verdictives, exert influence or exercise power Exercitives, assume obligation or declare intention Commissives, adopt attitude, or express feeling Behabitives, and clarify reasons, argument, or communication Expositives. Austin’s interest of his work for pragmatics also Searle 1969 centre around illocutionary acts and illocutionary force understood as the functions or meanings associated with illocutionary acts. Therefore when the term ‘Speech Act Theory’ is used in Pragmatics, it refers to illocutionary acts Collinge, 1990: 177.

2.2.3. Perlocutionary act