3. Speech Acts
Austin in Cutting, 2002: 16 defines speech acts as the actions that are performed by utterances. It implies that people can use language by speaking
particular things to carry out something. In accordance to Austin, Yule 1996:48 divides the speech acts into three related acts. First, a locutionary act is the
primary utterance in saying something. Second, an illocutionary act is the intention or purpose of an utterance through saying something. The last, a
perlocutionary act is the outcome of an utterance over saying something. In other words, a locutionary act means a simple act of saying words which are formed to
be an utterance and the meaning of saying the utterance which is uttered by the speaker. Meanwhile, an illocutionary act means the intention behind an utterance
which is expressed by the speaker. It conveys the purpose of saying something. Then, a perlocutionary act means the effect that emerges when the speaker says
something. Related to the three acts above, Yule 1996: 53 also divides illocutionary
acts into five major categories, i.e. representatives, directives, expressives, commissives, and declaratives. Representative is a kind of speech acts which have
function to describe states. T he purpose is to commit the speaker to something‘s
being the case. The action are arguing, asserting, boasting, claiming, complaining, criticizing, denying, describing, informing, insisting, reporting, swearing, etc, for
example, The earth is flat. The speaker here says about the earth which is already known by people.
Meanwhile, directive is a kind of speech acts that a speaker uses to get the addressee to do something. Directives express what the speaker wants toward the
hearer to commit an action. The acts of directives are ordering, commanding, requesting, and suggesting, for example, Could you open the window, please? In
this example, the speaker requests the hearer to open the window. Then, commissive is a kind of speech acts that the speaker uses to perform
him or herself to do some future action. It expresses the speaker‘s intention to
carry out an action in a certain time. The acts are commiting, guaranteeing, offering, promising, refusing, threatening, volunteering, vowing, etc, for example,
I’m going to get it right next time. In doing the type of commissives, the speaker promises to the hearer to get it right next time.
Thereafter, expressive is a kind of speech acts that expresses the feeling of the speaker. Expressives express psychological states of mind such as the
pleasure, pain, like, dislike, joy or sorrow. The acts of apologizing, appreciating, thanking, complaining, and congratulating belong to expressive, for example,
Congratulations By presenting the example, the speaker shows hisher statement of happiness.
Later, declarative is a kind of speech acts that conveys the utterance to bring about a change in reality. The acts are approving, betting, blessing,
christening, confirming, cursing, declaring, disapproving, dismissing, naming, resigning, for example, I pronounce you husband and wife. By telling so, the
speaker declares to the heareraudience that there are two persons here becoming a husband and a wife.
4. The Act of Request
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