Types of Speech Acts in Terms of Directness
declarative, interrogative, and imperative. There are also three general communicative functions such as statement, question, and
commandrequest. The difference between direct and indirect speech acts is put on the relations between the structural forms and
general communicative functions.
1 Direct Speech Acts
It is where there is a direct relationship between the structure and the function. Therefore, a declarative used to make a
statement is considered as a direct speech acts. It is the same as the imperative structure. The examples are presented below.
a It is cold outside.
b I hereby tell you about the weather.
In example a the utterance is directive. If this utterance is used to make a statement, the form will be changed into the
example b.
2 Indirect Speech Acts
It is where there is an indirect relationship between the structure and the function. Therefore, a declarative which is used
to make a request is considered as an indirect speech acts. The examples are given below.
a It is cold outside.
b I hereby request of you that you close the door.
In example a the utterance is in the declarative form. If it is used to make a command or request, the form of the utterance
will be changed into the example b.