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b. Give me the umbrella, please.
c. You’d better come.
d. Don’t do that.
e. Could I borrow this newspaper?
f. You must come and see it for yourself.
3. Commissives are utterances used to commit the speaker (in varying degree) to some
future course of action. They express what the speaker intends. They are acts of
promising, vowing, volunteering, offering, guaranteeing, pledging, betting, refusing,
threatening, etc. these acts can be performed by the speaker alone, or by the speaker as
a member of a group. In using a commissive, the speaker undertakes to make the world
fit the words.
Eg.: a. I’ll never do that again.
b. I’ll come.
c. I promise to come at 5.
d. Have a cup of tea.
4. Expressives are utterances used to express the emotional/ psychological state of the
speaker toward a particular state of affairs. This class includes act of apologizing,
thanking, congratulating, condoling, welcoming, deploring, objecting, statements of
pleasure, pain, likes, dislikes, joy, sorrow, etc. these acts can be caused by smth the
speaker does or the hearer does, but they are about the speaker’s experience. In using
an expressive, the speaker makes words fit the world (of feeling).
Eg.: a. I’m so sorry.
b. Happy New Year!
c. Congratulations!
d. Oh, it’s great.
e. I must apologize to you.
5. Declarations are utterances used to change the status of some entity. They bring about
the correspondence between the propositional content and reality. This class includes
acts of appointing, naming, resigning, baptizing, surrendering, excommunicating,
arresting, etc. In using a declaration, the speaker changes the world via words. As the
examples illustrate, the speaker must have a special institutional role and have authority,
in a specific context, to perform a declaration appropriately.
Eg.: a.. Referee: You’re out.
b. I announce the meeting open.
c. Priest: I now pronounce you husband and wife.
d. I name this ship King Edward.
Major functions of speech acts, given by Searle, can be subdivided into a number of
subfunctions. For example, applying speech act research, the Council of Europe created a
“notional-functional syllabus’ (van Ek 1976), identifying the following functions.
1. Exchange of factual information: representatives imparting/seeking factual information
identify, ask, report, say, think
2. Exchange of intellectual information: representatives stating whether you/ ask if others
agree, disagree, remember, forget, consider possible/ logical/certain/uncertain/ obliged;
ask or give permission; accept or decline an offer/ invitation
3. Exchange of emotional attitudes: expressives to express your own/question others’
surprise, hope, disappointment; preference; gratitude, sympathy; intention; want; desire
4. Exchange of moral attitudes: expressives to express or request