Page 86 - 6688

86
In [13a. ], it is the telling part (the performative verb) that is being done 'honestly' and, in
[13b. ], it is the act of asking (the perform-ative again) that is being justified by the 'because
I may be late' clause.
There are some technical disadvantages to the performative hypothesis. For example,
uttering the explicit performative ver-sion of a command [11b. ] has a much more serious
impact than uttering the implicit version [11a. ]. The two versions are con-sequently not
equivalent. It is also difficult to know exactly what the performative verb (or verbs) might be
for some utterances. Although the speaker and hearer might recognize the utterance in
[14a. ] as an insult, it would be very strange to have [i4b. ] as an explicit version.
[14] a. You're dumber than a rock.
b. ? I hereby insult you that you're dumber than a rock.
The really practical problem with any analysis based on identi-fying explicit performatives is
that, in principle, we simply do not know how many performative verbs there are in any
language. Instead of trying to list all the possible explicit performatives, and then distinguish
among all of them, some more general classifications of types of speech acts are usually
used.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT ILLOCUTIONARY ACTS

A different approach to distinguishing types of speech acts can be made on the
basis of structure. A fairly simple structural distinction between three general types of
speech acts is provided, in English, by the three basic sentence types. As shown in [zo],
there is an easily recognized relationship between the three structural forms (declarative,
interrogative, imperative) and the three general communicative functions (statement,
question, command/request).
[20] a. You wear a seat belt. (declarative)
b. Do you wear a seat belt? (interrogative)
c. Wear a seat belt! (imperative)
Whenever there is a direct relationship between a structure and a function, we have a
direct speech act. Whenever there is an in-direct relationship between a structure and a
function, we have an indirect speech act. Thus, a declarative used to make a statement is
a direct speech act, but a declarative used to make a request is an indirect speech act. As
illustrated in [zi], the utterance in [zia. ] is a declarative. When it is used to make a
statement, as paraphrased in [zib. ], it is functioning as a direct speech act. When it is used
to make a command/request, as paraphrased in [zic. ], it is function-ing as an indirect
speech act.
[21] a. It's cold outside.
b. I hereby tell you about the weather.
c. I hereby request of you that you close the door.
Different structures can be used to accomplish the same basic function, as in [22], where
the speaker wants the addressee not to stand in front of the TV. The basic function of all
the utterances in [22] is a command/request, but only the imperative structure in [22a. ]
represents a direct speech act. The interrogative structure in [22b. ] is not being used only
as a question, hence it is an indirect speech act. The declarative structures in [22c. ] and
[22d. ] are also indirect requests.
[22] a. Move out of the way!
b. Do you have to stand in front of the TV?