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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
apology/ forgiveness; approval/ disapproval; appreciation; regret; indifference
5. Suasion: directive
Suggest; request; invite; instruct; advise; warn; offer
6. Socializing: directives /expressives
greet; take leave; introduce; attract attention; propose a toast; congratulate…
Halliday’s (1975, 1976) classification of functions was developed for elementary
school classroom:
1. Instrumental
2. Regulatory
3. Interactional
4. Personal
5. Heuristic
6. Imaginative
7. Informative
There are several other well-known typologies that classify functions and
subfunctions of illocutionary speech acts. Their authors are R. Ohmann, K.Bach and
R.Harnish., J.D.McCawley, Vendler, Wierzbicka.

FELICITY CONDITIONS

From the very beginning, Austin realized that context was an essential factor in the
valid performance of an illocutionary act. He noted that the circumstances and the
participants must be appropriate; the act must be executed completely and correctly by all
participants; the participants must have the appropriate intentions. Austin called these
certain expected or appropriate circumstances felicity conditions for the performance of
a speech act to be recognized as intended.
For some clear cases, such utterances I declare the ceremony open or I name this
ship Alexander the performance will be infelicitous (inappropriate) if the speaker is not a
specific person in a special context (in these cases, a person authorized to open the
ceremony or name the ship). In everyday contexts among ordinary people, there are also
preconditions on speech acts.