20 Examples of Speech, Speech and Perlocution Acts

The locutionary acts are the act of speaking in itself, the illocutionary acts are what is done when saying something and the perlocutionary acts They are the reactions that the statements provoke in the listener.

For example: If someone makes the statement "I promise to go to dinner" that person is saying something (locutionary act), they are doing something, because they You are committing to do something (illocutionary act) and you are causing an effect on the listener because the listener believes that person (perlocutive act).

The locutionary acts, illocutioners and perlocutives are present in any speech act. A speech act (a concept developed first by John Langshaw Austin and later by John Searle) is that act in which something is stated and in which something is also done.

For this reason, each time a speech act is performed, that is, each time something is said, a locutionary act, an illocutionary act and a perlocutionary act take place simultaneously.

Speaking acts

The speaking act is the action of issuing a statement orally or in writing and is made up of three acts:

Ilocutive acts

The illocutionary act is what the speaker does when he makes a statement. As different things can be done with language, there are different types of illocutionary acts, which are classified according to their purpose:

Perlocutionary acts

Perlocutionary acts are the result that a statement produces in the listener. For example, if a speaker asks a listener for a glass of water, the perlocutionary act is that the person hands him the glass of water.

However, the same statement can produce different perlocutionary acts. For example, if a speaker says to someone “take care of yourself”, the listener may interpret it as a greeting or, in another context, as a threat.

Examples of locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts

1. A judge says: "I declare you not guilty."

• Speech act: "I declare you innocent."
• Declarative illocutionary act: When the judge pronounces those words, the accused becomes innocent, therefore, something of the real world is modified.
• Perlocutionary act: The interlocutor is innocent.

1. A teacher says: "Copy what I wrote on the board."

• Speech act: "Copy what I wrote on the board."
• Directive illocutionary act: The teacher gives an order.
• Perlocutionary act: Students copy what the teacher wrote on the board.

1. One person says, "It's cloudy."

• Speech act: "Is cloudy".
• Assertive illocutionary act: A person states the state of the weather.
• Perlocutionary act: The listener thinks it is likely that it will rain.

1. A man says to his friend: "I swear I will never be late again."

• Speech act: "I swear I will not be late again."
• Commissive illocutionary act: The speaker agrees not to be late again.
• Perlocutionary act: The listener believes that the speaker will fulfill his promise in the future.

1. A lady in a store says to the seller: "Could you give me this shirt in blue?"

• Speech act: "Could you give me this shirt in blue?"
• Directive illocutionary act: The speaker places an order.
• Perlocutionary act: The seller is going to look for the blue shirt to give it to the lady.

1. A woman says to her friend: "I loved your concert."

• Speech act: "I loved your concert."
• Expressive illocutionary act: The woman expresses her pleasure with the concert that her friend gave.
• Perlocutionary act: The friend is happy for the woman's comment.

1. A biology teacher says in a class: "Photosynthesis is a process by which plants feed, grow and develop."

• Speech act: "Photosynthesis is a process by which plants feed, grow and develop."
• Assertive illocutionary act: A teacher describes what photosynthesis is.
• Perlocutionary act: Students understand the definition of photosynthesis.

1. The president cuts the red ribbon that is at the entrance of the hospital and says: "With this act, the hospital is inaugurated."

• Speech act: "With this act, the hospital is inaugurated."
• Declarative illocutionary act: The president inaugurates a hospital.
• Perlocutionary act: The hospital is inaugurated and the people present are informed of this fact.

1. A man accidentally bumps into another on the street and says: "I'm sorry, I didn't see it."

• Speech act: "Sorry i did not see it".
• Expressive illocutionary act: The man apologizes.
• Perlocutionary act: The other man accepts the apology.

1. In an oral exam the teacher asks a student: "What are the gaseous planets?"

• Speech act: "What are the gaseous planets?"
• Directive illocutionary act: The teacher asks the student to answer the question.
• Perlocutionary act: The student answers the question.

1. A salesperson at a car dealership tells a customer: "This car costs three hundred thousand pesos."

• Speech act: "This car costs three hundred thousand pesos."
• Assertive illocutionary act: The seller informs the customer of the price of the car.
• Perlocutionary act: The customer decides to buy the car, because he thinks it is reasonably priced.

1. A boss says to employees: "Could you bring the reports to my office, please?"

• Speech act: "Could you bring the reports to my office, please?"
• Directive illocutionary act: The boss asks the employees to bring her the reports.
• Perlocutionary act: Employees bring you the reports.

1. A man says to his neighbor: "I promise you that I will not listen to music during nap time."

• Speech act: "I promise you that I will not listen to music during nap time."
• Commissive illocutionary act: The man agrees not to listen to music during nap times.
• Perlocutionary act: The neighbor believes the man.

1. A mother says to her son: “I congratulate you! You got a very good grade on the English test ”.

• Speech act: "Congratulations! You got a very good grade on the English test ”.
• Expressive illocutionary act: The mother congratulates her son.
• Perlocutionary act: The son is happy with the reaction of his mother.

1. A manager tells a person who applied for a job: “Congratulations! You are hired ”.

• Speech act: "Congratulations! You are hired ”.
• Declarative illocutionary act: The manager hires that person.
• Perlocutionary act: The person is an employee of the company.

1. A mountaineer tells an interviewer: "Everest is very difficult to climb."

• Speech act: "Everest is very difficult to climb."
• Assertive illocutionary act: The mountaineer describes what the climb to Everest is like.
• Perlocutionary act: The interviewer asks why this is so.

1. A woman says to a co-worker: "Can I borrow your pencil, please?"

• Speech act: "Can I borrow your pencil, please?"
• Directive illocutionary act: The woman asks her coworker for a pencil.
• Perlocutionary act: The partner lends him the pencil.

1. At a team meeting, a woman says, "I promise to have the outline ready by Friday."

• Speech act: "I promise to have the scheme ready by Friday."
• Commissive illocutionary act: The woman agrees to have the scheme completed on Friday.
• Perlocutionary act: His teammates believe him.

1. In a museum one visitor says to another: "How beautiful this painting is."

• Speech act: "How beautiful is this painting."
• Expressive illocutionary act: The visitor expresses that this painting seems beautiful to him.
• Perlocutionary act: The other visitor nods his head.

1. A judge says: "I condemn him to pay a fine of one thousand pesos."

• Speech act: "I condemn him to pay a fine of a thousand pesos."
• Illocutionary act: The judge condemns a person to pay a fine.
• Perlocutionary act: The defendant will have to pay a fine.

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