All utterances can be analysed into a series of the above listed speech acts. For instance, the text given below consists of the speech acts which may be identified as follows:
London is full of women who trust their husbands. One can always recognize them. They look so thoroughly unhappy. I am not going to be one of them.
Lord Delington! Will you give me back my fan, please?
The first sentence can be classified as a representatives as it states a view. The word 'always' in the second sentence makes it a verdictive. The third sentence is an expressive as it shows the speaker's observation. The fourth is representative. And finally, the fifth one is clearly a request, so it is a directive.
But as Austin shows, each sentence to count as a commissive, a declarative, a representative or some other speech act, has to fulfil certain conditions. For example, look at the following sentence:
Now, we begin the session on 'translation'.
The utterance of this sentence serves to perform the action indicated. But it occurs under the following conditions. The person who utters has to be the chairperson or some authority who can declare that the session on 'translation' is going to begin; and there must be a break or some other session on some other subject and preceding the utterance. Such conditions which govern a speech act are called FELICITY CONDITIONS. |
