A taxonomy of illocutionary acts

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The primary purpose of this paper is to develop a reasoned classification of illocutionary acts into certain basic categories or types. It is to answer the question: How many kinds of illocutionary acts are there? Since any such attempt to develop a taxonomy must take into account Austin's classification of illocutionary acts into his five basic categories of verdictive, expositive, exercitive, behabitive, and commissive, a second purpose of this paper is to assess Austin's classification to show in what respects it is adequate and in what respects inadequate. Furthermore, since basic semantic differences are likely to have syntactical consequences, a third purpose of this paper is to show how these different basic illocutionary types are realized in the syntax of a natural language such as English. In what follows, I shall presuppose a familiarity with the general pattern of analysis of illocutionary acts offered in such works as How to Do Things with Words (Austin, 1962), Speech Acts (Searle, 1969), and ‘Austin on Locutionary and Illocutionary Acts’ (Searle, 1968). In particular, I shall presuppose a distinction between the illocutionary force of an utterance and its propositional content as symbolized F(p) The aim of this paper then is to classify the different types of F. DIFFERENT TYPES OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF ILLOCUTIONARY ACTS Any taxonomical effort of this sort presupposes criteria for distinguishing one (kind of) illocutionary act from another.