7.3 Speech Acts
　 In linguistic communication, people do not merely exchange information. They actually do something through talking or writing in various circumstances. If you find a job and sign the contract with a company, you are employed. If a boss who has a great deal of power utters “You are fired” to an employee, then the hearer instantly becomes unemployed. The utterance is more than just a statement. It does not state a fact; it changes a situation. Actions performed via speaking are called speech acts.

　 A speech act consists of three dimensions. The act of producing a meaningful linguistic expression is called locutionary act. The act of communicating intention through utterance is termed illocutionary act. The act of bringing about an effect is known as perlocutionary act. Of these dimensions, the most important is the illocutionary act (also called illocutionary force). In linguistic communication people respond to an illocutionary act of an utterance, because it is the meaning intended by the speaker. If your teacher says, “I have run out of chalk” in the process of lecturing, the act of saying is locutionary, the act of demanding for chalk is illocutionary, and the effect the utterance brings about is perlocutionary (one of the students will go and get some chalk). In English, illocutionaly acts are also given specific labels, such as request, warning, promise, invitation, compliment, complaint, apology, offer, refusal, etc. These specific labels name various speech functions. As functions may not correspond to forms, speech acts can be direct and indirect.

　 Direct speech acts perform a function that corresponds to the structure of an utterance. Consider:

　　(14) Close the door.
　　(15) Fasten your seat belt, please.

Both utterances are imperatives and they both perform the function of command. Indirect speech acts are those in which there is no correspondence between a structure and a function. A declarative used to make a request is an indirect speech act. So is an interrogative used to make an offer.

　　(16) It's cold in here.
　　(17) Why don't you stay for dinner with us?

In a certain situation, (16) can be an indirect speech act. Imagine that your teacher enters the classroom on a cold morning. The windows are open. When he/she utters (16), you will not simply say “Yes, it is.”. When you utter (17), you invite someone. The reply given by the addressee is definitely not “Because ...”

　 Indirect speech acts take longer to process on the part of the hearer, because he/she has to infer about the meaning intended. Compare:

　　(18) Switch on the light!
　　(19) Dark in here, isn't it?

In (18), in obtaining the goal of getting light, there are two stages in the speech event: a) the speaker's action of telling the hearer to switch on the light; b) the hearer's action in switching on the light. In (19), there are three stages: a) the speaker's action of remarking that it is dark; b) the hearer's action in inferring that the speaker wants to get the light switched on; c) the hearer's action in switching on the light. Direct speech acts are straightforward, whereas indirect speech acts are polite.