Speech act is a technical term in linguistics and the philosophy of language. The contemporary use of the term goes back to J. L. Austin's discovery of performative utterances and his theory of locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts. Speech acts are commonly taken to include such acts as promising, ordering, greeting, warning, inviting and congratulating.
Read more about Speech Act: Locutionary, Illocutionary and Perlocutionary Acts, Illocutionary Acts, Indirect Speech Acts, History, In Language Development, In Computer Science
Famous quotes containing the words speech and/or act:
“Some subjects come up suddenly in our speech and cannot be silenced.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“When private men shall act with original views, the lustre will be transferred from the actions of kings to those of gentlemen.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)