Cited by 1,394Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic VariationLanguage, Discourse, Communication StrategiesLinguistics and Discourse Analysis

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Indirect speech acts

John Rogers Searle·1979·Expression and Meaning

DOI 10.1017/cbo9780511609213.004

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Abstract

INTRODUCTION The simplest cases of meaning are those in which the speaker utters a sentence and means exactly and literally what he says. In such cases the speaker intends to produce a certain illocutionary effect in the hearer, and he intends to produce this effect by getting the hearer to recognize his intention to produce it, and he intends to get the hearer to recognize this intention in virtue of the hearer's knowledge of the rules that govern the utterance of the sentence. But, notoriously, not all cases of meaning are this simple: In hints, insinuations, irony, and metaphor – to mention a few examples – the speaker's utterance meaning and the sentence meaning come apart in various ways. One important class of such cases is that in which the speaker utters a sentence, means what he says, but also means something more. For example, a speaker may utter the sentence “I want you to do it” by way of requesting the hearer to do something. The utterance is incidentally meant as a statement, but it is also meant primarily as a request, a request made by way of making a statement. In such cases a sentence that contains the illocutionary force indicators for one kind of illocutionary act can be uttered to perform, in addition , another type of illocutionary act.

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Authors: Searle, J. R.
Affiliations: University of California, Berkeley (US)
Corresponding author: John Rogers Searle
Venue: Expression and Meaning
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1979-10-31
Pages: 30-57
DOI: 10.1017/cbo9780511609213.004
OpenAlex: W2995748625
Cited by: 1,393
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 6 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 44 · 2018: 93 · 2017: 52 · 2016: 65 · 2015: 88 · 2014: 47 · 2013: 50 · 2012: 49
FWCI: 285.41
Type: book chapter
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 11906 d)
Locations: Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies
Social Sciences › Linguistics and Language › Linguistics and Discourse Analysis
Keywords: indirect speech acts, illocutionary force, illocutionary acts, speech act theory, utterance meaning, requests, hints, insinuation, irony, metaphor

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