speech actn.
/ˈspiːtʃ akt/, U.S. /ˈspitʃ ˌækt/ 1. (An instance of) the physical action of speaking.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > [noun] > utterance of vocal sound
soundinga1387
utterancec1456
prelationa1525
elocution1623
vocification?1632
articulation1677
voicing1822
vocalization1828
voicing1831
phonation1842
phonesis1856
1896 Internat. Clinics 6th Ser. 1 163 The speech act is located in what is known as Broca's convolution, the posterior part of the third frontal convolution on the left side.
1913 F. A. Bryant Some Speech Disorders & their Treatm. vi. 44 At first, it is difficult to restrain all the excitement of the speech act; but the brain works and develops power in the direction in which it is stimulated by effort, and soon a self-controlled feeling is experienced when speech is thought of, or about to begin.
2010 K. M. Yorkston et al. Managem. Motor Speech Disorders Children & Adults (ed. 3) v. 154 Typical speakers assess the respiratory demands of an upcoming speech act and prepare their respiratory systems accordingly.
2. Linguistics and Philosophy. A verbal utterance, esp. when considered as an action, particularly with regard to its intention, purpose, or effect (cf. performative adj. 1).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > [noun] > a speech act or fact of being a speech act
descriptive1952
illocution1955
locution1955
performative1955
performatory1955
perlocution1955
performativeness1960
performativity1970
1953 J. L. Austin MS Lect. Notes: Words & Deeds (Bodl. Eng. Misc. c. 394) f. 115 Obvious parallel with one element in lying, in performing speech-act of assertive kind [1962 published text performing a speech act of an assertive kind].
1982 Papers Dict. Soc. N. Amer. 1977 86 Speech acts are not predictable from code characteristics either.
2010 E. Weigand Dialogue iii. iii. 155 Declarative speech acts need a speech act verb in combination with a certain syntactic-grammatical pattern.
Compounds
speech act theory n. Linguistics and Philosophy a theory that a verbal utterance should be considered in terms of the intention of the speaker to bring about a particular result by making it and not solely as a statement with intrinsic meaning or reference.
ΚΠ
1969 Mind 78 464 The book has many points of contact with recent speech-act theory, and also gives evidence of a great deal of original and penetrating thought by the author about the language of law.
1991 Jrnl. Semantics 8 311 Speech act theory recognizes several different illocutionary acts which make the assertive point, among them assert, report, predict, claim, deny, argue, remind, etc.
2021 D. S. Tatum Liberalism & Transformation ii. 18 Speech act theory has demonstrated clearly how words can be inseparable from action.
speech act verb n. Linguistics a verb expressing a speech act; a verb that conveys the speaker's purpose in making a given utterance.
ΚΠ
1962 Philos. Rev. 71 430 I wish to distinguish two classes of speech-act verbs.
1978 Linguistics & Philos. 2 116 If we turn our attention from propositional attitude verbs, like ‘doubts’ and ‘believes’, to speech-act verbs, like ‘denies’ and ‘says’.
2010 E. Weigand Dialogue iii. iii. 155 Declarative speech acts need a speech act verb in combination with a certain syntactic-grammatical pattern.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2022).
> as lemmas
speech act
speech act n.
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1946 C. Morris Signs, Lang. & Behavior ii. 37 There is no language..without the production of sign-vehicles, and it is such production which constitutes a speech-act.
1962 J. L. Austin et al. How to do Things with Words iv. 40 Here there is an obvious parallel with one element in lying, in performing a speech-act of an assertive kind.
1974 D. Hymes Found. Socio-ling. ii. 52 A party (speech situation), a conversation during the party (speech event), a joke within the conversation (speech act).
1982 Papers Dict. Soc. N. Amer. 1977 86 Speech acts are not predictable from code characteristics either.
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