ABSTRACT
We use language for many purposes. We tell others what we know or think we know, we express our feelings, ask questions, make requests, protest, criticize, insult, apologize, promise, thank, say hello and goodbye. Language seems to have as many different functions as there are occasions for using language, but for all the apparent diversity the basic uses of language are rather limited. In this chapter we recognize seven different kinds of utterances, or speech acts, classified according to their general purpose-though a single utterance may have overlapping purposes. The description here will apply to written discourse, and therefore to writer and reader, as much as to spoken discourse. Nevertheless, we use the term speaker to include writer and the term addressee to include reader as well as hearer. In addition, although one person may speak or write on behalf of several people and may have a plurality of addressees, whether in writing or speaking, we use singular terms ‘speaker’ and ‘addressee’ throughout.
