A Tentative Study On Searle's Speech Act Theory

Austin(1911-1960) is one of the famous English analytic philosophers after the Second World War,who is the leader expert of the Oxford school,affecting the philosophical study in both England and America greatly.Among Austin's contributions, the concept of "Speech is act" and the theory of speech acts are something original and eternal to both philosophy and linguistics.Searle,as an unprecedented follower of the theory of speech acts,basing on the works resulted from Wittgenstein,Austin and Grice, constructs it in a more completed and systematic way in terms of communication and usage in study language problems.Searle's theory of speech acts is a corrected, developed,and systematic one which comes from that of Austin.Since the study of the theory of speech acts represents an important period in probing into language meanings in terms of western philosophy,it has great historical significance and realistic value to study the theory.This thesis mainly examines the theory from the following 4 parts.Part one shows how the theory of speech acts comes into being.In this partâ… will try to delineate the theory's historical social context,its foundational elements of philosophy,its end,and its significance.Part Two gives the contents of the theory.This is the main chapter of my thesis. Comparing Searle's theory with that of Austin,I'll try to show their difference by examining:(1) their opinions on ordinary language;(2) their understanding and classifications of the speech acts;(3) the classification of illocutionary acts.Part Three examines Searle's theory of indirect speech acts and its common development in intentionality.This is also a main chapter of my thesis.I will try to confirm it from three directions:the main suggestion of the Searle's theory,its affections,and problems relating to intentionality in the theory.Part Four serves us the theoretical value and the deficiencies of the theory.To sum up the contribution and defection of the theory,I'll try to analyze its theoretical value and its deficiencies.