Test on Speech Act Theory and Its Classifications

Question 1: A speaker who utters a commissive speech act commits themselves to a future course of action.

A. Ano

B. Ne

Explanation: Commissives are defined as the kind of speech act that commit the speaker to some future course of action.

Question 2: A speaker uttering a declarative sentence commits to having an effective preference for its propositional content.

A. Ano

B. Ne

Explanation: The Declarative convention states that if a speaker utters a declarative sentence with propositional content p, S thereby commits to acting as though she believes p. The commitment to having an effective preference for p is associated with the Imperative convention, not the Declarative convention.

Question 3: According to the study materials' definition of the imperative convention, what does a speaker S commit to when uttering an imperative with content p?

A. S commits to acting as though she believes p.

B. S commits to having an effective preference for p.

C. S commits to a preference for the hearer to act as though he believes an answer to Q.

D. S commits to some future course of action.

Explanation: The imperative convention states: 'If a speaker S utters an imperative with content p, then S thereby commits to having an effective preference for p.' Option 1 accurately reflects this definition. Option 0 describes the declarative convention, option 2 describes the interrogative convention, and option 3 describes commissives from the Austin classification.

Question 4: According to the Interrogative convention, what does a speaker S commit to when uttering an interrogative with content Q?

A. S commits to acting as though she believes Q.

B. S commits to a preference for the hearer to commit himself to acting as though he believes an answer to Q.

C. S commits to having an effective preference for Q.

D. S commits to a future course of action related to Q.

Explanation: The Interrogative convention states that 'If a speaker S utters an interrogative with content Q, then S thereby commits to a preference for the hearer to commit himself to acting as though he believes an answer to Q.' The other options describe commitments associated with declarative sentences, imperative sentences, or commissive speech acts, not interrogatives, according to the provided materials.

Question 5: Directives are a type of speech act that represent attempts by the speaker to get the addressee to do something.

A. Ano

B. Ne

Explanation: Directives are those kinds of speech act that represent attempts by the speaker to get the addresses to do something.