ABSTRACT
This research analyzes indirectness in selected utterances of characters in Dul Johnson’s Melancholia. It aims to identify how characters in the play deployed direct and indirect speech act in their conversations. It also examines the effects of the indirect speech act on the hearers; and the motives of the characters for deploying speech act in their conversations. Meanwhile, this study adopts Searle’s Speech Act Theory (SAT) 1969. The researcher finds out that characters deployed direct and indirect speech act in their conversations with one another. It also reveals that the speaker’s utterances have effect(s) on the hearers; and that the speakers have various motives for deploying speech act. The research finally concludes that language users use speech act in their daily conversation with one another for various motives to pass across their information.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgement v
Table of Contents vii
Abstract ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of Research Problem 2
1.3 Aim and Objectives 2
1.4 Significance of the Study 3
1.5 Research Questions 3
1.6 Scope of the Study 3
1.7 Research Methodology 4
1.8 Synopsis of the play, Melancholia 4
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Speech Acts 5
2.2 John L. Austin’s Contribution to Speech Acts 5
2.3 John R. Searle’s Contribution to Speech Acts 9
2.4 Types of Speech Acts 10
2.4.1 Direct Speech Acts 10
2.4.2 Indirect Speech Act 10
2.5 Some Major Contributors to Speech Act Theory 10
2.5.1 Kent Bach and Robert M. Harnish’s Contribution to Speech Acts 10
2.5.2 Mey, L. Jacob’s Contribution to Speech Acts 11
Previous Studies 13
2.7 Conceptual Framework 14
2.8 Conclusion 14
CHAPTER THREE: DATA ANALYSIS
3.0 Data Analysis 16
3.1 Findings 28
CHAPTER FOUR: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
4.1 Summary 30
4.2 Conclusion 31
References 33-34
