SEMANTIC-PRAGMATIC TYPES OF DIRECTIVE SPEECH ACTS AND THEIR MOTIVATIONAL FUNCTIONS

Abstract

This thesis treats a directive as more than an imperative sentence. Its force depends on who speaks, what action is expected, whose interest the action serves, and how much choice remains for the addressee. The discussion distinguishes commands, requests, instructions, advice, suggestions, warnings, prohibitions, invitations, and encouragement. It also proposes six motive clusters: authority or obligation, responsiveness to need, task competence, benefit or autonomy, risk avoidance, and affiliation or confidence. Constructed English examples show why the same grammatical form may express unequal pragmatic force. The model has value for pragmatic analysis, translation, an d English-language teaching in multilingual university settings.