Perlocutionary Effect
The perlocutionary effect is the actual impact an utterance has on the hearer — the consequence of speaking, whether intended or not. Introduced by J. L. Austin (1962), it completes the three-level analysis of speech acts alongside the locutionary act (what is said) and the illocutionary act (what is intended).
Distinguishing Perlocution from Illocution
The critical distinction is between intention and result:
| Illocutionary force | Perlocutionary effect | |
|---|---|---|
| Locus | Speaker's intention | Hearer's response |
| Conventionality | Governed by conventions (IFIDs) | Not conventionally tied to form |
| Control | Speaker can choose illocutionary force | Speaker cannot guarantee perlocutionary effect |
| Verbs | assert, promise, request, warn | convince, frighten, amuse, annoy, inspire |
A teacher who says "I'm disappointed in this class's effort" performs an expressive illocutionary act. The perlocutionary effect might be shame, motivation, resentment, or indifference — depending on the students, the context, and the relationship.
Examples
| Utterance | Illocutionary force | Possible perlocutionary effects |
|---|---|---|
| There's a spider on your shoulder | Warning | Fear, panic, disbelief, gratitude |
| Your essay was really well structured | Praising | Confidence, motivation, suspicion |
| I wouldn't do that if I were you | Advising | Caution, defiance, curiosity |
Why It Matters in ELT
Perlocutionary effects matter for language teaching in several ways:
- Pragmatic competence — learners need awareness that the same illocutionary act can produce very different effects across cultures. A direct refusal may be functionally appropriate in one context but deeply offensive in another
- Teacher language — teachers' instructions, feedback, and classroom language produce perlocutionary effects (motivation, anxiety, confusion) that shape learning. The effect of corrective feedback depends not just on its illocutionary type but on how learners perceive it
- Persuasive and argumentative language — teaching students to write persuasively or argue effectively is essentially teaching them to produce intended perlocutionary effects through strategic language choices
Limitations of the Concept
Austin himself acknowledged that perlocutionary effects are difficult to delimit. Any utterance can produce an infinite chain of consequences. Linguists typically restrict analysis to effects that are reasonably proximate and connected to the utterance, but the boundary is inherently fuzzy.
Key References
- Austin, J. L. (1962). How to Do Things with Words. Clarendon Press.
- Searle, J. R. (1969). Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge University Press.
- Cohen, A. D. (1996). Speech acts. In S. L. McKay & N. H. Hornberger (Eds.), Sociolinguistics and Language Teaching (pp. 383–420). Cambridge University Press.