Halyna D. Malyk Speech Acts and Events

Literal and Nonliteral Locutionary Acts

A locutionary act can be either literal or nonliteral, depending upon whether the speaker actually means what is said or not.for example a warning Cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health means exactly what it says; thus, it constitutes a literal locutionary act. On the other hand, the locution I could eat a horse is nonliteral. Nonliteral locutionary acts are those for which a literal interpretation is either impossible or absurd within the context of the utterance. Nonliteral locutionary acts can be analysed as flouting Grice’s maxim of Quality as hey involve someone saying something that is blatanly false under the circumstances.

Consider some other examples that require nonliteral interpretation:

1. 
   If you want your wheel clamped, park here.
   
2. 
   Why don’t you shout so everyone can hear?
   
3. 
   I am sure it will kill you to turn down the TV.