An Analysis of Illocutionary Acts in Nouman Ali Khan's Speeches

This study investigates the use of illocutionary acts in Nouman Ali Khan’s speeches. The aims of this study are not only to identify the types of illocutionary acts, but also to analyze the functions of the types of illocutionary acts found in the speeches. This study used descriptive qualitative method in conducting the research. The data were collected using the textual analysis and open coding then they were classified into some categories based on John. R. Searle’s theory. There were three speeches by Nouman Ali Khan in a seminar “When Muslims Works Together” at Islamic Association of North Texas (IANT) that were used as the data sources in this study. The results of this study showed that there were four types of illocutionary acts; representatives, directives, commissives and expressives. The representatives was the most frequently types of illocutionary act appeared in the speeches, i.e., 306 utterances or 63.22% with five functions; informing, stating, describing, reminding and concluding. Then, the second most frequently types of illocutionary act appeared in the speeches was directives, i.e., 144 utterances or 29.75% with five functions; suggesting, commanding, inviting, forbidding and questioning. Commissives occurred in 22 utterances or 4.55% with two functions; promising and warning. Expressives was found in 12 utterances or 2.48% with two functions; praising and expressing hope or wish. Declaratives types was not identified in the speeches as it requires specific circumstances to perform declaration statements.