An Analysis of Speech Act Used in Matilda Wormwood (1996) Movie
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e-Journal of Linguistics
Available online at https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/eol/index
Vol. 16, No. 2, July 2022, pages: 291--307
Print ISSN: 2541-5514 Online ISSN: 2442-7586
https://doi.org/10.24843/e-jl.2020.v14.i01.p10
An Analysis of Speech Act Used in Matilda Wormwood (1996) Movie
1Kadek Yudha Septiawan
Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha, Buleleng, Indonesia ([email protected])
2Dewa Komang Tantra,.
Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha, Buleleng, Indonesia ([email protected])
Dewa Putu Ramendra,
Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha, Buleleng, Indonesia ([email protected])
Article info
Received Date: 17 Feb 2022
Accepted Date: 18 March 2022
Published Date: 31 July 2022
Keywords:*
Speech Act, Movie, and
Matilda Wormwood
Abstract*
This research aimed at analyzing the speech act performed by the characters in Matilda Wormwood movie. This study was carried out in the form of a descriptive qualitative study. The major data sources were utterances in the Matilda Wormwood movie. The movie screenplay was also employed as a supplementary source in this research. The data were obtained using observation and documentation procedures, and they were evaluated using the steps of data condensation, data presentation, and conclusion drafting. The research findings revealed that utterances employed in the form of the locutionary act, the type of the illocutionary act, and classification of speech act. The most dominant the locutionary act utilized by the research subject is a declarative form, which consisted of 37% of the total data. Then, the most prevalent the illocutionary act used by the research subject is a representative type, which consisted of 36% of the total data. Since the form and type of the research subject's most prominent speech act are relevant. Furthermore, the research subject's utterances are frequently given directly in sequence, which Yule's theory refers to as a direct speech act. This research increased the knowledge and comprehension of the many forms and types of speech act in society purposes of language.
In society, language is needed as a tool to communicate with each other. Austin (1962) states that the listener and the speaker are involved in the communication process. To make the communication process running well, the speaker and the listener should use the same language. However, the communication process was not as simple
as people thought because in that process the speaker should think how to deliver the message to the listener through the utterances while the listener should understand about the meaning of the utterances that the speaker said to avoid misunderstanding in the communication process. Through language, the speaker cannot only state the exact meaning about something (ideas, feelings and thoughts) however, it also can make the listener acted toward the utterances said by the speaker.
According to Searle (1969), the concept of speech act evolved into three actions that occur concurrently when someone utters a sentence; these acts are locutionary act, illocutionary act, and perlocutionary act. The form of the speech in which it had the literal meaning is referred to as the locutionary act. Declarative form, interrogative form, imperative form, and acclamation form are the four structural forms. Declarative form is an utterance that contains a statement or information about something. Interrogative form refers to a speech in the form of a question. Meanwhile, imperative form is an utterance that takes the shape of an order, invitation, warmth, congratulation, and so on. Exclamation form is an utterance intended to communicate the speaker's immediate feelings about something.
The function of the speech is the illocutionary act. According to Searle, there are five categories of utterances depending on their purpose, such as declarative (the utterance used to change the circumstance), which is further classified as declaring, affirm, bless, and dismiss. The second kind is representational, in which the speaker's utterance is utilized to represent the surroundings in order to persuade the listener of what the speaker stated. It is divided into six sub-functions: swear, inform, assert, deny, claim, describe, and report. The third function is expressive, in which the speaker used the speech to indicate how he or she felt. Condolences, praise, thanks, sorrow, congratulation, criticism, complaint, and swearing were all forms of expressive. The speech also had the role of directing the listener to do what the speaker stated, which is known as directive. The directive function is divided into five sub-functions: ask, invite, order, request, and recommend. And the last sort of utterance is termed commit since it shows the speaker's commitment to some future activity. Refuse, promise, and commit are all sub-functions of commit.
The perlocutionary act is the effect of the speaker's speech on the listener. When the speaker makes an utterance, it can cause the listener to believe, be irritated, terrified, enlighten, inspire, affirm, reject, obedient, inform, comprehend, happy/satisfied, astonished, and it can also cause the listener to do something.
Parker (1986) also made a contribution to speech act by classifying speech act into direct speech act and indirect speech act. A direct speech act is one in which the structural form and function of the utterance are comparable. In contrast, an indirect speech act is a speech act whose function does not correspond to its structural form.
The movie can be a useful of the field for identifying speech acts because it depicted many speech acts in diverse situations, implying that the actors generated a large number of utterances. People might also identify different forms and purposes of the language utilized in the film. The cinema is a kind of visual communication that uses moving images and sound to tell tales or teach people.
Matilda Wormwood movie is one of the best children's movies with character education elements. The film was released in 1996. Matilda recounts a narrative about the life of a brilliant little girl named Matilda. The narrative began with Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood, who were unconcerned about her daughter. Wormwood, Matilda They did not provide their children the care and affection that parents should. Despite the fact that she was only three years old, she shown bravery and independence in order to go
through her life. She had a natural talent to read and communicate from a young age. Their parents did not encourage and value her learning progress. She did, however, enjoy her life by reading books. She simply sat in the corner of her room and read books to learn about the world. It is followed by Matilda's school life, which discusses her learning activities. forming a friendship Her struggle to learn in the local school, as well as her helpfulness to her peers and instructors at school Matilda by Roald Dahl was named Children's Book Award winner, and it was also named one of the top 100 greatest children's books in a poll published in School Library Journal. Furthermore, Roald Dahl's work Matilda was turned into a film with the same title in 1996, directed by Danny DeVito. Regarding to the Internet Movie Database (IMD6) and Rotten Tomatoes, a service that gives information on films worldwide, this film adaptation garnered a good response from the audience. As a result, this film has unequivocally regarded that excellent to be implanted in youngsters in order to grow their character education ideals.
Previous study has shown that there have also been several researchers who have carried out the use of speech act with the same topic. The first, Rahmawati (2021) studied that an analysis of expressive speech acts used in the Crazy Rich Asian movie. Data were collected by means of the researcher uses observation methods as the methods of collecting the data. The results showed that the researcher found there were 52 data of expressive speech act and only ten types of expressive speech found in Crazy Rich Asian movie, some of the expressive types appeared except expressive act of condole and boast. The second, Marbun (2020) studied that an analysis of speech act used in the Grown Ups movie. Data were collected by means of the researcher uses observation methods as the methods of collect the data. The results showed that the researcher found there were 30 utterances of speech acts in Grown Ups movie. From the 30 data that researcher collected, the main characters most expressed the types of speech act. They are 6 locutionary acts, 15 illocutionary acts, and 9 perlocutionary. Thus, this present research is important to conducted because readers would get more insights on types and function of speech act performed by all characters in Matilda Wormwood movie.
Matilda Wormwood by Roald Dahl was chosen by the researcher because it is one of the top 100 greatest children's books and has been turned into a film. This film will be remembered as the finest children's film of all time. Besides. The novel Matilda by Roald Dahl was turned into a film of the same name directed by Danny DeVito in 1996. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMD6) and Rotten Tomatoes, a service that gives information on films worldwide, this film adaptation garnered a good response from the audience. It implies that the film is not just appropriate for youngsters, but also for people of all ages. Furthermore, this film is entertaining to watch since it contains three genres: children's, humor, and fantasy. The narrative also includes a touch of imagination in the events of the story, which may increase children's motivation to watch, as well as many good values and conventions. Matilda urges all youngsters to love watching television. As a result, the study anticipates that by seeing Roald Dahl's in Matilda Wormwood movie, the audience will be motivated and will be able to apply the good principles learned in the tale of this film to their daily lives. In order to develop the previous researchers and found various forms and types of speech act used produced by all characters in this movie, the researcher conducted the study which entitled “An Analysis of Speech Act Used in Matilda Wormwood Movie”.
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2. Research Methods Research Design
The researcher conducted paper descriptive qualitative research in this report, with the data acquired from this study taking the form of words rather than statistics. According to Bogdan (1992), as referenced in Moleong (2007), descriptive qualitative research is a research method that generates descriptive data in the form of written words of individuals or observed behavior. According to Bogdan (1992), as stated in Moleong (2007), descriptive qualitative research as a type of study aiming at characterizing occurrences was both natural and human engineering. He said specifically that paper descriptive qualitative research was study focused at understanding the phenomena of anything experienced by research objects, such as behavior, perception, motivation, action, and etc. Holistically, by describing them in the form of words and language in a specific natural setting using various scientific approaches.
According to Sugiyono (2008), descriptive qualitative research is research used to examine the condition of natural objects in which the researcher is the main instrument, using inductive qualitative as the technique of data collection and analysis, and the results of this research prioritize the meaning of something. This descriptive qualitative research was undertaken to investigate certain things, particularly humans, in terms of behavior, grammar/speech, perception, and so on. In which the researcher functioned as the principal instrument, collecting data, organizing data, and interpreting the data themselves, producing data in the form of words that were examined and concluded in the form of descriptions. The purpose of descriptive qualitative research was to create a systematic, factual, and correct account of a fact, the nature, and the interaction between phenomena in a specific situation.
Research Subject
Research subjects in this research were the characters who play a role in the Matilda Wormwood movie, among others Matilda, Mrs. Trunchbull, Mr. Wormwood, Mrs. Wormwood, Michael, Miss Honey, Amanda Thripp, Lavender, Mrs. Phelps, Nigel Hicks, Bruce Brogtrotter, Magnus, Jullius Rottwinkle, and Hortensia (Dahl, 1996).
Research Source
This study image on two types of data sources: primary and secondary. A primary source is one that delivers data to the researcher directly. This study focuses on the utterances performed by all characters in Matilda Wormwood movie, a one-hour and thirty-eight-minute in the movie. Meanwhile, secondary sources, such as notes or another document, do not directly supply data to the researcher. In this study, the researcher will utilize the script of Matilda Wormwood movie, written by Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord, as a secondary source to help the researcher interpret and analyze the research subject's utterances.
Data Collection
There were several techniques and instruments of data collection that are used in this study. These techniques and instruments are explained below:
The Technique of Data Collection
The data collection technique is the method utilized by the researcher to obtain the data required for the research project. The approaches of observation and documentation were utilized in this research investigation. According to Saldana (2011), the observation approach aims to capture individuals (or characters in literary works)
in genuine action, reaction, and interaction, as well as deduce their way of thinking and feeling. The observation method was used in this study to capture all characters produced in the form of naturalistic actions, reactions, and interactions by examining the utterances she produced in the movie with the four non-linguistic context elements proposed by Holmes, namely, participants, setting, topic, and function. Furthermore, the researcher reviewed the movie screenplay to have a better comprehension of the utterances performed by all characters in the Matilda Wormwood movie.
The second technique was documentation, in which the researcher made important notes about utterance produced by all characters in Matilda Wormwood movie, which is who the listener was when the utterance was produced, what situation of the speaker and the listener when the utterance was produced, and the function or purpose of the utterance being produced. These notes or records aim to support sorting the necessary and unnecessary data and also to facilitate the researcher to analyze the locutionary act based on the theory proposed by Austin, included five types in the illocutionary act (representative, directive, expressive, commissive, and declarations) based on Searle's theory. The data also will be classified into direct speech act or indirect speech act according to Yule's theory.
Instrument of Data Collection
According to Miles (2014), in qualitative research, the researcher is the primary instrument of data collection. It is because the researchers’ cognitive such inferring, intuiting, empathizing, and evaluating are count as the data as well. Therefore, in this research, the researcher himself is the main instrument in which will be a designer, a data collector, an analysis, a data interpreter, and a reporter of the research finding. To support the observation technique, the researcher used another instrument that was a table of non-linguistics context aspects based on Holmes’s theory. Moreover, to support the documentation technique, the table of data collection is used. It will help to note the speech act from the forms of locutionary act, types of the illocutionary act, and the classification of the speech act into direct or indirect.
Data Analysis
There are three concurrent flows of activity of data analysis that will be used in this study. They are explained as follows:
Data Condensation
According to Miles (2014), the data condensation as the process that including selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting, or transforming the raw data. The previous form, which is data reduction being abounded because it seems to have a meaning to weakening or losing something in the process. The data condensation in this research will be applied to transform the raw data obtained from data collection activity into an explanation of selecting utterances produced by all characters in the Matilda Wormwood movie for focusing on the forms of locutionary act and the types of the illocutionary act, and the classification of the speech act in direct or indirect.
Data Display
The data obtained in the analysis activity should be made of long paragraphs and dispersed over many pages that make it is not easy to see as a whole. In data display, the information presented visually in a systematical format so the researcher can draw conclusions and take needed action. The format in displaying the data proposed by Miles (2014) are matrices that are two lists set up as rows and columns. The other one is
called the network that is a series of nodes with links in the form of lines and arrows between them.
The explanation from data condensation in this research then will be shown using matrices that consist of rows and columns or, in other words, called a table. It has a purpose to help the researcher in analyzing the data. The table will be displayed into three data tabulation forms. The first tabulation form is used for calculating how much the frequency and percentage of data found in the forms of locutionary act (declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamation). The second tabulation data form was used to calculate how much frequency and percentage of the types of illocutionary acts (declarative, representative, expressive, directive, and commissive). The last, the third tabulation data used to calculate the frequency and percentage of classification of the speech act into direct or indirect.
Conclusion Drawing and Verification
According to Miles (2014), from the beginning of the data collection process, the researcher already holds the conclusion in a vogue way, but by maintaining openness and skepticism then it leads to increasingly explicit and grounded. The appearance of final conclusions depended on some aspects such as the coding, storage, and retrieval methods used, the researchers' experiences, and any necessary deadlines to be met. The conclusion needs to be verified in order to be approved in its credibility, sturdiness, and conformability. Verification may be in a brief form as the researcher summing up her thought during the writing process or can also be in the form of length thorough argumentation and review.
In this research, after all the steps of data collection and data analysis process are done, then a conclusion can be drawn and then be verified. However, the researcher might draw a conclusion and verify it more than once by going back to three steps before. It is purposed to get the most convincing the data. That is why the process is called as the interactive and cyclical process of the data.
Research Trustworthiness
To show that the research study is credible, the research must have triangulation. Triangulation aimed to support the findings, which is Miles (2014) states that by showing at least three trustworthiness. In this research, credibility was obtained by applying independent measures of it agree with it or at least do not contradict it. Triangulation could be obtained by multiple measures like data sources, methods of data collection, or theories. Moreover, this research will use triangulation based on the theories. The three theories from experts are used to support the findings in the speech act contained in the Matilda Wormwood movie. The three theories are proposed by Austin, Searle, and Yule. The first is the theory of three related acts from Austin. The second is the types of the illocutionary act from Searle. The third is the classification of the speech act into direct or indirect from Yule.
Research Procedure
Some procedures have been conducted by the researcher in collecting the required data. The procedures are as follows:
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a. Observing the research subject in which in this research is all characters in the Matilda Wormwood movie, while listed an utterance produced by the actors and actress.
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b. Writing a note relating to context proposed by Holmes in which were participants, setting, topic, and function of the utterance being produced.
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c. Reading the script of the Matilda Wormwood movie in order to ensure that the data obtained in the form of utterances are in accordance with the existing script. This step also helped the researcher to get a better understanding of the utterances being produced.
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d. Analyzing the forms of the speech act based on Austin's theory, the types of the illocutionary act based on Searle's theory, and the classification of the speech act from Yule's theory.
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e. Calculating the frequency and percentage of the forms of the locutionary act, the types of the illocutionary act, and the classification of the speech act into direct or indirect.
This sub-chapter presents the findings of the study. There were some data found after the research observed the research subject which of all characters in Matilda Wormwood movie. The data had been found were in the forms of utterances produced by all character of Matilda Wormwood movie. Then, those utterances being compared to their own script to help the researcher verified the data that made the analysis process was easier.
As previously mentioned, when the speaker delivers the utterances, three acts occur concurrently. The locutionary act, illocutionary act, and perlocutionary act are the three actions. The two acts, the locutionary act and the illocutionary act, are both theories of speech actions that deal with the speaker. Meanwhile, perlocutionary activities addressed to the hearer or listener. Since the purpose of this study are to describe the forms and types of speech acts performed by all characters in the Matilda Wormwood movie. The research findings only revealed the locutionary act forms and the illocutionary act types. The data was then identified and classed as direct or indirect of the speech act.
The Form of The Locutionary Act
There is the following of the data found during the observation of the forms of the locutionary act that carried out by the researcher as follows.
Table 1. The Data Tabulation of Form of The Locutionary Act
|
No. |
Forms of Speech Act |
Frequency |
Percentage (%) |
|
1. |
Declarative Form |
94 |
37% |
|
2. |
Interrogative Form |
55 |
22% |
|
3. |
Imperative Form |
72 |
29% |
|
4. |
Exclamation Form |
29 |
12% |
|
Total |
250 |
100% |
From the table above, there are 250 data found in which they are divided into four forms of locutionary act. The first, declarative form consisted of 94 data. The second, interrogative form consisted of 55 data. The third, imperative form consisted of 72 data. The last, exclamation form consisted of 29 data. Thus, it can be concluded that the most dominant form of locutionary act produced by all characters in this research is declarative form, followed by imperative form, then is interrogative form, and the least form to be used is exclamation form.
The Type of The Illocutionary Act
There is the following of the data found during the observation of the types of the illocutionary act that carried out by the researcher as follows.
Table 2. The Data Tabulation of Type of The Illocutionary Act
|
No. |
Types of Speech Act |
Frequency |
Percentage (%) |
|
1. |
Declarative Act |
19 |
7% |
|
2. |
Representative Act |
88 |
36% |
|
3. |
Expressive Act |
59 |
24% |
|
4. |
Directive Act |
76 |
30% |
|
5. |
Commissive Act |
8 |
3% |
|
Total |
250 |
100% |
From the table above, there are 250 data found in which they are divided into five types of the illocutionary act. The first, declarative type consisted of 19 data. The second, representative type consisted of 88 data. The third, expressive type consisted of 59 data. The fourth, directive type consisted of 76 data. The last, commissive type consisted of 8 data. Thus, it can be concluded that the most dominant types of the illocutionary act that produced by all characters in this research is directive type, followed by representative, expressive, declarative, and the least type to be used is commissive type.
The Classification of Speech Act
There is the following of the data found during the observation of the classification of speech act that carried out by the researcher as follows.
Table 3. The Data Tabulation of Classification of Speech Act
|
No. |
Classification of The Speech Act |
Frequency |
Percentage (%) |
|
1. |
Direct Speech Act |
224 |
89% |
|
2. |
Indirect Speech Act |
26 |
11% |
|
Total |
250 |
100% |
From the table above, there are 250 data found in which they are divided into two classifications of speech act. The first, direct speech act consisted of 224 data. The second, indirect speech act consisted of 88 data. The third, expressive type consisted of 59 data. The fourth, directive type consisted of 26 data. Thus, it can be concluded that the most dominant the classification of speech act that produced by all characters in this research is direct speech act and the least classification of speech act to be used is indirect speech act.
Discussion
Based on the observation had been conducted by the researcher, there were 250 data in the form of utterances found and had been categorized into the types and functions of speech acts produced by all characters of Matilda Wormwood movie. Furthermore, the researcher mentioned six steps in conducting this study in which after found the data, the researcher describes, explains and analyzes those data using Austin’s theory of three related acts especially locutionary act and illocutionary act which then supported by Searle’s classification of the type illocutionary act. Then, those data classified into forms, types, and classification of speech act. And then, the researcher also used a theory from Holmes about context to support the analysis process.
The researcher used the code MW/Ut1/00.00.00 to identify the title of the movie, the sequence of utterance and the time when the utterance was produced. MW indicates the title of the movie used in this research which is the abbreviation of Matilda Wormwood movie. Then, Ut1 refers to the sequence of the utterance. And then, 00.00.00 indicates the time of the utterance being produced. The following are the discussion of the data found.
The Form of The Locutionary Act
This sub-chapter of discussion contained the explanation of the data found which is the forms divided into four forms of the locutionary act based on Austin’s theory including declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamation.
Declarative Form
The data that are included in the forms of declarative form consisted of 94 data in total. Some of them are explained as follows.
Mr. Wormwood: I'm not paying it.
The context from Holmes’s theory is that Mr. Wormwood was not want to pay his money for the birth of his baby at the hospital. Based on the structural form, this utterance can be categorized as declarative form because of the utterance used to inform a listener or hearer about something. This utterance has a pattern Subject + to be + not +V(ing) +Object. Where “I” is a subject, “am” is to be, “not” is negative form, “paying” is V(ing), and “it” is object.
I am not paying it
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(S) (to be) (Negative) (Ving) (O)
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(2) MW/Ut18/00.02.00
Mr. Wormwood: I have a very nice house.
The context from Holmes’s theory is that Mr. Wormwood has lived in a great residence. But they were not really very nice people to their neighbors in the neighborhood. Based on the structural form, this utterance can be categorized as declarative form because of the utterance used to inform a listener or hearer about something. This utterance has a pattern Subject + have + Adjective + Noun. Where “I” is subject, “have” is have, “a very nice” is adjective, “house” is noun.
I have a very nice house
(S) (have) (Adjective) (Noun)
Interrogative Form
The data that are included in the forms of interrogative form consisted of 55 data in total. Some of them are explained as follows.
(1) MW/Ut165/00.05.39
Matilda: Where are the children’s books?
The context from Holmes’s theory is Matilda wants to ask the location of the children’s books. Based on the structural form, this utterance is produced in the form of interrogative form because of it has a pattern of WH + to be + Object + (?). Where the word “where” is WH, “are” is to be, “the children’s books” is object.
Where are the children’s book ?
(WH) (to be) (O) (?)
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(2) MW/Ut112/00.24.20
Matilda: Is that my teacher?
The context from Holmes’s theory is Matilda wants to ask who is the teacher will to teach her at the time. Based on the structural form, this utterance is produced in the form of interrogative form because of it has a pattern of to be + conjunction + possessive adjective + (?). Where the word “Is” is to be, “that” is conjunction, “my teacher” is possessive adjective.
Is that my teacher ?
(to be) (conjunction) (PA) (?)
Imperative Form
The data that are included in the forms of imperative form consisted of 72 data in total. Some of them are explained as follows.
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(1) MW/Ut97/00.17.26
Mrs. Wormwood: Take your hat off!
Wormwood orders her husband to take off the hat that he was wearing immediately. Based on the structural form, this utterance can be categorized as imperative form because of the utterance used to order someone to do something. This utterance has a pattern of Verb + Possessive Pronoun + Object + (!). Where the word “Take” is verb, “your” is possessive pronoun, “hat off” is object.
Take your hat off !
(V) (PP) (O) (!)
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(2) MW/Ut130/00.39.21
Mrs. Trunchbull: Now, eat it!
The context from Holmes’s theory is Mrs. Trunchbull orders that he must finish to eat the cake that has been prepared in front of him. Based on the structural form, this utterance can be categorized as imperative form because of the utterance used to order someone to do something. This utterance has a pattern of Conjunction + Verb + Object + (!). Where the word “Now” is conjunction, “eat” is verb, “it” is object.
Now eat it !
(C) (V) (O) (!)
Exclamation Form
The data that are included in the forms of exclamation form consisted of 29 data in total. Some of them are explained as follows.
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(1) MW/Ut119/00.29.17
Miss Honey: Excellent! You've been practicing.
The context from Holmes’s theory is Miss Honey expresses her feeling towards Matilda’s effort in answering all questions. This utterance has a structural form of the exclamation form because of the utterance is in the form of an expression of the speaker toward something spontaneously. Then, it formed by the adjective in this utterance. While in this utterance consisted of the word “excellent” as the adjective.
Matilda: You're very brave, Miss Honey.
The context from Holmes’s theory is Matilda expresses her feeling towards patience of Miss Honey to face with Mrs. Trunchbull at the time. This utterance has a structural form of the exclamation form because of the utterance is in the form of an expression of the speaker toward something spontaneously. Then, it formed by the adjective in this utterance. While in this utterance consisted of words “very brave” as the adjective.
The Type of The Illocutionary Act
This sub-chapter of discussion contained the explanation of the data found which is the types divided into five types of the illocutionary act based on Searle’s theory among others declarative, representative, expressive, directive, and commissive.
Declarative Type
The data that are included in the types of declarative type consisted of 19 data in total. Some of them are explained as follows.
Narrator: Not everyone is born the same.
The context based on Holmes’ theory is that the Narrator of this movie was declared that every single person who was born on the earth will have different abilities and fates. Particularly, the person who was born in a hospital in London. It means that the narrator can change the status of every single person through the sentence that they said beforehand. So, this utterance is speech act types of declarative act which has a function is to declare the hearer or listener about the status of every single person.
Narrator: For better or for worse.
The context based on Holmes’ theory is that the Narrator of this movie was confirmed that every human was unique. In the beginning of this story, every parent wants their child to have a better fate than them. It means that the narrator can change the condition of a person through the sentence that they said beforehand. So, this utterance is speech act types of declarative act which has a function is to confirm the hearer or listener about the condition of a person.
Representative Type
The data that are included in the types of representative type consisted of 76 data in total. Some of them are explained as follows.
Narrator: Her mother took off to play bingo.
The context based on Holmes' theory is that the Narrator in this movie was informing to the hearer that Mrs. Wormwood has a hobby of gambling. This utterance
used a verb phrase “her mother took off to play bingo” which has a meaning to inform the hearer or listener about Mrs. Wormwood’s hobby. This utterance is speech act types of representative act because in this context has a function to inform something in detail. So, informing is speech act type of representative act.
Miss Honey: She found a small cottage.
The context based on Holmes' theory is that Miss Honey describes about she is the woman who owns the small cottage. Then, Matilda was very surprised by all the stories from Miss. Honey. And then, Miss Honey decided to leave the house left by her father and given to Miss. Trunchbull. This utterance used a verb phrase “she found a small cottage” which has a meaning to inform the hearer or listener about Miss Honey’s residence. This utterance is speech act types of representative act because it has a function to inform something to the hearer toward Miss Honey’s residence. So, informing is speech act type of representative act.
Expressive Type
The data that are included in the types of expressive type consisted of 59 data in total. Some of them are explained as follows.
Mr. Wormwood: I'm great! I'm incredible!
The context from Holmes’s theory is Mr. Wormwood expresses that he felt toward the profits from selling used cars. The utterance has a structural type of an expressive type because in this context to express the speaker’s feeling towards something in detail. So, this utterance is in the type of an expression of the speaker toward something spontaneously.
Miss Honey: Oh, no. Thank you, dear.
The context based on Holmes' theory is that Miss Honey thanks to Michael for being offered a beer during a visit to The Wormwood's house. The utterance has a structural type of an expressive type because in this context to express the speaker’s feeling towards something in detail. So, this utterance is in the type of an expression of the speaker toward being offered some beer during her visit.
Directive Type
The data that are included in the types of directive type consisted of 88 data in total. Some of them are explained as follows.
Matilda: What is his name?
The context from Holmes’s theory is Matilda wants to ask the name of her father who was died by suicide. The purpose of Matilda performed this utterance is to ask about the name of Miss Honey’s father. So, this utterance is the speech act type of directive type that has a function to ask someone about something in detail.
The context from Holmes’s theory is Mrs. Trunchbull orders someone who entering her house to appear in front of her. The purpose of Mrs. Trunchbull performed this utterance is to order someone who entering her house without permission. So, this utterance is the speech act type of directive type that has a function to order someone to do something.
Commissive Type
The data that are included in the types of commissive type consisted of 8 data in total. Some of them are explained as follows.
Bruce: I don't want any, thank you.
The context based on Holmes' theory is that Bruce had refused to eat the cake that already serves from Mrs. Trunchbull. Then, it made Mrs. Trunchbull became very angry with him. The purpose of Bruce performed this utterance is to refuse towards Mrs. Trunchbull’s offer. So, this utterance is a speech act type of commissive act because in this context which has a function for refusing something that has been occurred.
Matilda: I have a new lovely family.
The context based on Holmes' theory is that Matilda commits that she has a new lovely family that pities and appreciates her existence in new family. The purpose of Matilda performed this utterance is to commit towards a new family. So, this utterance is a speech act type of commissive act because in this context which has a function to commit some future action.
Classification of Speech Act
After categorized of the data found into forms of the locutionary act and types of the illocutionary act, the data was classified into direct and indirect speech act based on Yule’s theory.
Direct Speech Act
The data that are classified into direct speech act consisted of 224 data in total. Some of them are explained as follows.
Mr. Wormwood: What do you want a book for?
The context based on Holmes’s theory is an interrogative form of the locutionary act because of it’s formed of a question. This utterance is a directive type of the illocutionary act because of it has a function to ask someone about something. Thus, it is classified into the direct speech act because the form and the function are suitable.
The context based on Holmes’s theory is an imperative form of the locutionary act because of it’s formed of an order. This utterance is a directive type of the illocutionary act because of it has a function to order someone about something. Thus, it is classified into the direct speech act because the form and the function are suitable.
Indirect Speech Act
The data that are classified into indirect speech act consisted of 26 data in total. Some of them are explained as follows.
Mr. Wormwood: Please, sitting right in front of you?
The context based on Holmes’s theory is an interrogative form of the locutionary act because of it’s formed of a question. This utterance is a directive type of the illocutionary act because of it has a function to ask someone about something. Thus, it is classified into the direct speech act because the form and the function are not suitable.
Matilda: Can't you sell good cars, Dad?
The context based on Holmes’s theory is an interrogative form of the locutionary act because of it’s formed of a question. This utterance is a directive type of the illocutionary act because of it has a function to ask someone about something. Thus, it is classified into the direct speech act because the form and the function are not suitable.
Based on the research finding and discussion above, it can concluded that the researcher found various form, function, and classification of speech act used by the research subject in the Matilda Wormwood movie. Although this research did not relate to the education, but it has the implication that could be shared by elaborating the research finding and discussion. The first, this research could be used as a source for students of English Language Education to understand of various form, function, and classification of speech act. The second, by reading this research, the student of English Language Education could use the various form, function, and classification of speech act in order they know through this research in the uses of language in the social life. The last, this research could help the lecture to teach about various form and function of the utterances used in the society life by using the media of movie.
This sub-chapter concluded the research findings to answer the two research questions. They are to analyze form of the locutionary act used by the research subject and to understand types of the illocutionary act in which a speech act that occur as a literal meaning that the word has distinct into four structural forms including declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamation. The most dominant of the locutionary act used by the research subject is a declarative form consisted of 37% of the data in total.
The illocutionary act is a speech act that occur as the intended meaning in order the word has distinct into five structural types among others declarative, representative, expressive, directive, and commissive. The most dominant of the illocutionary act used by the research subject is a representative type consisted of 36% of the whole data.
From the description above, it could be concluded that the research subject in Matilda Wormwood movie were mostly produced the utterances to ask someone about something. The characters also often produced the utterance to inform something or tell
something to the hearer. While all characters rarely produced utterance to express him or her feeling toward something. In addition, all characters almost never produced the utterance to invite someone to come somewhere. It’s in line with the research subject’s characterizations that were intelligent, extraordinary, and courageous. Firstly, the characters were intelligent because of she or he likes to share the information to the other by producing a lot of directive function through never doubt to ask someone about something. Secondly, Matilda was extraordinary child which has a great brain-power in order she wants to order all things to do something. Thirdly, the characters were courageous because of showed by she often produced representative type it has a function to inform something to someone according to the source of the book that she or he has already read.
The researcher would like to express their gratitude and highest appreciation to those who have contributed positively during the process of writing this research. All lecturers, assistant lecturers, staff and employees of Ganesha University of Education who have provided support from each researcher. The researcher realized that this thesis is far from perfection. Therefore, comments, suggestions, and new ideas are needed for the improvement of this article. Hopefully this article will be useful for those who want to develop their study on English especially in Analysis of Speech Act.
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Biography of Authors
Kadek Yudha Septiawan, A.Md. is a current undergraduate student of English Language Education at Ganesha University of Education. His current research interest is in the field of linguistics, precisely in analyzing speech acts used in society life. He can be reached at [email protected]
Prof. Dr. Dewa Komang Tantra, M.Sc. is a lecturer at the English Education study program, Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Ganesha University of Education. His areas of expertise are Research Methodology, Research Methods on Language and Teaching, Introduction to Psycholinguistics, Statistics, and Advanced Reading. He can be reached at [email protected]
Dr. Dewa Putu Ramendra, S.Pd. M.Pd. is a lecturer at the English Education study program, Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Ganesha University of Education. His areas of expertise are Introduction to Pragmatics, Introduction to Semantics, English Syntax, Research Methodology, Scientific Writing, and Essay Writing. He can be reached at [email protected]
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