Speech Acts used by the main characters in comic Spongebob Squarepants

ABSTRACT

Both of language and action cannot be separated. When people produce an utterance, they not only show their ability to produce a correct sentence, but also to deliver a specific function, such as asking, resigning, begging, and et cetera. It means that they perform an act by using language which is called as speech act. Speech act can be found in daily conversation. Even, it can be found in comic. In this study, the writer chooses comic „Spongebob Squarepants‟ as the object of the study because there are utterances which are written incompletely or informal form. In addition, the language used by the main characters reflects social phenomena when they are in work place. The objectives of this study are to identify the types of speech acts and describe how speech acts are performed by the main characters in the comic of „Spongebob Squarepants‟.

This study used descriptive qualitative method to describe and explain speech acts performed by the main characters of the comic. The data were collected from the comic „Spongebob Squarepants‟. To analyze the data, the context and the felicity conditions of each utterance were determined before justifying its illocutionary act. The data were analyzed by using Searle‟s theory of speech act.

After analyzing all of the data, it is found that in “Spongebob Squarepants” comic, the main characters use all of the types of speech acts through their utterance. They are directives, commisives, representatives, declaratives, and expressive. Moreover, the forms of directives consist of asking, questioning, commanding, begging, and warning. Next, commisives can be found in the forms of promising, convincing, offering, agreeing, and threatening. Furthermore, representatives speech acts can be found in the form of protesting, and informing. The illocutionary act of expressive can be in the form of mocking, welcoming, greeting, getting pleasure, and thanking. Then, declarative speech act can be found in resigning and firing. In this study, there are four functions of illocutionary acts which is produced by the main characters. They are convivial, competitive, conflictive and collaborative. In addition, it is found that speech acts are directly (literally) and indirectly (non-literally) performed by the main characters.

In conclusion, most the speakers perform directives speech acts. Moreover, most of their utterances have convivial functions in which most of the utterances are directly and literally performed by them when they are in work place (restaurant). It is suggested to the next researcher to conduct a research in different object of the study, such as an interview with a president from the countries which have conflict, such as Afghanistan and use another theory on his or her research, such as Huford‟s theory of speech act in order to get different finding.