Speech Acts In Sheikh Al-Saadi’s "Useful Ways of Leading a Happy Life:A Psycholinguistic Study

Abstract

Abstract:

This study aims to identify types of speech acts and their illocutionary force modifiers in Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Nasser al-Saadi’s (d. 1957) book, Useful Ways of Leading a Happy Life. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, the research explores the interplay between speech acts, linguistic levels, and psychological studies. The study comprises an introduction, a preamble, two main sections, and a conclusion. Key findings include a diversity of speech acts classified into two groups: those followed by their significance and those following it. Results show a cohesive sequence of acts serving the book’s objectives. Force modifiers varied across phonetic, graphic, and lexical dimensions (targeting listener, speaker, or content), as well as morphological, syntactic, and rhetorical levels. Furthermore, speech act theory serves as a nexus between linguistics and psychology; illocutionary forces interact with linguistic characteristics and function as powerful tools for modifying behaviors, thoughts, and emotions.

Keywords: Speech Act, Pragmatics, Illocutionary Force Modification, Useful Ways of Leading a Happy Life, Al-Saadi, Psycholinguistics.