Abstract：The Speech act theory was put forward by the Oxford philosopher John Austin, and it is the first important theory dealing with the language in use. In his theory, Austin suggests that our speech itself is an act, and to say something is actually to do something. He believes that in three senses our speech can be seen as doing something, and they are known as the three levels of speech act: locutionary act, illocutionary act, and perlocutionary act. The American philosopher John R. Searle developed the theory based on Austin’s. The conversations in the TV series The Apprentice give us enough raw materials to study and analyze with the speech act theory. At the same time, we can contrast the speech acts in the speech of different people, so that we can find out the difference in the speech acts between people. Then we may find out whether the speakers can communicate effectively with others so as to successfully complete a task.
Key Words: Speech Act Theory, Illocutionary Acts, Effective communication
摘要：近年来，随着语用学的迅速发展，言语行为理论也受到众多学者的青睐，并被广泛应用到对话分析中。本文将以语言学家塞尔的言语行为理论为框架，以美剧《学徒》的对话为文本，着重从言外作用角度即：阐述类、指令类、承诺类、表达类和宣告类这五种基本言语行为对影片中的对话进行分析和解读，通过具体事例的分析，展现出影片中每次完成任务时推选出的队长们的言语行为，反映出不同参赛者的沟通能力，是否能够进行有效沟通，以便成功完成任务。
关键词：言语行为，言外作用，有效沟通
