ABSTRACT:Speech Act Theory was made by the Oxford philosopher John Langshaw Austin, it is said to be the first major theory in the study of language in use, and then developed by the American philosopher John R. Searle. As one of the means in pragmatics, it can deal with particular utterances in literature works because on one hand, literature works offer resourceful raw materials for linguistic study; one the other hand, the use of linguistic theory in the literature gives us a better understanding of the works. With the development of pragmatics especially the speech act theory, its combination with literature leads us into a new era. Accordingly, the present research, on the basis of Searle’s speech act theory will analyze the illocutionary force in the conversation between Elizabeth and Darcy under various settings in Pride and Prejudice to interpret Elizabeth’s prejudice against Darcy.
Key words: speech act theory, illocutionary forces, prejudice
摘要:言语行为理论，最早由牛津大学语言学家John L. Austin所创建，后来美国语言学家John R. Searle在其基础上将言语行为理论发展壮大。它作为语用学的一类，近年来被广泛应用到文学分析中。之所以可以将言语行为理论与文学作品相结合，一方面是因为文学作品可以为理论分析提供丰富的语料，另一方面从该角度对文学作品进行分析也可以帮我们更好地理解文学作品。随着语用学的发展壮大，这种文学与语言学的结合形式必将迈入一个新的纪元。本文将以语言学家塞尔的言语行为理论为框架，以英国著名作家简.奥斯丁的代表作之一《傲慢与偏见》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小说主人公伊丽莎白与达西的对话进行分析和解读，从而反应出小说人物之间的矛盾冲突，并进一步验证了用言语行为理论对文学作品进行赏析的可行性。
关键词：言语行为，言外作用，偏见
