A STUDY OF SPEECH ACTS IN MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.’S SPEECH “I’VE BEEN TO THE MOUNTAIN TOP”

Nanang Fauzi

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explain what kind of speech acts that are found in King’s speech and to reveal what is the dominant speech acts in the study. This study is descriptive qualitative because the types of data are in the form of texts and utterances. Descriptive study is used to elaborate speech acts of Martin Luther King’s utterances. This study applies documentary research strategy as the technique of collecting data. The finding of this study found 52 utterances, they are 21 utterances belong to representatives, 18 utterances are commissives, 7 utterances belong to directives and 6 utterances are expressives. Representatives become the dominant speech act in this study that indicates it commits the speaker to the truth of the expressed proposition.

Keywords: Speech, Speech Acts, Type of Speech acts.