Indirect Speech Acts and Their Use in Three Channels of Communication

Abstract

This paper presents the results from a study analyzing the distribution of speech acts across three communication channels: email, face-to-face and telephone. The study involved an actual group involved working together on a project. The patterns of speech acts across the three channels are presented. In particular, the use of the indirect form of each speech act is highlighted. It is shown that the indirect form plays a major role across speech acts and channels, with a few noteworthy exceptions.