THE STUDY ON THE ASSERTIVE ILLOCUTIONARY ACTS OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN MY SISTER’S KEEPER MOVIE SCRIPT BY NICK CASSAVETES AND JEREMY LEVEN

Abstract

This study concerns with the use of assertive illocutionary act uttered by the main characters in My Sister’s Keeper movie script which is linguistically under the study of pragmatics. It reveals the intended meanings of utterances, speakers’ purposes in using such assertives, and the way of the context influences main characters to assert something in certain phenomena. This study applies qualitative research method and the source of the data of this study is My Sister’s Keeper movie script by Nick Cassavetes and Jeremy Leven that is acquired from http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/moviescript.php? movie=my-sisters-keeper website. The theory of Searle (cited in Levinson, 1983:240) is applied to probe the types of assertive act that are uttered by the main characters in the whole movie. It is also completed by Halliday and Hasan (1983:7) theory about context of situation that influences the production of assertive utterances. The results of this study show that both characters use six kinds of assertive illocutionary act namely asserting, reporting, explaining, showing something, suggesting, and refusing. The main characters’ purposes in producing assertive acts are various according to the types of assertive they produce. Every character has the different thought which is expressed through assertive utterances. It is supported by context of situation that contributes to the speakers’ intentions. The main characters’ intentions in producing assertive utterances are used to convey information about something that happens in their life. They try to embrace and persuade the hearers through their utterances. They expect that by using assertive act, it is able to make the hearers comprehend and consider the speakers’ feelings.