Investigating Speech Acts of Insult in the Speeches of Members of Provincial Assembly of Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

This study investigates speech acts of insult in speeches made by members of Provincial Assembly of Sindh, Pakistan using Austin’s (1962) and Searle’s (1969) Speech Acts Theory. This theory implies that language is used to perform acts, such as commanding, requesting, complaining, admiring, apologizing, insulting, and many others. However, in this research, researchers explore why speech acts of insult are performed by the members of Provincial Assembly of Sindh belonging to different political parties. Qualitative analysis of purposively sampled data collected from eleven participants’ speeches, has been conducted to demonstrate how politicians enact speech acts of insult against each other. Findings reveal that the politicians performed speech acts of insult (expressive) when issues related to administration of Sindh and management of its resources (water distribution) were discussed. It is argued that members of the assembly are people’s representatives, and they should behave in a civilized manner and perform civic, polite speech acts.