Illocutionary Act Analysis on Piers Morgans' Uncensored Show Episode “Am I a Black Man If I Say I’m a Black Man?”

This study analyzes the types and functions of illocutionary acts employed by the host and guests in the Uncensored episode titled “Am I a Black Man If I Say I’m a Black Man?”, hosted by Piers Morgan, using Searle’s (1979) theoretical framework of speech acts. The primary objective of this study is to identify and examine the various illocutionary acts present in the show’s dialogues and to explore how these acts contribute to the dynamics of interaction among the participants. This study adopts a qualitative approach, with data collected through careful observation and transcription of the dialogues featured in the episode. A total of 73 data samples were collected for this study, which were then categorized into five types of speech acts: Assertive Acts, Directive Acts, Commissive Acts, Expressive Acts, and Declarative Acts. The types of illocutionary acts used in this episode, ranked by frequency, include Assertive Acts (32 instances), followed by Directive Acts (20 instances), Commissive Acts (12 instances), and Expressive Acts (6 instances). In addition, the writer also analyzed the illocutionary functions of the speech acts, which include Competitive, Convivial, Collaborative, and Conflictive functions. The findings indicate that there are (35) Competitive functions, (8) Convivial functions, (1) Collaborative function, and (31) Conflictive functions. The results of this study demonstrate how speech is used not only to convey information but also to perform actions in accordance with the functions of illocutionary acts.