What are the five main categories in John Searle’s taxonomy of speech acts?

John Searle’s taxonomy of speech acts categorizes illocutionary acts into five main groups based on their illocutionary point, direction of fit, and expressed psychological state. These categories are:12

• Assertives: Acts that commit the speaker to the truth of a proposition, such as statements, descriptions, and predictions.12
• Directives: Acts intended to get the hearer to do something, such as orders, requests, and direction giving.12
• Commissives: Acts that commit the speaker to a future course of action, such as promises, oaths, and bets.12
• Expressives: Acts that express the speaker's psychological state regarding a situation, such as greetings, congratulations, and thanks.12
• Declarations: Acts that change the reality of the world by their successful performance, such as excommunications, hirings, and declarations of war.12

Searle developed this classification to provide a more systematic framework than the earlier work of J.L. Austin, ensuring that speech acts are categorized based on consistent, fundamental dimensions.2