A theoretical review of the speech act of suggesting: towards a taxonomy for its use in FLT

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a taxonomy of linguistic realisation strategies concerning the speech act of suggesting. In this regard, we will first provide a definition of this particular speech act, outlining its main characteristics and differentiating it from other directive speech acts, such as requests. Second, we will review the research conducted on suggestions by examining studies from both the cross-cultural and interlanguage pragmatics fields. Third, we will present the taxonomy we have drawn up on the basis of two theoretical frameworks, namely those of speech act and politeness theories, as well as findings from previous studies on this particular speech act. Finally, we will propose an example of a teaching approach in which this taxonomy could be implemented in order to develop learners' pragmatic competence when making suggestions.