The Use of Representative Speech Acts in Political Vaccine Defence: A Pragmatic Study

Abstract

The present study presents a pragmatic analysis of representative speech acts employed by three British officials, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, MHRA Chief Executive Dr. June Raine, and Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty, during a press conference on March 22, 2021, in defense of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. It is based on the Speech Act Theory, drawing on the theoretical framework of Austin (1962), Searle (1969, 1976), and the classifications provided by Yule (1996), with a particular focus on the representative category of speech acts. One hundred statements of the officials were chosen of which 57 utterances, representing Representative Speech Acts, were analyzed to investigate how language is used to assert facts, present evidence, and build public trust in the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness during a time of public concern over potential side effects. Results reveal that various linguistic elements highlighting representative speech acts are employed effectively in the officials’ discourse, underscoring their central role in conveying information and legitimizing scientific claims. They also demonstrate how the strategic use of representative speech acts and their linguistic elements would play a significant role in reassuring a skeptical audience, offering insights into the power of pragmatic language choices in public health communication.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, Oxford AstraZeneca, Pragmatics, Representative acts, Speech Act Theory

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/17-6-10

Publication date: June 30^th 2026