A speech act analysis on Khaosod English Facebook status updates for the Thai election campaign in 2023

This independent study aims to investigate the types of speech acts and communicative functions used in the Facebook status updates posted in “Khaosod English” during the 2023 general election campaign in Thailand. From May 1 through May 10, 125 status updates were reviewed, and 78 total political status updates were used for analysis and measurement. The content will be investigated by a qualitative research approach to indicate important words, combined with a quantitative research approach to examine the frequency of language use. The fundamental theoretical framework to be used is the speech act theory by John R. Searle. According to the findings, there are five different speech act categories that can be identified in political status updates on this online platform, namely assertive, declarative, directive, commissive, and expressive respectively. Moreover, each speech act is divided into the criteria of communicative functions. For example, a commissive speech act could play the function of vowing and promising.