Perlocutionary Acts of Imran Khan’s X Post on Constitutional Protest Movements: Speech Act Theory Perspective

Abstract

The study aims to examine the perlocutionary impact of Imran Khan's tweet about the constitutional protest movement, highlighting how his choice of words shapes readers reactions and drives specific outcomes. The tweet was crafted to prompt particular responses from followers, aiming to influence their beliefs, attitudes, or actions for particular cause. Using qualitative descriptive research methods, including content analysis, the study provides a deeper understanding of the data collected. The findings indicate that Khan's language was intentionally designed to achieve certain perlocutionary effects, such as rallying public support, challenging the government's authority, or escalating political tensions. This study utilizes the Perlocutionary Acts Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) framework, developed by Michael Halliday, to analyze the perlocutionary effects of Imran Khan's tweets concerning constitutional amendments. By investigating the relationship between locutionary and perlocutionary acts in his tweet, this research analyzes the rhetorical strategies employed to inform, persuade, or incite action. Overall, it contributes to the broader understanding of political communication on social media and underscores the significant role of perlocutionary acts in influencing public behavior and outcomes.