... dimension, or the illocutionary act. The illocutionary act is performed via the communicative force of an utterance. We might utter [1] to make a statement, an offer, an explanation, or for some ... 4. Intonation This is another neglected area of language that can be usefully tied to apologies because it has more impact here than in many other situations. For example: going down at the ... assumed that there are two participants: an apologizer and a recipient of the apology. When a person has performed an act (action or utterance), or failed to do so, which has offended another...