What is an utterance made by a speaker to achieve a specific result?

An utterance made by a speaker to achieve a specific result is known as a "speech act". This term was introduced by philosopher J.L. Austin in his book "How to Do Things with Words".

Here are the steps to understand this concept:

1. Understand the term "utterance": An utterance is a complete unit of speech. It is the act of saying something out loud.

2. Know what a "speech act" is: A speech act in linguistics and the philosophy of language is an utterance that has performative function in language and communication.

3. Recognize the purpose of a speech act: According to J.L. Austin's theory, when a person makes a statement, they are not only conveying information but also performing an action. For example, when someone says "I apologize", they are not just stating that they apologize, but they are actually apologizing.

4. Identify the types of speech acts: There are several types of speech acts, including declaratives (which change the world via their utterance), representatives (which state what the speaker believes to be the case), expressives (which express the speaker's feelings), directives (which are intended to cause the hearer to take a particular action), and commissives (which commit the speaker to a future course of action).

5. Apply the concept: Once you understand the concept of a speech act, you can apply it to various utterances to determine the speaker's intent and the action they are performing with their words.