In pragmatics and speech act theory, Illocutionary force refers to the intended effect or force of a speech act, i.e., the intended purpose of the speaker in making a certain utterance. It is the speaker's communicative intention in performing the speech act and the effect they intend to have on the listener. In other words, Illocutionary force is the pragmatic function of an utterance beyond its literal meaning, the thing the saying intends to "do". An example of Illocutionary force is the utterance "Can you pass the salt?" can be used to make a request even though its literal meaning is a question.
Illocutionary point, on the other hand, refers to the specific type or category of illocutionary force that a speaker intends to convey through their utterance. It is the particular communicative function or purpose that the speaker intends to achieve by making the speech act. In other word, Illocutionary point is the effect the speaker wants his utterance to have.
For example, the illocutionary point of the sentence "I hereby declare you husband and wife" is to perform a formal marriage ceremony, while the illocutionary point of the sentence "I apologize for being late" is to convey an apology.
In summary, illocutionary force refers to the overall intention or effect of a speech act, while illocutionary point refers to the specific communicative function or purpose that a speaker intends to achieve through their utterance.
Read more: examples of illocutionary speech acts
