How to Do Things with Words
Quick Summary
J.L. Austin's influential work, How to Do Things with Words, published posthumously in 1962, revolutionized the philosophy of language by introducing the concept of speech acts. Austin argued that language is not merely for describing the world (constatives) but is also used to perform actions (performatives).123
He identified three types of speech acts:
* Locutionary act: The act of uttering words or sentences.41
* Illocutionary act: The intended action performed by the utterance, such as ordering, promising, or warning.41
* Perlocutionary act: The effect the utterance has on the listener.41
Austin emphasized that the meaning and force of an utterance depend heavily on the context and the institutional setting in which it occurs. His work laid the foundation for the field of pragmatics and significantly influenced subsequent philosophers like John Searle.1342
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
