Slide 1
Speaking can be acting
J. L. Austin showed that utterances do more than describe facts. Under suitable conditions, speaking can promise, warn, authorize or apologize.
More to Read
A chairperson declaring a meeting open changes its institutional status when the person has the relevant authority. The same sentence spoken by a passerby may have no such effect. Context is part of the action.
Slide 2
Success requires conditions
A performative utterance needs appropriate circumstances and procedures. Saying the right words alone does not guarantee that the intended act succeeds.
More to Read
An unauthorized person cannot normally appoint an official just by announcing it. The attempted appointment fails because the required conditions are missing; it is not simply a factual claim that turns out to be false.
Slide 3
Meaning and force differ
An utterance has content and can carry a particular force, such as a request or warning. The same words may function differently in context.
More to Read
The room is cold might report a temperature or indirectly request that someone close a window. Understanding the sentence does not always settle which action the speaker is performing with it.
Slide 4
Effects are another dimension
Austin distinguishes the act done in speaking from its effects on listeners. Someone can issue a warning even if nobody becomes frightened.
More to Read
Persuading an audience depends partly on how listeners respond. By contrast, a properly made assertion can occur even when everyone rejects it. Separating the act from its result clarifies what counts as success.
Slide 5
Listen for the action
Speech-act analysis asks what a speaker is doing and whether the conditions support it. This can reveal misunderstandings hidden by literal sentence meaning.
More to Read
In the cold-room example, answering with another temperature measurement may miss the request. Recognizing the practical force helps explain why a reply can be factually relevant yet conversationally unhelpful.
Sources
- John Langshaw Austin
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy