Illocutionary Acts And Sentence Meaning May 2026

Acts like stating, describing, or predicting that something is the case.

Alston expands on the work of J.L. Austin and John Searle, categorizing illocutionary acts into five primary types: Illocutionary Acts and Sentence Meaning

Acts that bring about a change in status or state simply by being uttered, such as marrying a couple or adjourning a meeting. Key Components of a Speech Act Acts like stating, describing, or predicting that something

Alston’s central thesis is that for a sentence to have a particular meaning is for it to be to perform illocutionary acts of a matching type. Key Components of a Speech Act Alston’s central

Acts that commit the speaker to future action, like promising or vowing.

Illocutionary Acts and Sentence Meaning by William P. Alston

'ing). When a speaker utters a sentence, they take responsibility for certain conditions being true (e.g., in a request to open a window, the speaker is responsible for the condition that the window is actually closed). Taxonomy of Speech Acts