J.L. Austin's Theory of Speech Acts and Language

1. Austin and Linguistic Philosophy

Foundations of Linguistic Studies

J.L. Austin was a philosopher whose work significantly influenced linguistic studies. His philosophy fueled current language theory. Two key points start to define his philosophy:

Revaluation of Language Currents

• The greater part of studios aimed to demonstrate that philosophical concepts regarding language were naturally imperfect. In other words, they could not serve as a metalanguage for science.
• Austin argued that natural languages are perfect, unlike the historical languages studied by other philosophers.

Stance Against Verificationalism

The notion of truth based on correspondence with reality cannot examine the nature of language logic, as sentences do not pretend to reflect things one-to-one. It is also necessary to assess the adequacy of the statement issued, meaning it is not sufficient to simply say a statement is true or false; rather, one must assess the degree of adequacy it has concerning the circumstances in which it is uttered. The degree of adequacy is measured by the circumstances; if those conditions are met, one can say the statement is fine.

The Fallacy of the Exclusively Descriptive Script

Language is not exclusively descriptive, nor are all formally declarative utterances solely descriptive. An utterance can perform functions other than describing. On occasions when it is not writing to describe, it can also perform actions. Example: "Yes, I do" (in a marriage ceremony).

Stereotyping and Lack of Statement: Utterances Specializing in Actions

These utterances have the following characteristics:

1. Grammatically, from the first sentence, they are descriptive statements, stating what things are.
2. They stand in the first person of the singular indicative: "I wish/want."
3. The first expression lacks the quality of being true or false, but can be qualified as adequate or inadequate.

These utterances can be considered ritual expressions, for example, apologizing. Stereotyped and non-statement utterances are descriptive not because they commit certain conventional or ritualized actions, but because they fulfill specific actions. These situations require that certain conditions be met. Example: The failure to bet.

The Conditions of Austin's Misfortunes

A misfortune is an action that must be performed under certain conditions, such as gambling, etc. These words must be issued when certain conditions are met. If one of these conditions is violated, a misfortune occurs.

Conditions of Misfortunes

1. A conventional procedure must exist with a conventional effect. This procedure includes the issuance of specific words by specific persons under specific circumstances. The persons involved in the ritual must be the appropriate ones, as must the circumstances.
2. All participants must understand how the procedure is carried out (e.g., observing the officiating person). Furthermore, all participants must carry out all steps of the procedure.
3. If the procedure requires persons to have certain thoughts or dispositions, those thoughts or dispositions must be present and in accordance with some thoughts.

If any of these conditions are not met, a misfortune occurs.

Constative and Non-Statement Utterances

Utterances that oblige one to make statements are determined as constative utterances; they describe things and are valued in terms of falsehood or truth. Example: "My dog is in the river." There is no real difference between constative utterances and non-statement utterances (Austin explains this by hypothesizing that the act implied in all utterances can be detected).

The Threefold Nature of Speech Acts

All utterances share the common characteristic of being actions; they are all explicit and implicit forms of action. This forms the basis for elaborating on locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts.

Locutionary Act

This is the act performed merely by saying something. It has three parts:

• Phonetic act (uttering sounds).
• Phatic act (providing words).
• Rhetic act (issuing sequences with a determined meaning).

The locutionary act consists of issuing determined sounds, constructing a determined sentence with a specific meaning.

Illocutionary Act

This is the act performed in saying something (the intended force of the utterance).

Perlocutionary Act

This is the act performed by saying something, referring to the effects produced by what was said. These effects must align with the effects of the speech acts.

These acts occur almost simultaneously (locutionary and illocutionary acts). The acts follow the succession: locutionary-illocutionary-perlocutionary.