Illocutionary Acts And Sentence Meaning Apr 2026

Meaning is determined by a sentence's potential to play the role a speaker intended.

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

A sentence like "It's locked" has a basic meaning because it is usable to perform the act of asserting that something is locked. Illocutionary Acts and Sentence Meaning

Alston explains the performance of these acts through the concept of "taking responsibility" (

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 Meaning is determined by a sentence's potential to

'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

Illocutionary Acts and Sentence Meaning by William P. Alston Alston explains the performance of these acts through

Attempts to get the listener to do something, such as requesting or commanding.