Performatives

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A category of utterances that perform an action rather than merely conveying information
2. Statements that serve a function in communication, such as making requests or giving orders
3. Expressions that achieve their intended effect through the act of being spoken, rather than just describing an event

Etymology: The most useful fact about "performatives" is its origin in philosophy of language. The adjective "performative" was coined by the philosopher J. L. Austin, who used it in his 1955 William James lectures (published as "How to Do Things with Words") for utterances that do not merely describe an action but perform it, such as "I do" in a wedding ceremony or "I bet you sixpence" in a wager. Austin formed the term from the verb "perform" plus the suffix "-ative," which is itself a combination of Latin "-ātus" and Old French "-if," reaching English through Middle English. The plural noun, meaning such utterances themselves, followed naturally from the adjective. Unlike older words that passed through centuries of use, this one was built deliberately on existing English parts, so its meaning is transparent: a performative is a sentence that carries out, rather than reports, the act it names. Austin's idea that language can do things, not just say things, became one of the central concepts of speech act theory.

Synonyms: performative acts