speech act theory

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a theory developed by J. L. Austin and elaborated by John Searle holding that utterances do not merely describe the world but perform actions; Austin distinguished locutionary acts (saying something), illocutionary acts (what one does in saying it, such as promising or commanding), and perlocutionary acts (the effect produced on the listener); transformed the philosophy of language by showing that meaning is inseparable from use and context