Famous examples of performative utterances are "I now pronounce you husband and wife" (when uttered by the authorized officiator during a marriage ceremony) or "Youre fired!" (when exclaimed by an employer terminating a persons employment).
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Performative utterance — The notion of performative utterances was introduced by J. L. Austin. Although he had already used the term in his 1964 paper Other minds , today s usage goes back to his later, remarkedly different exposition of the notion in the 1955 William… … Wikipedia
Performative verb — Performative verbs are verbs carried out simply by means of uttering them aloud. When a judge sentences someone to jail time, for example, the action is completed when he or she says, I hereby sentence you to five years in prison, or the like.… … Wikipedia
performative — [pər fôr′mə tiv] adj. of or having to do with performance; specif., designating or having to do with a statement that functions as an action and, hence, is neither true nor false [“I apologize” is a performative utterance] … English World dictionary
performative — 1. adjective Being enacted as it is said. An example of a performative utterance could be, I name this boat Alfred . See Also: performativity 2. noun A performative utterance … Wiktionary
performative — adj. & n. adj. 1 of or relating to performance. 2 denoting an utterance that effects an action by being spoken or written (e.g. I bet, I apologize). n. a performative utterance … Useful english dictionary
performative — /peuhr fawr meuh tiv/, adj. Philos., Ling. 1. (of an expression or statement) performing an act by the very fact of being uttered, as with the expression I promise, that performs the act of promising. n. 2. a performative utterance. Cf.… … Universalium
performative — per•for•ma•tive [[t]pərˈfɔr mə tɪv[/t]] adj. 1) ling. pho (of an expression or statement) performing an act by the very fact of being uttered, as “I promise,” which performs the act of promising 2) ling. pho a performative utterance … From formal English to slang
performative Linguistics & Philosophy — adjective denoting a statement by means of which the speaker performs a particular act (e.g. I apologize). noun a performative verb, sentence, or utterance … English new terms dictionary
performative — adjective Date: 1955 being or relating to an expression that serves to effect a transaction or that constitutes the performance of the specified act by virtue of its utterance < performative verbs such as promise and congratulate > compare… … New Collegiate Dictionary
performative utterances — Term introduced by J. L. Austin for an utterance by the making of which some further act is performed. The central examples are ‘I promise…’ or ‘I agree…’, whose saying constitutes promising or agreeing. Such utterances do not describe antecedent … Philosophy dictionary
