Speech acts: Constative and performative - Colleen Glenney Boggs

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When are words just words, and when do words force action? Linguist J.L. Austin divided words into two categories: constatives (words that describe a situation) and performatives (words that incite action). For instance, is a "No running" sign describing your gait, or are you not running because the sign prohibits it? Colleen Glenney Boggs describes how these categorizations give power to words and, ultimately, to your actions.

Lesson by Colleen Glenney Boggs, animation by Lou Webb.

Have you ever seen

a big, red "No Running" sign at a public pool?

For the most part,

the pace on the deck reflects this statement.

But while the sign accurately describes

the patrons' movements,

isn't it true that people are walking

because the sign tells them no running?

So, is this sign portraying the pool's environment,

or is it doing something else,

something more powerful?

The difference between a statement that describes

and one that commands

is an idea developed by British linguist J. L. Austin.

He defines this distinction

as two separate parts of speech:

constatives

and performatives.

Constatives are sentences

that describe something as true or false,

and performatives are sentences

that denote an action.

In other words, a constative is,

and a performative does.

To help us distinguish these two parts of speech,

let's start by examining constatives

around the park outside the pool.

The first sign we encounter says,

"The park closes at 6 p.m."

After checking with a friendly park official

that the park does, indeed, close at 6,

we can confirm that this statement

is a true constative.

Nearby, there's a man on a bench

with a newspaper, and the headline reads,

"Heatwave!"

However, the sky is cloudy and it feels quite chilly.

Today's headline is a false constative

as it has proven to be incorrect.

Before the rain starts to fall,

let's throw away our can of soda

at the blue trash bin that says, "Recycle."

It's a performative.

Performatives are sentences

that are meant to inspire actions.

Rather than conveying a message,

it acts upon the world,

it does something.

In this case, the performative of "Recycle"

is requesting people to put their trash

into the proper receptacle.

Words not only bring about actions,

sometimes words themselves are actions.

This is what is known as speech acts.

These actions include, but are not limited to,

ordering,

promising,

apologizing,

warning,

sentencing,

christening,

and even marrying.

Take a look at the wedding near the gazebo.

The couple says the words, "I do."

The speech act here are the words, "I do."

These words cause them to marry one another.

"I do" has acted upon them

and profoundly changed their world.

However, performatives depend

on context and reception.

These are known as felicity conditions.

Imagine if the mayor showed up to the wedding

and said, "By the power vested in me

as mayor of the city,

I name this gazebo 'The Mayor's Pizza Palace.'"

His words would be a speech act

by which he named the gazebo.

And because he's the mayor,

the gazebo would be known by its new name.

But if someone who isn't the mayor,

just a normal passerby,

decides to name the gazebo after her favorite cat,

the chances are the name would not change.

Felicity conditions are the rules

under which the performative can be enacted.

These are fairly logical.

The performative should have proper authority,

it should be understood,

it should be clear,

and it should be able to be executed.

If the performative doesn't meet these conditions,

then it doesn't have the power

to denote action.

But just because a performative meets its conditions

and is clearly stated,

doesn't mean that it's implicitly followed.

Back at the pool,

a rowdy group of teenagers races to the high dive.

"No running" does not seem

to have power over them,

and they'll have to face the consequences

of breaking this performative.

They may even have to force out

some performatives of their own,

such as apologizing to the life guard

and promising to never run again.

Maybe the life guard will respond

with another performative,

sentencing them to be banished from the pool

for the rest of the day.

After all, these teenagers must learn

to respect the power of words.