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Are explicit performatives assertions?

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Abstract

This paper contributes to the study of explicit performative utterances in the following ways. First, it presents arguments that support Austin’s view that these utterances are not assertions. In doing so, it offers an original explanation of why they cannot be true or false. Second, it puts forward a new analysis of explicit performatives as cases of showing performing, rather than of instances of asserting or declaring that one is performing a particular act. Finally, it develops a new account of the role of the performative prefix in signalling performative intentions that shows how the prefix can play a special role in the interpretation of performatives utterances.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Arts, Roehampton University, Roehampton Lane, London, SW15 5PH, UK

    Mark Jary

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  1. Mark Jary
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Correspondence to Mark Jary.

Additional information

Earlier versions of (parts of) this paper were presented at the UCL Pragmatics Reading Group in March 2006, at Roehampton University in May 2006, and at the conference on Utterance Interpretation and Cognitive Models held at the Univeristé Libre de Bruxelles in June 2006. I am grateful to audiences at these events for useful comments. People deserving particular thanks include Nicholas Allott, Robyn Carston, Manuel García-Carpintero, Sally McConnell-Ginet, and Deirdre Wilson. I also thank Kent Bach, who generously read and commented to two earlier drafts. Finally, I’m grateful to two anonymous referees for useful comments and suggestions.

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Jary, M. Are explicit performatives assertions?. Linguist and Philos 30, 207–234 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10988-007-9015-9

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