PRAGMATICS - COURSE 2:

PERFORMATIVES vs CONSTATIVES

2 types of Speech Acts (Austin: ‘How To Do Things with Words’: 1962):

1) CONSTATIVES – state propositions about the world, describe existing states-of affairs
2) PERFORMATIVES- instate new realities by means of uttering certain propositions, create new
states-of-affairs

CONSTATIVES:

a. It’s chilly today

b. Cabbage is rich in potassium
c. Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14

PERFORMATIVES:

a. I baptize this child ‘John’

b. I pronounce you husband and wife
c. I sentence you to life imprisonment
d. You are dismissed!

Explicit performatives vs implicit performatives:

1. begin with V in the 1st p. sing : I bet, I warn

2. the V belongs to a special class indicating the type of SA being performed : promise, invite, bet,
warn, pronounce, appoint, declare.
3. the performativity can be emphasised by inserting the Adv. ‘hereby’ btw, I and the V.

Explicit Performatives contain a performative V

e.g.:I promise to take a taxi home.
I bet you 5 $ that he’ll be breathalysed.
I declare the meeting open.//d. I warn you that legal action will ensue.
I name this ship ’The Flying Dutchman’.
I hereby bequeath you my estate.
UNLIKE *I hereby cook this cake (‘cook’ is NOT a performative V, the cake is not cooked simply
because I say I cook it)

Which acts performed by the utterances below are to be considered performative? What social
action do they designate?:

1) I usually buy groceries at Sainsbury’s.

2) You’re appointed chairman by an overwhelming majority of votes
3) I forbade the children to watch such violent movies.
4) We have found the defendant guilty on all three counts.
5)Objection, Your Honour! Badgering the witness!
6) ‘You are under arrest for the murder of John Smith, you have the right to remain silent!
Everything you say from now on may be held against you!’
7) May all practitioners of voodoo be damned!
8) I go out for a jog every morning, without fail.
9) I support the decision of the board!
10) They allowed the investigators to search the house.

FELICITY CONDITIONS

The FELICITY CONDITIONS of an illocutionary act are conditions that must be fulfilled for the
act to be carried out properly/appropriately/successfully.
Austin: 3 types of FELICITY CONDITIONS:

(i) There must be a conventional procedure having a conventional effect.

(ii) The circumstances and persons must be appropriate, as specified in the procedure.
iii) The procedure must be executed correctly and completely.

EXAMPLES:

One of the felicity conditions for the illocutionary act of ordering : the speaker must be superior to,
or in authority over, the hearer. Thus, if a servant says to the Queen ‘Open the window’, there is a
certain incongruity, or anomaly, or infelicity in the act (of ordering) carried out, but if the Queen
says ‘Open the window’ to the servant, there is no infelicity.

A felicity condition for the illocutionary act of accusing : the deed attributed to the accused is
wrong in some way. Thus one can felicitously accuse someone of theft or murder, but normally
only infelicitously of being a nice guy or of helping an old lady to cross the road.

In addition, there is A SINCERITY CONDITION to be abided by : the act is carried out

SINCERELY

YET: failure to meet such a condition does not completely prevent performing the act

e.g.
A sincerity condition on apologizing is that the apologizer believes that the thing apologized for is
wrong in some way. Thus, if John enters a room at a certain time, believing that to do so is wrong in
some way (e.g. impolite, tactless, sacrilegious) and he says ‘I’m sorry to come in here at this
moment’, then he has apologized, and apologized sincerely. But if he says the same thing in the
same circumstances, except that he does not believe that what he has done is wrong in any way,
then he has still apologized, yet insincerely.

a sincerity condition the persons must have the requisite thoughts, feelings and intentions, as
specified in the procedure.

Violation of any of the felicity conditions  ‘unhappy’ or infelicitous performative or ‘misfire’.

e.g., a registrar or a priest conducting a marriage ceremony in an unauthorized place

a judge uttering ‘I sentence you to life imprisonment’ not in court but in the shower
a president declaring war to another country otherwise than via the official procedures (e.g. during a
family picnic)

A command cannot be issued by a particular person of lower status or power to another particular
person of higher status or power.
A promise is usually issued in relation to some future act, while an apology indicates regret for a
past action Speaker feels responsible for.

If the sincerity condition is violated, there is a case of ‘abuse’.

‘I promise to lend you all the money you need’ (when I don’t have the slightest intention to do so
or when I’m penniless)
‘I warn you that you’ll pay through the nose’ (when I know I am not in any position to sanction you
legally or otherwise)
‘I congratulate you for this breath-taking performance ‘ (when I am not in the least pleased with the
performance in question)

1.Which felicity conditions need to be met with for apologies to be successfully performed?

a) the S outranks the H

b) the H is indebted to the S
c) the S expresses regret for an act regarded as detrimental to the H
d) the S is about to commit an act detrimental to the H

2. Which felicity conditions need to be met with for warnings to be successfully performed?

a) the S is able to predict some oncoming event which may be detrimental to the H
b) the H is reluctant to believe an oncoming event may have a negative impact upon
their life
c) the H is unable to clearly anticipate the harmful consequences of some oncoming
event
d) the S believes they know something in relation to some uncoming event which the H
does not know.

3. Identify whether each of the following conditions given for a particular speech act
is a felicity condition or a sincerity condition, and be able to explain why.

a. apologizing: the thing apologized for must have been detrimental to the interlocutor
b. apologizing: the speaker feels responsible for the thing apologized for
c. accusing: the speaker must think that the person accused actually did the deed
d. accusing: the speaker is aware that something harmful, illegal, etc., has occurred
e. offering: the hearer must not already have the thing that is offered
f. offering: the speaker wants to give the thing offered to the hearer
g. congratulating: the hearer has either accomplished something good, or something good
has happened to her
h. congratulating: the speaker thinks the event accomplished by the hearer is very good or
noteworthy
i. thanking: the hearer(s) must have done something beneficial to the speaker
j. thanking: the speaker approves of what the hearer(s) has done for him/her