Micro · Individual Stub 1962

Speech Act Theory

화행 이론

A foundational philosophy of language and pragmatics framework asserting that utterances do not merely describe states of affairs, but actively perform actions and produce social realities.

Field Linguistics · Law
Level of analysis Micro · Individual
Paradigm Pragmatism Symbolic Interactionism
Key figures 👤 J. L. Austin (J. L. 오스틴) 👤 John Searle (존 설)
Year 1962

Key Claims

J. L. Austin and John Searle overturned the descriptivist fallacy by showing that language is fundamentally action-oriented (‘how to do things with words’). Utterances carry illocutionary forces that create social commitments, institutional facts, and legally binding realities.

Further Reading

  • Austin, J. L. (1962). How to Do Things with Words. Oxford University Press.
  • Searle, J. R. (1969). Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge University Press.

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