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Although you probably haven’t read about them in grammar books, you may have heard of a category of verbs called performative verbs . It is not a part of speech in its own right, but the fields of linguistic anthropology and philosophy have found interest in this type of verb. So what exactly are they? Well, they are essentially verbs that perform certain actions instead of just describing them (as conventional verbs do).
For example, the verb to want , which normally expresses the action of wanting something, can become a performative verb in a wedding ceremony. When the bride and groom say “I do,” they are performing the act of marriage rather than just saying it.
The exploration of performative verbs is quite modern. Philosopher JL Austin coined the concept in a series of lectures he gave at Harvard University in 1955, although he originally called them performative utterances . These lectures were later collected and published in a book entitled How to do things with words or How to do things with words . This text deals with the nature of performative verbs, their functioning and their ubiquity in language.
Importance of performative verbs
In the mid-20th century it was said that language was simply a tool to describe truths and falsehoods. It was this true-false dyad of language that especially interested philosophers.
Austin, on the other hand, wanted to show that language was much more than that, thus becoming interested in performative verbs. Instead of describing the world, he claimed that language actually does things in the world. When a married couple says “I do,” they are not just describing an event, they are doing it or carrying it out through the act of speaking.
Although these performative utterances have no real value, there are certain conditions that they must meet to be successful or effective. Austin lists them and calls them felicity conditions . These “conditions” are a list of performative verbs in English that allow the speaker to do something simply by saying it.
It is important to keep in mind that many of these verbs have something to do with expressing something that you are internally thinking or feeling.
Examples of performative verbs
The first example will be in the first person singular to illustrate a performative verb in action, while the second will describe another person performing a performative verb.
Do (do) used in Austin’s example of a wedding ceremony.
- A: Do you take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife ? (do you accept this woman as your lawful wife?)
- B: I do (I accept).
Name used in Austin’s example of naming a ship.
- I name this ship La Barca de Caronte (I name this ship La Barca de Caronte).
Austin’s Paradigm
It is said that there is an Austin paradigm in any sentence that begins with I (I) followed by an illocutionary verb such as promise (promise), apologize (apologize) or request (ask), in present simple and active voice.
Thus, for example, a promise can be made by saying the words I promise to go, but not by saying I promised to go or she promises to go. The first person plural can also be performative, as in We apologize , as can the second person passive, as in You’re fired.
The word hereby (hereby or hereby) can be used before the performative verb to indicate that the utterance in which it appears is the vehicle for performing the act in question. For example, I hereby confirm receipt of the email .
Other examples of performative phrases are:
- In the first person plural: We guarantee your safety (we guarantee your safety).
- Second person singular or plural: You are advised to get vaccinated (we advise you to get vaccinated).
- In impersonal passive: Smoking is prohibited (smoking is prohibited).
Sometimes the performative verb is in the present progressive, as in I’m warning you to stay away (I advise you not to approach) or in I’m asking you for the last time to clean up your room (I ask you for the last time that you tidy up your room). Since the utterances of performative sentences are usually performances of acts of the same type that their main verbs name, Austin has called them explicit performative utterances ( explicit performative utterances) or simply performatives.
performatives and statements
Introducing the notion of performatives, Austin contrasted them with statements such as I state that… (I declare that…), I claim that… (I affirm that…) and I predict that… (I predict that…). These explicit constatives resemble the statements of ordinary declarative sentences in that they describe a state of affairs or state a fact, something Austin denied that performatives do.
However, Austin realized that explicit constatives are relevant and similar to explicit performatives. This is because the main verbs of him also make explicit the type of act performed.
After all, an affirmation or prediction is made with I assert… (I affirm…) or I predict… (I predict…) in the same way that a promise is made with I promise… (I promise…) or a request with I request … (I ask…). Therefore, what makes explicit performatives distinctive is not what the speaker does, but the fact that the speaker makes explicit what he does.
Sources
- Cervantes Virtual Center. (nd). Speech act .
- Gonzales, R. (2006). Performative statements and performative verbs .
- Legal translation. (nd). What are performative verbs and why it is so important to know them .
