Limbă, Literatură, Folclor

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52505/llf.2026.1.06

Abstract:

The article examines the status and specific features of performative verbs within the broader theoretical shift in language studies—from viewing language as a mere instrument for representing reality to understanding it as a form of social action. Within this framework, performative verbs are analysed as explicit markers of illocutionary force, insofar as they make the communicative purpose of the utterance transparent. The study argues that performativity does not constitute an intrinsic and stable property of the verb, nor can it be reduced to the presence of a particular grammatical configuration. Rather, it represents a pragmatic value that is actualized in the act of utterance. Although certain verbs encode in their semantic structure the idea of an institutional or relational act, this lexical predisposition is not sufficient for the effective performance of the act itself. The actualization of illocutionary value is conditioned by pragmatic factors such as the speaker’s intention, their status, the institutional framework, and the intersubjective recognition of the conventions that grant the utterance its efficacy. Performativity thus results from the convergence of lexical meaning, the syntactic organization of the utterance, and the communicative context. Consequently, “to say” becomes “to do” only insofar as language is supported by the concrete conditions of its use.

Keywords: performative verb, performativity, speech act, illocutionary act, communicative intention, illocutionary force, utterance.