Editing Speech Act Theory (section)

== <span style="color: #FFFFFF;">Understanding</span> ==
Speech act theory is understood through '''Action''' and '''Authority'''.

'''1. Words that "Build" (Performatives)''':
Language is not just a "Mirror" of reality.
* If I say "The cat is on the mat," nothing in the world changes.
* If a Judge says "I sentence you to 10 years," the world **Actually Changes**.
* The Judge has "Performed a Declaration."
* Speech Act Theory shows that "Social Reality" (Money, Marriage, Laws) is built entirely out of "Words that Act."

'''2. The "Hidden" Request (Indirect Acts)''':
Humans are "Polite" and "Complex."
* If a guest says "It's getting a bit cold in here," they are not just "Making an Assertive" (stating a fact).
* They are "Making a Directive" (asking you to close the window).
* We "Decode" these acts using "Context" and "Social Rules." A "Robot" might just say 'Yes, it is cold' and do nothing.

'''3. The "Power of Promise" (Commissives)''':
When you "Promise," you "Bind the Future."
* You are creating a "Moral Debt" using nothing but "Vibrated Air."
* If you break the promise, the "Speech Act" was "Infelicitous" (it failed).
* Trust is the "Currency" of Speech Acts.

'''Austin's 'How to Do Things with Words' (1955)'''': The book that "Revolutionized" linguistics. Before Austin, philosophers only cared about "Truth" (Assertives). Austin proved that "Truth" is only one small part of what we use language for. Most of life is "Doing," not "Stating."
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