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In English, for example, the interrogative is supposed to indicate that the utterance is (intended as) a question; the directive indicates that the utterance is (intended as) a directive illocutionary act (an order, a request, etc.); the words "I promise" are supposed to indicate that the utterance is (intended as) a promise.
an illocutionary act: the active result of the implied request or meaning presented by the locutionary act. For example, if the locutionary act in an interaction is the question "Is there any salt?" the implied illocutionary request is "Please pass the salt to me." or at least "I wish to add salt to my meal.";
After mentioning several examples of sentences which are not so used, and not truth-evaluable (among them nonsensical sentences, interrogatives, directives and "ethical" propositions), he introduces "performative" sentences or illocutionary act as another instance. [1]
To perform an illocutionary act is to use a locution with a certain force. It is an act performed in saying something, in contrast with a locution, the act of saying something. Eliciting an answer is an example of what Austin calls a perlocutionary act, an act performed by saying something. Notice that if one successfully performs a perlocution ...
Conventionality of procedure: the procedure (e.g. an oath) follows its conventional form; Appropriate participants and circumstances: the participants are able to perform a felicitous speech act under the circumstances (e.g. a judge can sentence a criminal in court, but not on the street)
For example, in the sentences below, 1 and 2 differ only in the verb and both are acceptable. In the corresponding pair, 3 and 4, the use of "hereby" before the non-performative verb see is not coherent because the action of seeing is not performed simply by its utterance. I confer this award; I see this award; I hereby confer this award
It’s an act I’ve seen the Detroit Lions coach perform many times, and yet it said so much about who he is as a person and lot about why he’s a good coach with the potential for the kind of ...
[6] [7] National security directives 1 operate like executive orders, but are only in the area of national security. They have been issued by different presidents under various names. They have been issued by different presidents under various names.