Author: J. L. Austin
_J. L. Austin_
Reading time: 20 minutes
Synopsis
How to Do Things with Words (1962) begins with a simple but important idea: when we speak, we are also doing things. The book explains how promises, apologies, and statements quietly build our society every day. This is a book that might change how you think about language.
What’s in it for me? You will understand language better, and see how words can do things.
Most of us talk every day without thinking much about language. We make promises, warn people, say sorry, and end arguments. We do all this with just a few words. But J. L. Austin wanted to understand more clearly what happens when we speak. He wanted to change old ideas in philosophy that said language was only about sharing ideas and facts. As the title says, How to Do Things with Words shows that words do more than that. Words are part of actions, power, and how we live together in society.
This book is special because it comes from 12 talks Austin gave. In these talks, he asked people to think carefully about the secret work language does every moment. A sentence can make someone promise something for the future. It can change how people feel about each other. Or it can quickly change what people think is okay to do.
This summary will guide you to see how speaking is a way of doing things. It is a way of acting in the world that gently changes our reality every time we speak.
Blink 1 – Moving beyond true or false
Let’s start with a question that seems simple but is actually tricky: Why do we make statements? For a very long time, thinkers believed that statements, things we say, and sentences were mainly used to describe the world. You would say something, and the listener would only decide if it was true or false. This idea about language seemed so normal that no one questioned it for many years. But Austin found some big problems with this general idea.
For example, some things we say every day don’t fit the idea of being true or false. Think about someone saying, “I bet you a dollar it’ll rain tomorrow.” Or someone at a wedding saying, “I do.” Or someone breaking a bottle on a boat and saying, “I name this ship the Queen Elizabeth.” Also, when people say sorry or make a promise, something happens just by speaking. The words themselves are doing the action.
So, we can think of these sayings as performative. They don’t just tell us facts. They are more like making a move in a game. Saying the words actually does the action, if the situation is correct. Here, we stop thinking about general meanings. Instead, we look at the real situation: who is speaking, when, and under what rules.
These are not rare or strange things; they happen all the time in our daily lives. When you promise, you create a duty. A judge’s decision ends an argument. A greeting starts a conversation with someone.
But it’s interesting: once you see how language can *do* things, you start to see it in less clear ways. Many things we say, even without special ‘doing’ words, still act in similar ways. A sentence that seems to just describe something can also include promises, expectations, or power. It depends on how and where it is said. So, maybe ‘performative’ sayings are not a small, clear group. Instead, they might be part of many more sayings that also do things, even if they don’t say so openly.
Think about the statement, “You’ll be here tomorrow.” At first, it might not sound like it’s *doing* something. But if a boss said this to an employee after a difficult meeting, then it becomes a strong command.
The power of language is not only in special kinds of speech. It appears in everyday statements in quiet and changing ways. This is the main idea we will build on: we will think of speaking as something with many layers. It is flexible and strongly connected to *how* we use words, not just the words themselves. We will see that speaking is a way of doing. The meaning is not only in the words, but in the actions that the words perform.
Now, if words are actions, a new question comes up: What needs to happen for these actions to work well? This question brings us to the next part.
Blink 2 – What it takes for words to work
Let’s change our focus for a moment. Let’s not think about what some sayings *do*. Instead, let’s see how they *can* do anything. When we see words as actions, we naturally ask what makes these actions work, fail, or not happen at all. This is like the hidden rules that help us speak in daily life.
First, we must understand that performative sayings need shared rules – things we all agree on. A promise works because everyone understands what ‘making a promise’ means. A judge’s decision in court is important because the judge has a special role in our society. Because of these shared rules, language is part of our social customs long before anyone speaks. So, speaking is a way of joining and using these customs. For this reason, we can call them speech acts.
Austin has another word for this: he calls them felicity conditions. These are the basic things that must be true for a speech act to work well. The correct person must speak, in the correct situation, and follow the agreed rules. When these things are right, the words do what they are supposed to do.
When they aren’t, something interesting happens.
Speech acts can go wrong in many ways. Sometimes, they fail completely – like a wedding led by someone who isn’t allowed to, or a bet made without agreement. You might have heard someone speak who doesn’t really mean what they say. Their words sound empty, and you know they won’t keep their promise. These failures teach us a lot. They show how much depends on what the speaker truly means, if they have the right to speak, and the situation. The words alone are not enough.
These examples show that language is a social activity where many parts must work together. For speaking to succeed, the speaker, the listener, the situation, and the shared rules must all match. Even being honest becomes more than just a personal feeling. It is a necessary part of how speech acts work, and the custom itself relies on it.
Language is both sensitive and amazing. It’s sensitive because small problems in the situation can stop a saying from working. It’s amazing because words often complete difficult social tasks very well and quickly.
Next, we will look more deeply at how we can group different types of language.
Blink 3 – Rethinking the performative
Performative sayings have shown us how speaking can be an action. Felicity conditions have shown how closely these actions are connected to social situations. Now, let’s go back to how we find performative statements. Let’s look at everything again with new eyes.
We already used the example of your boss saying, “You’ll be here tomorrow.” But many normal statements can seem like simple descriptions. Yet, they act in ways that *do* things, which is surprising.
If someone says, “I believe it’s raining,” this can also be performative. The speaker is showing their opinion. Also, saying “I warn you” and “It’s dangerous” can work in similar ways, depending on the situation. The difference is often not in the sentence structure. It’s more about how the words are used.
It becomes impossible to put sentences into strict groups. Instead, we need to notice what people are doing with their words in certain situations. Statements that once seemed just about facts now seem to be part of actions. These actions include stating, admitting, advising, or insisting. Even saying something true can be connected to making statements, checking facts, and supporting claims.
The meaning of our words comes from how we use them. Words get their power from their part in conversations, from what people expect, and from the promises they make. This does not mean facts or descriptions are not important. Instead, it puts them into a wider, more interesting world of speech acts. Almost everything we say can include an action. It shapes our social world as we speak.
With this idea, let’s look at a clearer way to describe what happens every time someone speaks. In the next part, we’ll see a system that helps us understand this wider view. It is a way to name the many layers of action found even in the simplest sentence.
Blink 4 – Three things we do when we speak
By now, we have thought about common groups of words and made the idea of ‘action’ in language broader. Now it’s time to show a system that helps put all these new ideas in order. Every time someone speaks, we can see that different kinds of actions happen at the same time.
The first level is the locutionary act. This is simply making sounds or marks that have meaning. It includes choosing words, using correct grammar, and saying something that people can understand. It covers words, sentence structure, and referring to things. Simply put, it’s when a sentence has a clear meaning and can be explained in other words or translated.
The second level is the illocutionary act, and this is very important. Here, we ask what the speaker is *doing* by speaking. Are they stating a fact, warning someone, making a promise, asking for something, or giving advice? This is the power or *purpose* of what is said – the social action it performs. Two sentences with the exact same words can have very different illocutionary power. This depends on how they are said, the situation, and the context.
The third level is the perlocutionary act. This is about what happens *after* someone speaks. A warning might make someone scared. An argument might make someone change their mind. A compliment might make someone feel better. These effects are important, but the speaker cannot fully control them. They depend on what the listener does or feels.
Here is an example of one sentence and how we can understand it using all three levels.
Someone says, “The door is open.” At the locutionary level, the sentence is clear. It means a certain door is not shut. We could easily translate it into another language.
Now, if a teacher says the same sentence, the next level – the illocutionary act, or its *force* – means it acts as a warning or a request to shut the door. The words are still the same, but the meaning of the action changes.
So, what is the perlocutionary act – what effect does it have? Well, after hearing “The door is open,” a student stands up and closes it. They feel a little embarrassed for not seeing it earlier. That reaction – what the student did and felt – is the perlocutionary level. It depends on how the listener understood the words.
With this three-part model, you can understand how rich everyday talking is. It doesn’t reduce it to just one use. A simple sentence can say a fact, do an action, and cause an effect, all at once. Austin’s system gives names to these connected parts. This makes it easier to see how they work together.
Next, we will look closely at the different types of illocutionary acts people do daily. We will ask how they can be put into groups and compared. This will lead us to the last part of the summary.
Blink 5 – Classifying speech acts
Now that we have a strong system, let’s go a step further and aim a bit higher. If speaking always has an illocutionary power, then we want to know what kinds of powers there are. So, let’s look at a simple guide to the different actions people do when they speak.
Austin suggests several main groups of illocutionary acts. Each group shows a common way language works in our social lives.
First, there are verdictives. As the name suggests, these are statements that give decisions, opinions, or evaluations. They are often based on proof or power. “Based on the evidence, I find the defendant not guilty,” is a very good example.
Another type of illocutionary act is exercitives. These include decisions, giving permission, or giving orders. They show power or influence. For example, a CEO saying, “You may begin the meeting now.”
Then there are commissives. These are when the speaker promises to do something later. Promises or vows are examples. Telling your friend, “I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know,” is a common example.
A fourth type of illocutionary power is behabitives. These include social actions like saying sorry, congratulating someone, or thanking them. “I’m sorry for interrupting you earlier,” is a common behabitive statement.
Finally, there are expositives. These help to arrange a discussion. They make clear how words are used in arguments, explanations, or talks. You might add one of these to a statement, for example, by saying: “To make my point clearer, I mean ‘freedom’ in a legal way, not a political way.”
Sometimes, a statement might fit into more than one group, depending on the situation. Other statements might not fit into any group.
For example, if someone says, “I stand by this decision, and I’ll take responsibility if it goes wrong.” With these words, the speaker is judging the decision. They are also promising to be responsible later. And they are comforting those who are worried. The sentence does not fit perfectly into just one group.
But don’t think of these as problems. It’s better to see it as a useful part, not a mistake. It shows that language is something we do based on human goals. It’s not a system that can be perfectly put into lists. We try to group speech acts only to help us notice the many things people do with words. It also helps us see how different situations can change what a statement means to do.
The goal is not to fit language into just one theory. It’s to understand its different parts well enough to see how they connect. Everyday talks seem different once we hear words as actions happening over time. These actions create duties, allow things, and set expectations.
So don’t worry too much about the special words. Instead, try to listen in a new way. Pay attention to what people are *doing* with their words, not just what they are saying, every time they speak.
Final summary
The main idea of this summary for How to Do Things with Words by J. L. Austin is this: If we change how we look at things just a little, we can start to see and understand language in a new way.
It begins by seeing that speaking every day is a type of action. Promises, warnings, apologies, decisions, and explanations all show how words are part of our social lives. They do this by making promises, forming expectations, and helping people work together.
What we mean when we speak comes not just from the words and grammar. It also comes from the situation, shared rules, and the clear actions people take when they speak. Knowing about the ‘doing’ parts of our words, the conditions for them to work (felicity conditions), and the difference between locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts can help us understand better how we truly communicate.
The main lesson to keep is to pay close attention. Listen for what words are *doing* in real situations. See how much of our social world is created, kept, and changed just by speaking.
Locution: That is the end. Illocution: Please give a rating. Perlocution: You want to give a rating. Now, go and do things with words. See you in the next summary.
Source: https://www.blinkist.com/https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/how-to-do-things-with-words-en