Illocutionary Acts And Sentence Meaning (90% PRO)
In his seminal work , philosopher William P. Alston argues that the meaning of a sentence is fundamentally rooted in its illocutionary act potential . He defines an illocutionary act as the act of saying something with a specific "content," such as a request, an assertion, or a promise. The Core Theory: Sentence Meaning as Potential
A sentence like "It's locked" has a basic meaning because it is usable to perform the act of asserting that something is locked. Illocutionary Acts and Sentence Meaning
Alston explains the performance of these acts through the concept of "taking responsibility" ( In his seminal work , philosopher William P