Assertion among the Speech Acts

Abstract

AbstractThis paper discusses how assertion is collocated among the other speech acts, starting from the assumption that, in speech-act theoretical terms, assertion is an illocutionary act. It examines how assertion relates to other illocutionary acts involving the utterance of plain declarative sentences and how it should be collocated within the whole gamut of illocutionary acts. While the former exploration relies upon an intuitive grasp of the family of assertive illocutionary acts, the latter requires a more complete characterization of assertion, in the framework of a reconsideration of illocutionary act classification. Using Austin’s terms, assertion is described as an expositive Verdictive: an act affecting discursive and conversational relations, but also involving judgment and allowing for the transfer of knowledge. Finally, the question is raised of the role or rank of assertion among the illocutionary acts, that is, whether there are any reasons to grant it a special place, or it is just one among the others.