Between thinking and acting there is speaking. Some reflections on the nature of speech act

Aleksandra Paliczuk

(Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach)
E-mail: aleksandra.paliczuk[at]us.edu.pl
ORCID: 0000-0002-9759-4882
DOI: 10.31261/FLPI.2023.05.12
„Fabrica Litterarum Polono-Italica” 2023, nr 1

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Abstract

This article investigates one of the main notions of pragmatic linguistics, namely, the theory of speech acts. Aleksandra Paliczuk analyzes relations between thought, word, and action. The project involves examining the structure of language and of its components through the ideas of different linguistic schools. It aims to answer the question posed in one of John L. Austin’s works, How to Do Things with Words (1955/1962). It endeavors to explain the capability or the possibility of understanding some words, expressions or sentences, even if their literal meaning differs from the intended one. This article defines the concept of the speech act, also in relation to the contemporary possibilities of communicating in the virtual world, and explains why it entails the three components of thought, word, and action. As a result, we find out that there are many complex relations regarding different human abilities and other forms of activity.