What is a propositional act?

Definition
	A propositional act is a speech act that a speaker performs when referring or predicating in an utterance.

Example (English)
	The following utterances all have the same propositional act despite their different illocutionary acts, utterance acts, and perlocutionary acts: You go home. Do you go home? Go home! How I wish you’d go home!

Generic
	A propositional act is a kind of
	What is a speech act?

Source
	Searle 1969 23–24

Context for this page:

Concept module: propositional act
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): P
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

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