An
act performed
in saying something. Examples of illocutionary acts are:
Laying a bet
Naming
Promising
Commanding
Warning
Asking
Etc
This is a central concept in
JL Austin's
theory of speech-acts. It is contrasted with the
locutionary and
perlocutionary acts involved in a speech-act. To ask for the (illocutionary)
force of an
utterance is to ask what kind of illocutionary act is being performed. For instance, 'Was what P said a promise or a threat?'