Illocuzione e indicatori linguistici

According to J.L. Austin’s original definition, illocution is something we do “in” saying something. Therefore, it is not the same thing as saying something and should not be confused with its linguistic indicators, because it consists in the action that they enable the speaker to perform. However, linguistic research analyzing discourse and its pragmatic aspects should recognize that the codified meanings of many linguistic forms include indications of the kind of illocutionary force to be assigned to the utterance in which they are used. Illocutionary indicators are not exhausted by verbal mood and sentence type. Almost every word contributes, either conventionally or contextually, not only to the expression of a meaning but also to the determination of the illocutionary force or type of illocutionary force to be assigned to the utterance. The paper explicates the notion of illocutionary procedure and shows how it enables us to overcome the opposition of direct and indirect illocutionary acts.