Kommissiven

Kommissiven, in linguistics commonly called commissive acts, form a category of illocutionary acts in which the speaker commits to a future action. By making a commitment, the speaker influences the addressee's expectations and plans. Typical examples are promises, pledges, and guarantees, but the category also covers other commitments stated or implied by future-oriented language.

In analysis, commissives are distinguished from other illocutionary acts such as representatives, directives, expressives, and verdictives. They are often realized with verbs that explicitly name the commitment (promise, vow, guarantee) or through constructions that express intention to act. The force of a commissive depends on the speaker’s credibility, the context, and whether the speaker can fulfill the stated obligation.

Cross-linguistically, commissive marking varies: some languages use dedicated verbs, others rely on aspect, tense, or discourse structures to signal commitment. In pragmatics, commissives support cooperative interaction by enabling coordination and commitment, while also introducing risks if the obligation cannot be met.

Additional notes: Some classifications treat threats or certain refusals as commissives when they frame an anticipated future action or consequence, but other schemes treat them as separate illocutionary types. The study of commissives is linked to speech-act theory, contract-like language, and politeness, with foundational work in the tradition of Austin and Searle.