perlokutiivinen

Perlokutiivinen refers to the effect achieved by an utterance, the consequences or reactions it produces in the listener. This concept originates from speech act theory, a field of pragmatics that analyzes language in use. John L. Austin, a philosopher of language, introduced the idea of speech acts, distinguishing between the locutionary act (the literal meaning of what is said), the illocutionary act (the speaker's intention or force behind the utterance, such as a promise or a command), and the perlocutionary act (the actual impact on the hearer).

For example, if someone says "It's cold in here," the locutionary act is the statement about the temperature. The illocutionary act could be a request to close a window or turn up the heating. The perlocutionary act would be the listener's response, which might be to close the window, feel annoyed, or ignore the statement altogether. The perlocutionary effect is not about the speaker's intention but about the listener's reception and subsequent behavior. It is the downstream consequence of the speech act. Understanding perlocutionary effects is crucial for analyzing how communication influences people and their actions in real-world contexts. It highlights the power of language to not only convey information but also to persuade, alarm, or comfort.