Editorial to the Special Issue of Poznań Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities: Normativity and Variety of Speech Actions. In: M. Witek and I. Witczak-Plisiecka (Eds.), Normativity and Variety of Speech Actions, Leiden: Brill 2019, 1-20 (Poznań Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities, 112).

Abstract

This editorial introduces the special issue Normativity and Variety of Speech Actions, which explores contemporary developments in speech act theory understood broadly as a theory of linguistic action. Building on the Austinian insight that speaking is a form of doing, the volume highlights the normative dimensions of speech actions and the diversity of their manifestations across discourse types and social practices. Contributions by Marina Sbisà, Brian Ball, and Maciej Witek examine different kinds of norms governing illocutionary practice, including constitutive rules, commitments, obligations, and coordination. Papers by Anita Fetzer, Dennis Kurzon, Cristina Corredor, Milada Hirshova, Marcin Matczak, and Mateusz Włodarczyk extend speech act theory to discourse, silence, irony, political communication, legal interpretation, and experimental semantics. Together, the papers demonstrate how speech act theory, when combined with interactional, pragmatic, and interdisciplinary perspectives, provides a powerful framework for analysing meaning, normativity, and social action in language use.