Some utterances perform rather than describe, so words can constitute facts and not merely report them.
Austin's 1962 lectures. "I promise", "I name this ship" and "you are hereby dismissed" do not describe anything — they create the fact, which is how institutions make reality out of words.
In practice
- A registrar saying "I now pronounce you" has not reported a marriage; the sentence is the marriage.
- A board resolution does not describe a decision; it is the decision, which is why the wording is contested and the discussion is not.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Communication & Media
- Essay
- Theories of what stands between an event and its audience