The epistemological basis of Western pragmatics before J.L.Austin

Abstract

In this work, we shed light on the cognitive backgrounds that preceded the official emergence of “pragmatics” at the hands of the philosopher J. L. Austin after publishing his book “How Things Are Made with Words.” He introduced a pivotal concept in pragmatics, which is the concept of the “speech act” branched into three simultaneous acts. Thus, he announced the birth of a procedural concept that heralds a new linguistic approach. This was not what Austin intended. Rather, he was concerned with something else, which is establishing a new linguistic philosophy based on practical dimensions. Usage is summarized by the concept of "act".