Performative Utterance

A performative utterance is a type of statement that does not just describe or report something but actually performs an action through the act of saying it. For example, when a judge says, “I hereby pronounce you husband and wife,” the act of speaking creates the marriage. Such utterances rely on the context and the authority of the speaker to be effective. They are different from regular statements because their primary function is to bring about a change or enact an action simply by being spoken.