%0 Journal Article %T On the Distinction of Constative and Performative Sentences %A Liming Zhang %A Jie Han %A Jiayi Li %J Open Journal of Modern Linguistics %P 828-833 %@ 2164-2834 %D 2020 %I Scientific Research Publishing %R 10.4236/ojml.2020.106052 %X J. Austin was the first philosopher and linguist who elaborated the performative function of language, which developed into speech act theory, one of the most important theories of early pragmatics. His elaboration of the performative function begins with the distinction of constative and performative sentences. This article reviews how J. Austin¡¯s distinction of constative and performative was formed. It also shows the significance of the distinction for the 20th century philosophy and linguistics. %K Constative Sentences %K Performative %K Sentences %K Speech Act Theory %U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=105807