constative
/ˈkɒnstətɪv
/ /kənˈsteɪtɪv /Linguistics
adjective
Denoting a speech act or sentence that is a statement declaring something to be the case: a constative sentence...Often contrasted with performative.
- Performative criticism begins in the gap between constative sense and dramatic consequences.
- The argument that the act of stating or describing is in fact performative must take the form of constative statements.
- In a fundamental conflict between constative force and performative possibility, the assuring parataxis itself begins to serve as a resistant marker of performatives that potentially contradict its simple narrative.
noun
A constative speech act or sentence: constatives present a true or false account of the facts of the case...
- While explicitly posing the question of whether the performance of this ethical language can ever be free of the constative (the language of ontology), his own performance of the ethics of reading is impressive indeed.
- His speech act, ‘I confess to stealing the ribbon,’ is at once a constative (it describes something) and a performative (it does something, it produces the scene of guilt).
- The tension between the performative and constative emerges clearly also in literature, where the difficulty she encounters of separating performative and constative can be seen as a crucial feature of the functioning of language.
Origin
Early 20th century: from Latin constat- 'established' (from the verb constare) + -ive.