8 • The Performative Utterance (inšā)
abstract
This chapter, part of a series of eight, each of which addresses a different topic within the Persian science of meanings (ʿilm-i maʿānī), examines the ‘performative utterance’ (inšā). It discusses the forms and functions of different types of performative utterances such as orders, interdictions, questions, wishes, vocative expressions, supplications, exclamatory expressions of praise, blame, wonder, hope, oaths, and contractual formulas. This chapter also provides examples of utterances in which the use of a performative, in the appropriate context, conveys secondary meanings beyond the literal sense of the utterance. Examples, mainly from Persian poetry, are given as illustrations.