The Function of Speech Acts in a Vatican II Declaration: Gravissimum Educationis

Toon van Gestel*, Fred van Iersel, Kees de Groot

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    Abstract

    This paper provides an analysis of Gravissimum Educationis, the Vatican II declaration on Christian Education. The paper focusses on speech acts as text signals for an ideal reader within the declaration's communication framework. To date, speech acts have not been scrutinized in Vatican II constitutions, decrees, or declarations. An analysis of performative utterances in Gravissimum Educationis is presented on the basis of J.R. Searle's taxonomy on speech acts. The major finding is that in its speech acts, Gravissimum Educationis, as a Vatican II declaration, stands out from previous ecclesiastical documents. As a new form of Church language, it is innovative and, as such, may fit in well with the panegyric literary genre.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)280-304
    Number of pages25
    JournalJET: Journal of empirical theology
    Volume33
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2020

    Keywords

    • Gravissimum Educationis
    • Catholic Education
    • Speech Acts
    • codes taxonomy
    • Panegyric literary Genre

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