Drawing on J. Searle’s speech act theory in the Austinian tradition, this article argues that language use is never value-neutral: locutionary content, illocutionary force, and perlocutionary effect are each saturated with cultural values, ethical commitments, and social relations. Using a conceptual-analytic approach and an illustrative English mini-corpus, we operationalize “axiological load” across these three layers of linguistic practice. We propose a coding scheme for value-laden vocabulary, the conventional commitments associated with illocutionary types (assertives, directives, commissives, expressives, declarations), and socially consequential perlocutionary outcomes. Findings show that: (i) the locutionary layer transmits values through lexical appraisal, framing, and implicature; (ii) illocutionary acts embody rules that generate obligations, rights, or moral norms; and (iii) perlocutionary effects realize or contest norms in interaction. We integrate the analyses into a three-layer model linking semantic choices to normative force and social impact, and we outline theoretical and practical implications for axiolinguistics, discourse analysis, cross-cultural pragmatics, and translation.

speech acts; axiolinguistics; values; illocutionary force; perlocutionary effect; politeness; commitment; discourse; cross-cultural pragmatics.

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