"This is the study that gave rise to the theory of "speech acts" and "performative acts," a central concept of my book. It is not an easy read, but the idea is powerful (and much of subsequent linguistics and rhetorical theory is based on it). For Austin, some of the most interesting things about language are the ways we use it to do things that have nothing to do with vocabulary and syntax. Equally important is a realization that comes as soon as one understands Austin's notion of the "illocutionary force" of speech acts: human beings are extraordinarily adept at correctly interpreting nuance and irony. How can that be, when there are no linguistic cues for it, and only the faintest tonal or gesticular markers? This is not a small problem (indeed, it is the fundamental issue in "theory of mind"). It is also, of course, a problem for all scholars who study any period in the distant past: what nuances and ironies are we missing in our sources, and how can we recognize them?"