Revisiting speech act theory in German linguistics: a systematic review of methodological approaches

Speech act theory continues to offer essential insights into how language functions as action, yet in the context of German linguistics its methodological treatment has often been fragmented. This review takes a deliberately integrative approach, reconceptualizing speech acts as fundamental units of meaning through the combined use of corpus-assisted discourse analysis and socio-cognitive models. Anchored in the seminal work of Austin and Searle, and enriched by the contributions of Grice, Brown & Levinson, Leech, and Habermas, the study asks two central questions: How have methodological innovations shaped the study of speech acts in German linguistics, and what theoretical gaps remain, particularly at the intersection of cross-cultural and computational research? Drawing on academic, political, and media discourse, it weaves together findings from literature review, corpus analysis, and ethnographic observation. The results show, for example, that corpus data reveal consistent politeness strategies in political debates, while socio-cognitive interpretation brings to light subtler, context-dependent functions that single-method approaches tend to overlook. This methodological synthesis not only bridges theory and application but also offers a framework that is adaptable to multilingual and intercultural contexts, advancing the analytical depth and relevance of speech act research in German linguistics.