J. L. Austin famously distinguished between ‘‘constative’’ utterances that 　　convey information and ‘‘performative’’ utterances that perform actions. In 　　this groundbreaking new book, Douglas Robinson argues that Austin’s 　　distinction can be used to understand linguistic methodologies. 　　Robinson uses Austin’s model to introduce a new distinction between ‘‘consta- 　　tive’’ and ‘‘performative’’ linguistics. Constative linguistics, Robinson suggests, 　　includes methodologies aimed at ‘‘freezing’’ language as an abstract sign system 　　cut off fromthe use of language in actual speech situations. Performative linguis- 　　tics, on the other hand, covers methodologies aimed at exploring how language 　　gets used or ‘‘performed’’ in those speech situations. 　　Robinson then tests his hypothesis on a series of complex speech acts, includ- 　　ing translation, deception, and allusion, and shows that a performative 　　approach to the study of language can explain ALL linguistic complexities, 　　fromthe ordinary to the extraordinary. 　　Drawing on a range of language scholars and theorists including Austin, 　　Grice, Peirce, Bakhtin, Burke, and Derrida, Performative Linguistics consoli- 　　dates the many disparate action-approaches to language into a single coherent 　　new paradigm for the study of language as speech act, as performance ^ as 　　doing things withwords.