Key Theories Flashcards
Grice’s Maxims
quantity: appropriate amount of detail
Quality: the truth and not misleading
Relevance: relevant to topic.
Manner: avoid vagueness and ambiguity.
Giles’s accommodation theory
Convergent accommodation: Howard Giles proposed that when speakers seek approval in a social situation they are likely to change their speech so that it suits the listener.
Divergent accommodation: This is when the speaker wants to disassociate themselves from the audience so therefore change their speech to show how they are different.
Goffman’s idea 1955 - Face Theory
In any interaction, we present an image of ourselves to others which is called our face.
Brown and Levinson 1987
They develop Goffman’s idea of face by referring to positive and negative politeness.
Positive Politeness is when we show people that they are liked and admired
Negative politeness is shown when we avoid intruding on others’ lives. Politeness can be affected by cultural factors and Britain has been identified as a culture that stresses negative politeness.
Face Threatening Acts
Brown and Levinson also argue that since it is seen of mutual interest to save, maintain or support each other’s face, FTAs are either avoided if possible or different strategies are employed to counteract or soften the FTAs.
Brown and Levinson’s super strategies (excluding positive and negative politeness.)
- Bald-on-record: FTA performed in a direct and concise way without redressive action. for example imperative form without any redress: ‘Wash your hands’
- Off Record: FTA performed off-record. Strategies that might allow the act to have more than one interpretation. e.g. hints, metaphors, tautologies, etc. ‘Gardening makes your hands dirty’ or ‘it’s getting cold in here.
- Avoidance: FTA not performed.
Culpeper
he notes that positive facework attempts to provide the pill with a sugar coating; negative facework attempts to soften the blow.
