Spoken Language Theories Flashcards
What is Politeness?
Politeness is the idea that when we use language, we co-operate with the needs of others and try not to impose or offend.
What is politeness dependent on?
Politeness is dependent on context and situation, and can be culturally dependent.
Give a few examples of Politeness Strategies.
- Turn Taking
- Positive and Negative Face Needs
- Supportive Behaviour
- Accommodation
- Modes of Address
- Tact / Hedging
- Saying an appropriate amount
- Avoiding Taboo Subjects
Give a few examples of Politeness Breaches.
- Interruption / Overlaps
- FTA’s (confrontation)
- Divergence
- Inappropriate tone / style
- Saying too much / too little
- Unsupportive behaviour
- Inappropriate topic change
- Irrelevance
- Talking about taboo subjects
What is an Indirect Request?
An Indirect Request is using another form of utterance to express an imperative, as they can sound a bit blunt / forceful.
Who created the Politeness Principle?
The Politeness Principle was created by Robin Lakoff in 1973.
What did Lakoff argue, and what 3 maxims did he create?
Lakoff argued that most speakers want to be polite, and to achieve this, we tend to follow 3 maxims:
- DON’T IMPOSE = make sure our ‘distance’ from the other speaker is appropriate to how we know them.
- GIVE OPINIONS = don’t insist on our demands being met in conversation. This may involve being indirect / hesitant, rather than giving orders.
- MAKE THE RECEIVER(S) FEEL GOOD = say things that make them feel good about themselves
Who created and developed the Face Theory?
Erving Goffman created the Face Theory in 1955. It was developed by Brown and Levinson in 1978 who established positive and negative face.
What does Goffman define ‘face’ as?
Face = the positive public image we seek to establish in social interactions
What is Positive Face?
Positive Face = when we acknowledge people’s desires to be liked and admired (e.g. supportive behaviour)
What is Negative Face?
Negative Face = when we appreciate people’s need not to feel threatened or imposed upon
What is a Face Saving Act?
Face Saving Act = an act or utterance designed to protect another speaker’s face (their self-image or positive view of themselves)
What is a Face Threatening Act?
Face Threatening Act = when politeness strategies aren’t followed and an act or utterance infringes on the speaker’s need to protect their self-esteem
Who created the Accommodation Theory?
The Accommodation Theory was developed by Howard Giles in the 1970’s.
What is the Accommodation Theory?
Accommodation Theory = we change the way we speak to “accommodate” others, depending on where we are and who we are speaking to
What is Received Pronunciation?
Received Pronunciation = the most prestigious accent which is free of regional features
What is Prestige?
Prestige = high status.
Trudgill uses:
1. OVERT PRESTIGE = speech used by a culturally powerful group
2. COVERT PRESTIGE = speech used in a social group where non-standard English is more acceptable
What is Convergence?
Convergence = making speech closer to that of the other person
What is Divergence?
Divergence = moving speech away from that of the other person
What is Upwards Accommodation?
Upwards Accommodation = moving speech closer to RP
What is Downwards Accommodation?
Downwards Accommodation = moving speech away from RP
What is the theory “Pragmatics of Conversation” about?
The linguist Wardaugh suggests that when we analyse or participate in conversations, we should always consider:
1. The setting
2. Who’s listening
3. The purpose / agenda of the interaction
4. What rules and status the participants have
Who was the Speech Act Theory introduced and developed by?
The Speech Act Theory was introduced by Austin and developed by Searle in 1976.
What is the Speech Act Theory about?
This theory considers language as a sort of action and focuses on its intention rather than its meaning.
Austin divided the act into 3 categories:
1. LOCUTIONARY ACT = the act of saying something
2. ILLOCUTIONARY ACT = the intention of the utterance
3. PERLOCUTIONARY ACT = the consequence of the act
What are Felicity Conditions?
Felicity Conditions = the conditions required for the act to be favourable. This is split into 3 categories:
1. Essential Conditions
2. Sincerity Conditions
3. Preparatory Conditions
Who created Grice’s Maxims?
Paul Grice created the Grice’s Maxims theory in 1975
What is the Grice’s Maxims theory about?
This theory is about the cooperative principle of conversation and aims to explain why people behave as they do in certain situations.
What are the maxims of Grice?
Grice proposed 4 maxims (principles) of cooperative conversation:
1. MAXIM OF QUANTITY = don’t say too much / too little
2. MAXIM OF QUALITY = be truthful and say things that can be supported by evidence
3. MAXIM OF MANNER = be as clear as possible; avoid ambiguity
4. MAXIM OF RELEVANCE = make your contribution relevant
*Some people flout / breach Grice’s Maxims.
