Spoken Language Theories

Question 1

What is Politeness?

Answer 1

Politeness is the idea that when we use language, we co-operate with the needs of others and try not to impose or offend.

Question 2

What is politeness dependent on?

Answer 2

Politeness is dependent on context and situation, and can be culturally dependent.

Question 3

Give a few examples of Politeness Strategies.

Answer 3

• Turn Taking
• Positive and Negative Face Needs
• Supportive Behaviour
• Accommodation
• Modes of Address
• Tact / Hedging
• Saying an appropriate amount
• Avoiding Taboo Subjects

Question 4

Give a few examples of Politeness Breaches.

Answer 4

• Interruption / Overlaps
• FTA’s (confrontation)
• Divergence
• Inappropriate tone / style
• Saying too much / too little
• Unsupportive behaviour
• Inappropriate topic change
• Irrelevance
• Talking about taboo subjects

Question 5

What is an Indirect Request?

Answer 5

An Indirect Request is using another form of utterance to express an imperative, as they can sound a bit blunt / forceful.

Question 6

Who created the Politeness Principle?

Answer 6

The Politeness Principle was created by Robin Lakoff in 1973.

Question 7

What did Lakoff argue, and what 3 maxims did he create?

Answer 7

Lakoff argued that most speakers want to be polite, and to achieve this, we tend to follow 3 maxims:

1. DON’T IMPOSE = make sure our ‘distance’ from the other speaker is appropriate to how we know them.
2. GIVE OPINIONS = don’t insist on our demands being met in conversation. This may involve being indirect / hesitant, rather than giving orders.
3. MAKE THE RECEIVER(S) FEEL GOOD = say things that make them feel good about themselves

Question 8

Who created and developed the Face Theory?

Answer 8

Erving Goffman created the Face Theory in 1955. It was developed by Brown and Levinson in 1978 who established positive and negative face.

Question 9

What does Goffman define ‘face’ as?

Answer 9

Face = the positive public image we seek to establish in social interactions

Question 10

What is Positive Face?

Answer 10

Positive Face = when we acknowledge people’s desires to be liked and admired (e.g. supportive behaviour)

Question 11

What is Negative Face?

Answer 11

Negative Face = when we appreciate people’s need not to feel threatened or imposed upon

Question 12

What is a Face Saving Act?

Answer 12

Face Saving Act = an act or utterance designed to protect another speaker’s face (their self-image or positive view of themselves)

Question 13

What is a Face Threatening Act?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Who created the Accommodation Theory?

Answer 14

The Accommodation Theory was developed by Howard Giles in the 1970’s.

Question 15

What is the Accommodation Theory?

Answer 15

Accommodation Theory = we change the way we speak to “accommodate” others, depending on where we are and who we are speaking to

Question 16

What is Received Pronunciation?

Answer 16

Received Pronunciation = the most prestigious accent which is free of regional features

Question 17

What is Prestige?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What is Convergence?

Answer 18

Convergence = making speech closer to that of the other person

Question 19

What is Divergence?

Answer 19

Divergence = moving speech away from that of the other person

Question 20

What is Upwards Accommodation?

Answer 20

Upwards Accommodation = moving speech closer to RP

Question 21

What is Downwards Accommodation?

Answer 21

Downwards Accommodation = moving speech away from RP

Question 22

What is the theory “Pragmatics of Conversation” about?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Who was the Speech Act Theory introduced and developed by?

Answer 23

The Speech Act Theory was introduced by Austin and developed by Searle in 1976.

Question 24

What is the Speech Act Theory about?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

What are Felicity Conditions?

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Who created Grice’s Maxims?

Answer 26

Paul Grice created the Grice’s Maxims theory in 1975

Question 27

What is the Grice’s Maxims theory about?

Answer 27

This theory is about the cooperative principle of conversation and aims to explain why people behave as they do in certain situations.

Question 28

What are the maxims of Grice?

Answer 28

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.