Theory Flashcards
Grice’s Maxisms
Quantity- saying too much/ too little
Quality- saying something untrue
Manner- communicating in an obscure way- be clear and avoid ambiguity
Relation- changing the subject, being irrelevant
What happens if we break the maxims?
We give rise to implicatures (implied meanings we infer from a speaker’s comments).
Politeness Theory- Brown & Levison
We present a persona
Try to be accepted/liked
Be polite/ friendly to others
Get what we want
Negative politeness
“politeness as a strategy for self-protection”.
There are many advantages of practicing this form of sustained negative politeness – keeping a safe distance from others.
More formal lexis & grammar to emphasise a social distance&gain respect
Positive politeness
Positive politeness strategies are intended to avoid giving offense by highlighting friendliness. These strategies include juxtaposing criticism with compliments, establishing common ground, and using jokes, nicknames, honorifics, tag questions, special discourse markers (please), and in-group jargon and slang.
Negative face
Negative face is the desire not to be imposed upon, intruded, or otherwise put upon.
Positive face
Positive face is the desire to be liked, appreciated, approved
Cooperative principle
People work together to communicate
The cooperative principle is a principle of conversation that was proposed by Grice 1975, stating that participants expect that each will make a “conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange.”
Face threatening act
A speech act that may harm self-esteem
Threaten positive/negative face
E.g.
Speaker: Theresa May when did you realise that you’d got the wrong answer to the biggest question of our times in politics
((May coughs & smiles))
Politeness strategies
Distinct ways in which speakers can choose to speak to avoid threatening face
Erving Goffman 1955- Face theory
Interactions always have the potential for face-threatening acts
Example of a negative politeness strategy
Asking for something negative politely- ‘I’m really sorry but could you please turn that down’
Example of politeness strategy
Addresses positive face needs of other person, possibly starting with a compliment like ‘Great album that’
Threatening face example
Using a direct request to the problem¬ worrying about B’s reaction- ‘turn that music down!’
Minimising threat to face with an indirect request ‘this is a great book I’m reading’
Labov Narrative Categories 1972
Structure for how speakers gave accounts of personal experiences in NY
Labov’s Narrative Categories 1972 Concepts: ABSTRACT
Abstract- indication that the speaker wants a listener’s attention& is signalling the start of a narrative
Labov’s Narrative Categories 1972 Concepts: Orientation
The ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘why’- sets the scene and provides background info
Labov’s Narrative Categories 1972 Concepts: Complicating Action (3)
Main body of the narrative
the actual events of the narrative, the occurrences that move it ahead. Complicating actions may be physical actions. They may be also be statements spoken aloud, or they may be thought acts
Labov’s Narrative Categories 1972 Concepts: Resolution (4)
Ending of the narrative that ties up loose ends & provides closure
Labov’s Narrative Categories 1972 Concepts: Coda (5)
A signal that the narrative has ended
External evaluation
An expression of attitude where the speaker ‘stands back’ from the main action
Internal evaluation
An expression of attitude towards events in a narrative occur in the same timeframe as the main action
‘I drove around the one way system WHCIH WAS QUITE SCARY’
‘I managed to avoid stallingTHAT’T QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR ME’
Goodwin’s story structure 1984
Techniques speakers use when building narrative together
Goodwin’s Story Structure 1984 Features: Story Preface
A signal that a speaker wants to tell a story& an invitation for others to show interest
Goodwin’s Story Structure 1984 Features: Story Solicit
A response from someone else that they want to listen
Goodwin’s Story Structure 1984 Features: Preliminary to the story
Background info to the story- ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘why’
Goodwin’s Story Structure 1984 Features: Story Action
The main body of the story
Goodwin’s Story Structure 1984 Features: Story Appreciation
Signals from the audience that communicate their response to the narrative. May be several points during story/at end& could be questions, agreements, laughter or other emotions
Martin Jobs (1962)
Distinguished between 5 different levels of formality. Relevant mostly to spoken.
Martin Jobs 1962: Frozen Level
Use of set phrases in ceremonial/ritual/conventional situations
Martin Jobs 1962: Formal level
Normally used by a speaker addressing an audience where interaction& interruption are not normally permitted
Consultative Level
Level of formality used in exchanges between people who are not family, friends/ acquaintances but where interaction between & among speakers is the norm
Martin Jobs 1962: Casual Level
People know each other well& informal settings
Features can include use of colloquial forms, interruptions expected
Martin Jobs 1962: Intimate Level
Private communication e.g. family members & close friends. May use a kind of code with invented words (Nigella ‘Microwave’)
Norman Fairclough 1955
Describes synthetic personalisation as ‘the stimulation of a private face-to-face, person to person discourse in public mass-audience discourse’
