Theory

Question 1

Grice’s Maxisms

Answer 1

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

Question 2

What happens if we break the maxims?

Answer 2

We give rise to implicatures (implied meanings we infer from a speaker’s comments).

Question 3

Politeness Theory- Brown & Levison

Answer 3

We present a persona
Try to be accepted/liked
Be polite/ friendly to others
Get what we want

Question 4

Negative politeness

Answer 4

“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

Question 5

Positive politeness

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

Negative face

Answer 6

Negative face is the desire not to be imposed upon, intruded, or otherwise put upon.

Question 7

Positive face

Answer 7

Positive face is the desire to be liked, appreciated, approved

Question 8

Cooperative principle

Answer 8

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.”

Question 9

Face threatening act

Answer 9

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))

Question 10

Politeness strategies

Answer 10

Distinct ways in which speakers can choose to speak to avoid threatening face

Question 11

Erving Goffman 1955- Face theory

Answer 11

Interactions always have the potential for face-threatening acts

Question 12

Example of a negative politeness strategy

Answer 12

Asking for something negative politely- ‘I’m really sorry but could you please turn that down’

Question 13

Example of politeness strategy

Answer 13

Addresses positive face needs of other person, possibly starting with a compliment like ‘Great album that’

Question 14

Threatening face example

Answer 14

Using a direct request to the problem&not 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’

Question 15

Labov Narrative Categories 1972

Answer 15

Structure for how speakers gave accounts of personal experiences in NY

Question 16

Labov’s Narrative Categories 1972 Concepts: ABSTRACT

Answer 16

Abstract- indication that the speaker wants a listener’s attention& is signalling the start of a narrative

Question 17

Labov’s Narrative Categories 1972 Concepts: Orientation

Answer 17

The ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘why’- sets the scene and provides background info

Question 18

Labov’s Narrative Categories 1972 Concepts: Complicating Action (3)

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Labov’s Narrative Categories 1972 Concepts: Resolution (4)

Answer 19

Ending of the narrative that ties up loose ends & provides closure

Question 20

Labov’s Narrative Categories 1972 Concepts: Coda (5)

Answer 20

A signal that the narrative has ended

Question 21

External evaluation

Answer 21

An expression of attitude where the speaker ‘stands back’ from the main action

Question 22

Internal evaluation

Answer 22

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’

Question 23

Goodwin’s story structure 1984

Answer 23

Techniques speakers use when building narrative together

Question 24

Goodwin’s Story Structure 1984 Features: Story Preface

Answer 24

A signal that a speaker wants to tell a story& an invitation for others to show interest

Question 25

Goodwin’s Story Structure 1984 Features: Story Solicit

Answer 25

A response from someone else that they want to listen

Question 26

Goodwin’s Story Structure 1984 Features: Preliminary to the story

Answer 26

Background info to the story- ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘why’

Question 27

Goodwin’s Story Structure 1984 Features: Story Action

Answer 27

The main body of the story

Question 28

Goodwin’s Story Structure 1984 Features: Story Appreciation

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Martin Jobs (1962)

Answer 29

Distinguished between 5 different levels of formality. Relevant mostly to spoken.

Question 30

Martin Jobs 1962: Frozen Level

Answer 30

Use of set phrases in ceremonial/ritual/conventional situations

Question 31

Martin Jobs 1962: Formal level

Answer 31

Normally used by a speaker addressing an audience where interaction& interruption are not normally permitted

Question 32

Consultative Level

Answer 32

Level of formality used in exchanges between people who are not family, friends/ acquaintances but where interaction between & among speakers is the norm

Question 33

Martin Jobs 1962: Casual Level

Answer 33

People know each other well& informal settings

Features can include use of colloquial forms, interruptions expected

Question 34

Martin Jobs 1962: Intimate Level

Answer 34

Private communication e.g. family members & close friends. May use a kind of code with invented words (Nigella ‘Microwave’)

Question 35

Norman Fairclough 1955

Answer 35

Describes synthetic personalisation as ‘the stimulation of a private face-to-face, person to person discourse in public mass-audience discourse’