用合作原则和礼貌理论分析《理智与情感》中的会话含义

1、硕士学位论文答辩用合作原则和礼貌理论分析理智与情感中的会话含义AN ANALYSIS OF CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURE IN SENCE AND SENSIBILITY FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE AND THE POLITENESS THEORIES 学院： 专业： 答辩人 ： 指导教师：Abstract In this thesis, the author attempts to analyze conversational implicature in Sense and Sensibil

2、ity from the perspectives of Cooperative Principle and the politeness theory, then achieves some significances. Firstly, the author summarizes some characteristics reflected from the dialogues of characters, which is benefit to enhance peoples understanding of this novel. Moreover, the analysis in t

3、his thesis is useful for people to master and apply these theories. Meanwhile, it also proves the validity of using pragmatic theories to study the implicature in literary works. Last but not the least, the analyzing of dialogues in the novel may help people flexibly and appropriately employ the pol

4、iteness principles or politeness strategies to facilitate the communicative effects and maintain the stable and harmonious relationship in human interaction. FrameworkAbstractIntroductionLiterature ReviewTheoretical FrameworkConversational Implicature in Sense and SensibilityComclusion1 Introduction

5、 Introduction Background of the StudyPurpose and Significance of the StudyResearch MethodologyOrganization of the Thesis2 Literature ReviewPrevious Studies onthe Cooperative Principlethe Politeness TheoriesJane Austen and her Sense and SensibilityAbroad and at HomeSummary 3 Theoretical FrameworkTheo

6、retical FrameworkCooperativePrinciplePoliteness PrinciplePoliteness TheoryConversational Implicature DeductionMaxims/Floutas a Rescue to CP /MaximsFace/FTAs/Off-record PolitenessMaim Influencing FactorsRelationshipSummary3.1 Grices Cooperative PrincipleThe CP is a set of assumed maxims, which should

7、 be followed by both sides who hope to understand the other better in conversation. It states “Make your contribution such as it is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.”3.1.1 Four Maxims of the Cooperative Prin

8、cipleThe CP contains four related maxims:I) QUANTITY: Try to make the information of your contribution be appropriate 2) QUALITY: Try to make your contribution one that is true.3) RELATION: Be relevant.4) MANNER: Be perspicuous.3.1.2 Flouting the MaximsHowever, in actual human interaction, not all t

9、he people in the conversation obey these rules. They even violate the maxims deliberately. I) Flouting the Maxim of Quantity and generating conversational implicature 2) Flouting the Maxim of Quality and generating conversational implicature 3) Flouting the Maxim of Relevance and generating conversa

10、tional implicature 4) Flouting the Maxim of Manner and generating conversational implicature3.2 Leechs Politeness Principle3.2.1 PP as a Complement to the CPDue to the CP in itself is not sufficient to explain “ why people are often so indirect in conveying what they mean; and what is the relationsh

11、ip between sense and force when non-declarative types of sentences are being considered”. In 1983, Leech proposed Politeness Principle (abbrev. PP ) so as to rescue the CP. 3.2.2 Maxims of the PP1) TACT MAXIM (in impositives and commissives) 2) GENERASITY MAXIM (in impositives and commissives)3) APP

12、ROBATION MAXIM (in expressives and assertives)4) MODESTY MAXIM (in expressives and assertives)5) AGREEMENT MAXIM (in assertives)6) SYMPATHY MAXIM (in assertives)3.3 Brown and Levinsons Politeness TheoryIn 1978, Brown and Levinson issued a paper named “Universals in Language Usage: Politeness Phenome

13、na”, which firstly gives a systematical discussion about politeness and face, and arouses great concerns in the linguistic circle. The three key concepts in it are: face, face threatening acts (abbrev. FTA) and politeness strategy.3.3.1 The Concept of Face The concept of face is the core of Brown an

14、d Levinsons Politeness Theory. Face can be defined as “the public self-image of a person and it refers to that emotional and social sense of self that every one has and expects everyone else to recognize.”They believe that people have negative face and positive face. Negative face is the want of eve

15、ry “competent adult member” that his actions be unimpeded by others.Positive face is the want of every member that his wants be desirable to at least some others.3.3.2 Face-threatening Acts (FTAs)Brown and Levinson point out there are some language behaviors in essence go against with the face of co

16、mmunicators, which are called Face-threatening Acts (FTA).In order not to threaten face or minimize the face damage, people usually employ certain strategies. 3.3.3 Off-record PolitenessBrown and Levinson proposed five kinds of redressive strategies: (1) bald on record without redressive actions; (2

17、) positive politeness; (3) negative politeness; (4) off record politeness; (5) Dont do the FTA.Among these strategies, off record politeness belongs to the most strength strategy of recessive strategies.3.3.3 Off-record PolitenessBrown and Levinson put forward fifteen kinds of off record strategies

18、listed as follows:1) Giving Hints 2) Giving Association Clues3) Presupposing 4) Understatement 5) Overstatement6) Using tautologies 7) Use contradictions8) Being Ironic 9) Using Metaphors10) Using Rhetorical Questions 11) Being Ambiguous 12) Being Vague 13) Over-generalization14) Displacing Hearer 1

19、5) Being Incomplete and Using Ellipsis3.4 Conversational Implicature DeductionConversational implicature is the words extra meaning given by the speaker in certain occasion or context, which is expected to be interpreted correctly by the hearer.In order to avoid misunderstanding the appropriate conv

20、ersational implicature in the talk exchange, we will concentrate on several major factors that affect the derivation of conversational implicature.3.4.1 The Main Factors that Influence the Derivation of Conversational Implicature 1) The logicality of the derivation of conversational implicature.2) T

21、he common sense of the speaker and the hearer.3) Some common background knowledge of the speaker and hearer4) Conversational context 3.4.2 The Relationship between the CP, PP and Off-record PolitenessPeople who use off record politeness strategy must violate the maxims of the CP and may observe the

22、PP. The off record politeness strategy such as Irony, Metaphor and Rhetorical Questions belongs to negative speaking and the reason of using these strategies is interpersonal factors such as attitude, tension and conflict, which are at odds with the CP.3.5 SummaryIn this chapter, Grices CP, Leechs P

23、P as well as Brown and Levinsons Politeness Theory are carefully described. The conversational implicature deduction is also explained. These theories that mainly discuss on how the conversational implicature is generated and interpreted based on the CP, PP and the off-record politeness strategies w

24、ill be applied to the case analysis in the following chapter. 4 Conversational Implicature in Sense and Sensibility Conversational implicature in Sense and SensibilityViolation of Quality MaximViolation of Quantity MaximViolation of Relation MaximViolation of Manner MaximIrony/Metaphor/Retorical Que

25、stionsUnderstatement/OverstatementGiving Hints/Giving Associated CkuesBeing Amibiguous orVague/ DisplacingHearer/Being Incomplete and Using EllipsisSummary The examples (conversations) are selected from Sense and Sensibility, then they are analyzed by the pragmatic theories . The research procedure

26、will be shown as:Qualified Conversations Theoretical Principles Classify Them Research Results 4.1 Conversational Implicature Generated by Violation of the Quality MaximIn this novel, there are many conversations with implicature generated by flouting the Quality Maxim of Grices CP. The implicature

27、is conveyed by using off-record politeness strategies such as irony, metaphor and rhetorical question, which will be analyzed in detail as follows.4.1.1 IronyAs a kind of rhetorical device and one of the off-record politeness strategies from the perspective of pragmatics, irony does the FTA implicit

28、ly by saying something opposite to the speakers real intention to avoid directly threatening the hearers face and minimize the face damage. Examples“Certainly,” he replied, with a sneer“I came into Devonshire with no other view.”“Upon my word,” replied Elinor, “you know much more of the matter than

29、I do, if you have any reason to expect such a match.” “Nor I,” answered Marianne with energy, “our situations then are alike.“.but I cannot. I must feelI must be wretchedand they are welcome to enjoy the consciousness of it that can.” That a gentleman, whom I had reason to think. Mr. Willoughby is u

30、nfathomableyou think young men never stand upon engagements, if they have no mind to keep them, little as well as great“I only mean that I suppose, from your manner of speaking, it must be the same to Miss Morton whether she marry Edward or Robert.”4.1.2 Metaphor As one kind of off-record strategies

31、, Metaphor also violates the Quality maxim. Although the metaphor often contains several indefinite connotations, the implicature generated is usually definite in certain contexts. The employment of metaphor is helpful to deliver humor and delightful atmosphere as well as indirect ironic and sarcast

32、ic feeling.Examples“Aye, you will make conquests enough, I dare say, one way or other. Poor Brandon! ” “but I will hope that the storm may be weathered without our being any of us quite overcome”a dagger to my heart. To know that Marianne was in town wasin the same language a thunderbolt.4.1.3 Rheto

33、rical QuestionsUsing Rhetorical Questions is another strategy of violation of the Quality maxim. The speaker asks a rhetorical question not for getting an answer from the hearer but for expressing an effect such as anger, criticism, surprise, irony and so on. In fact, the answer to the rhetorical qu

34、estion is very obvious.Examples“No taste for drawing!” replied Elinor, “why should you think so? ”“But how came the hand to discompose you so much, if it was only a letter of business? Come, come, this wont do, Colonel; so let us hear the truth of it.”“And is Mrs. Smith your only friend? Is Allenham

35、 the only house in the neighbourhood to which you will be welcome?”“Marianne,” cried her sister, “how can you say so? How can you be so unjust?”Your example was before me; but to what avail?Was I more considerate of you and your comfort? Did I imitate your forbearance, or lessen your restraints, by

36、taking any part in those offices of general complaisance or particular gratitude which you had hitherto been left to discharge alone?4.2 Conversational Implicature Generated by Violation of the Quantity MaximWhen a speaker says more or less than is necessary, his utterance flouts the Quantity Maxim

37、and produces implicature. The following is about the conversational implicature generated by violating the Quantity maxim. The strategy of understatement and overstatement is carefully elaborated.4.2.1 Understatement Understatement is a case that the speaker provides less information than is require

38、d. To achieves the effect of emphasizing a fact and impresses the listener or the reader more, the speaker deliberately understates it or minimizes its importance.Examples“If we find they correspond, every fear of mine will be removed.”“I did not know I contradicted any body in calling your mother i

39、ll-bred.”“My love I would ask them with all my heart, if it was in my power. ”“Now, I can think and speak of it with little emotion.”4.2.2 OverstatementOverstatement (hyperbole), opposite to understatement, refers to a case where the speaker chooses a higher point on the scale to describe some affai

40、r that is stronger than its actual state and expresses more than is necessary. Examples“Five hundred pounds would be a prodigious increase to their fortunes!”“Oh! beyond anything great!“What!” he exclaimed“Improve this dear cottage! No. That I will never consent to. Not a stone must be added to its

41、walls, not an inch to its size, if my feelings are regarded.”“And you will never see me otherwise. Mine is a misery which nothing can do away.” “(and very valuable they were) to your mother.You may guess, after all these expenses, how very far we must be from being rich, and how acceptable Mrs. Ferr

42、arss kindness is.”“Beautifully indeed! But she does every thing well.”“He must be starved, you know;that is certain; absolutely starved.” 4.3 Conversational Implicature Generated by Violation of the Relation MaximWhen the conversational implicature generated by flouting the Relation Maxim, the speak

43、er may say something unrelated to the topic of the conversation on the surface and drives the hearer to search for an appropriate interpretation of the possible relevance. The following discussion is two methods of employing this kind of politeness strategy.4.3.1 Giving HintsAlthough the speakers ut

44、terance seems unrelated to the desired act, it attracts the hearers attention and urges him to search for the possible relevance. Through giving hints, the speaker can reach his conversational goal. The most typical case is doing something wanted by stating motives or reasons. Examples“My own loss i

45、s great,” he continued, “in being obliged to leave so agreeable a party.“But you would still be reserved,” said Marianne, “and that is worse.”“With almost every other man in the world, it would be an alarming prospect; but Edwards affection and constancy nothing can deprive me of I know.”“That convi

46、ction must be every thing to you; and he is undoubtedly supported by the same trust in yours. But when there is plenty of money on one side, and next to none on the other, Lord bless you! they care no more about such things!”“it speaks altogether so great a regard for you, that in all probability wh

47、en she dies you will not be forgotten.She must have a great deal to leave.”4.3.2 Giving Associated CluesSimilar to the above mentioned strategy, this strategy also violates the Relation Maxim, and it gives implicature by mentioning something associated with the act required of the hearer. Its necess

48、ary for the speaker and the hearer to have the mutual experience or knowledge of their conversational circumstance; otherwise the strategy can not be worked.Examples“I shall very soon think him handsome, Elinor, if I do not now. When you tell me to love him as a brother, I shall no more see imperfec

49、tion in his face, than I now do in his heart.”“Your sister, I understand, does not approve of second attachments.”“Hunters!” repeated Edward“but why must you have hunters? Every body does not hunt.”“Is that Fannys hair? I remember her promising to give you some. But I should have thought her hair ha

50、d been darker.”“I shall never see her, if she goes by London.” “I believe I may say that since the first half year of our foolishbusinessthis is the only letter I ever received from her, of which the substance made me any amends for the defect of the style.”4.4 Conversational Implicature Generated b

51、y Violation of the Manner MaximThe examples in this part produce the implicature by violating the Manner Maxim. These conversations are analyzed by different off-record strategies one by one.4.4.1 Being Ambiguous or VagueBeing ambiguous or vague flouts the Manner Maxim and generates implicature whic

52、h implicitly does the FTA. This strategy is usually carried out by employing some obscure words and on this occasion the hearer may have different interpretations or understandings of the speakers utterance. Besides, the strategy obscurely refers to the person whom the FTA will be imposed on in some

53、 occasions. Being ambiguous and vague sometimes overlap and it is difficult to distinguish them.Examples“Perhaps,” said Marianne, “I may consider it with some surprise. ”“Perhaps,” said Elinor, “thirty-five and seventeen had better not have any thing to do with matrimony together. “I am afraid,” rep

54、lied Elinor, “that the pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety.”In another day or two perhaps; this extreme mildness can hardly last longernay, perhaps it may freeze tonight!”4.4.2 Displacing HearerDisplacing hearer is a strategy violating the Maxim of Manner, which doesnt

55、 do the FTA to the hearer directly. In this strategy, the speaker may pretend to speak with someone whom the FTA wouldnt threaten. Meanwhile, the speaker hopes that the intended target will realize that the FTA is aimed at him. The following examples illustrate this strategy. Examples“My mother was

56、quite sick of it.” “.fancying people so much more gay or grave, or ingenious or stupid than they really are.” “Excellent indeed. Their attention to our comfort, their friendliness in every particular, is more than I can express.”“I beg your pardon, Mr. Dashwood, but if he had done otherwise, I shoul

57、d have thought him a rascal” 4.4.3 Being Incomplete and Using EllipsisThis strategy not only violates the Quantity maxim but also it flouts the Manner maxim. The speaker intentionally says less than the situation is required and leaves the unfinished FTA and undetermined implicature to the hearer to

58、 infer the meaning. Thus, the hearer has to decide the real intention of the speaker by examining the unfinished discourse.Examples“We will put it by, that when he comes again . . .”“It was that which threw this gloom,even now the recollection of what I suffered”“but as that was not the case”“that i

59、ts situation is notthat it is not in the neighbourhood of”There, where I looked forward to going . . . 4.5 SummaryThrough the analysis, some conclusions are demonstrated below:First, from the above analysis, it can be easily found that the female is more inclined to use indirect language and adopt politeness strategies.Second, through the analysis, we can know the characters personalities which are reflected from their utterances. At last,