Where cooperation meets politeness : revisiting politeness models in view of the Gricean framework

Title: Where cooperation meets politeness : revisiting politeness models in view of the Gricean framework
Author: Dynel, Marta
Source document: Brno studies in English. 2009, vol. 35, iss. 1, pp. [23]-43
Extent
[23]-43
  • ISSN
    0524-6881 (print)
    1805-0867 (online)
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
 

Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.

Abstract(s)
The Gricean model of Cooperative Principle, together with the subordinate maxims and implicatures emergent from flouts thereof, forms the bedrock for pragmatic politeness theories (Lakoff 1973, 1977, 1989; Leech 1983, 2003, 2005; Brown and Levinson 1978, 1987), as well as the complementary impoliteness framework (Culpeper 1996, 2005; Culpeper et al. 2003; Harris 2001; Bousfield 2008; Bousfield and Locher 2008; cf. Lachenicht 1980; Austin 1990). Also, several proponents of politeness based on the Gricean view champion the concept of politeness implicature (e.g. Haugh 2002, 2007) or politeness maxims (Burt 1999, Kallia 2004). Despite the growing literature on politeness and proliferating critiques of pragmatic politeness theories, with a few notable exceptions (e.g. Fraser 1990, 2005; Braun 1988; Held 1992; Watts 1992a; Terkourafi 2003; Bousfield 2008), authors rarely address the problem of the models' (in)adequacy as regards their unsound foundation in the Gricean framework. This theoretical paper presents a critical overview of politeness models in the light of their treatment, frequently ill-advised, of the Cooperative Principle and its subordinate maxims.
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