Spoken Language Theorists

Who posited Grice’s Maxims?

Paul Grice

breaking a maxim to deceive

violate

noticeably breaking a maxim

flout

following conversation etiquette to achieve a shared goal

co-operative principle

implying non-verbal meaning by not following the maxims

conversational implicature

giving as much information as is needed

maxim of quantity

telling the truth

maxim of quality

staying relevant to the conversation topic

maxim of relevance

being clear

maxim of manner

Who posited the Politeness Principle?

Robin Lakoff

What does the Politeness Principle ensure?

a positive and successful conversation

terms of the Politeness Principle

don’t impose, give options, make the receiver feel good

Who posited the Communication Accommodation Theory?

Howard Giles

behavioural changes made to attune to your conversational partner

Communication Accommodation

What does Communication Accommodation theory ensure?

formation of a positive social identity

Who posited Face Theory?

Brown and Levinson

need to feel liked and appreciated

positive face

need to not feel imposed upon or have freedoms threatened

negative face

challenging someone’s positive or negative face

Face Threatening Act

the way individuals choose to act and conduct themselves in accordance with their environment

facework

no attempt to limit the threat to the receiver’s face is made

bald-on record politeness

a FTA is avoided completely through the implication of the speaker’s intentions

off-record indirect politeness

politeness variables

social distance, relative power, imposition

when individuals change their speech to sound more like their interlocutor

convergence

when individuals emphasise a difference in communication style

divergence

a speaker refuses to change their conversation style in any way

maintenance

Leech’s politeness maxims

tact, generosity, approbation, modesty, agreement, sympathy