Politeness is a linguistic strategy used in order to avoid conflicts in verbal interaction. Politeness is an influential variable in sociolinguistic (cf. MEYERHOFF, 2006) to be related to language use: the pragmatic point of view, the social distance, power relations and the cost of enforcing variables are strongly involved in evaluation of linguistic strategies which are polished or not (BROWN; LEVINSON, 2011 [1987]); and sociolinguistic point of view, the sex/gender proves to be significant. Among the linguistic strategies used to express this value, we are interested in the verbal form of the future tense (FP). The use of this verb form may vary according to the value of temporal reference: past, present, future. A ware of this possibility of variation of the FP and considering that politeness can be seen on a continuum (the less polished the more polished), this research aimed to investigate the effects of pragmatic and sociolinguistic aspects of the uses FP as a function of time reference in the speech data of informants Itabaiana/SE. The general hypothesis guiding our research is that the FP alone does not encode politeness, but a set of contextual features in specific timeframes. To develop research in this perspective, we used as the sample speech corpus social network of university informants Itabaiana/SE. This sample consists of interactions conducted - the informants themselves lead to interaction - collected from a methodological model developed in our study specifically to capture the nuances of politeness, both in its pragmatic aspects as sociolinguistic. The collected data were categorized and analyzed statistically. The results were generated from three rounds statistics, with the variable rule the temporal reference of the form of FP (past, present, future) and the expression of politeness: past x present x future, past x no past, present x future. The results obtained in the first round showed that none of the controlled variables was significant in the expression of the phenomenon under study. In the second round, the program selected only two variables as significant: the verb form and the kind of discursive sequence. The results showed that the use of FP with past temporal reference is favored when the verb occurs with the assist going and the type of sequence is narrative. In the third round statistics, present x future, five variables were selected as significant: control of the interaction terms of sex/gender, verbal, linguistic parallelism, cost of enforcing and question-answer pair and comment. Among these, we highlight the results obtained with the control of the interaction terms of sex/gender which showed that men when they are in the field of the topic tend to use more verbal form of FP with present time reference. Regarding the variable cost of the levy, the results showed that the less imposing was the most recurring topic was the use of the FP with this timeframe. As for the question-answer pair variable and review, the results showed that the use of FP with present time reference was conditioned in contexts that were characterized as comment/contextualization the topic. In general, the use of theoretical and methodological collection procedures focusing on the pragmatic and sociolinguistic effects to capture the effects of politeness allowed us to demonstrate that there are significant differences regarding the use of the FP, especially regarding social distance and sex/gender. / A polidez é uma estratégia linguística utilizada com o objetivo de evitar conflitos na interação verbal. Trata-se de uma variável influente na sociolinguística (cf. MEYERHOFF, 2006) por estar relacionada à língua em uso: do ponto de vista pragmático, a distância social, as relações de poder e o custo da imposição são variáveis fortemente envolvidas na avaliação de quais estratégias linguísticas são polidas ou não (BROWN; LEVINSON, 2011 [1987]); e do ponto de vista sociolinguístico, o sexo/gênero mostra-se significativo. Dentre as estratégias linguísticas utilizadas para expressar esse valor, interessa-nos a forma verbal de futuro do pretérito (FP). O uso dessa forma verbal pode variar conforme o valor da referência temporal: passado, presente, futuro. A par dessa possibilidade de variação do FP e considerando que a polidez pode ser analisada em um continuum (do menos polido ao mais polido), objetivamos nesta pesquisa verificar os efeitos dos aspectos pragmáticos e sociolinguísticos nos usos do FP em função da referência temporal em dados de fala de informantes de Itabaiana/SE. A hipótese geral que norteia a nossa investigação é a de que o FP por si só não codifica polidez, mas sim um conjunto de traços contextuais em referências temporais específicas. Para desenvolvermos a pesquisa nessa perspectiva, utilizamos como corpus a amostra de fala Rede Social de Informantes Universitários de Itabaiana/SE. Esta amostra é composta por interações conduzidas - os próprios informantes conduzem a interação - coletada a partir de um modelo metodológico elaborado em nosso estudo especificamente para captar as nuanças de polidez, tanto em seus aspectos pragmáticos quanto sociolinguísticos. Os dados coletados foram categorizados e submetidos à análise estatística. Os resultados foram gerados a partir de três rodadas estatísticas, tendo como regra variável a referência temporal da forma de FP (passado, presente, futuro) e a expressão de polidez: passado x presente x futuro, passado x não passado, presente x futuro. Os resultados obtidos na primeira rodada evidenciaram que nenhuma das variáveis controladas foi significativa na expressão do fenômeno em estudo. Já na segunda rodada, o programa selecionou apenas duas variáveis como significativas: a forma verbal e o tipo de sequência discursiva. Os resultados evidenciaram que o uso do FP com referência temporal passada é favorecido quando a forma verbal ocorre com o auxiliar ir e o tipo de sequência é narrativo. Na terceira rodada estatística, presente x futuro, cinco variáveis foram selecionadas como significativas: o controle da interação quanto ao sexo/gênero, forma verbal, paralelismo linguístico, custo da imposição e par pergunta-resposta e comentário. Dentre estas, ressaltamos os resultados obtidos com o controle da interação quanto ao sexo/gênero, os quais demonstraram que os homens quando estão com domínio do tópico tendem a utilizar mais a forma verbal de FP com referência temporal presente. No que concerne a variável custo da imposição, os resultados evidenciaram que quanto menos impositivo era o tópico, mais recorrente foi o uso do FP com referência temporal presente. Quanto a variável par pergunta-resposta e comentário, os resultados mostraram que o uso do FP com referência temporal presente foi condicionado em contextos que se caracterizavam como comentário/contextualização do tópico. Em termos gerais, o uso de procedimentos teórico-metodológicos de coleta focalizando os efeitos pragmáticos e sociolinguísticos para captar os efeitos de polidez permitiu-nos comprovar que há diferenças significativas em relação ao uso do FP, principalmente, quanto à distância social e ao sexo/gênero.

The linguistic politeness can be understood as the result of man's need to maintain the balance of their interpersonal relationships. The speakers employ politeness strategies in their verbal interactions, in order to keep them free of potential conflicts. Such strategies can be found in the speech of teachers on the inclusion of people with disabilities in the school environment. It is believed that these teachers make use of politeness not only to maintain the harmony of interpersonal relationships, but mainly to design, maintain and confirm images of themselves and the group to which they belong, in accordance with what is socially coded as politically correct. The objective is to investigate the linguistic politeness in the discourse of these teachers, discussing the reasons underlying their use and their implications for effective school inclusion of people with disabilities, based on the following questions: a) What strategies of politeness can be verified in teachers' discourse on the inclusion of people with disabilities in regular classrooms? b) What reasons lead teachers to employ strategies of politeness in his speech? c) What effect this polite discourse can produce to the process of inclusion of people with disabilities in the school environment? The research was based on concepts provided by pragmatic theories, in regard to politeness, from the model proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987 [1978]), according to the reformulations and improvements made by Kerbrat-Orecchioni (2004, 2006) associated with other reflections provided mainly by studies of Rodriguez (2010), Goffman (2008) and Bravo (2000). These concepts were articulated to the issue of disability, which is presented and discussed based on the contributions of several authors, among them, Pessotti (1984), Pereira (2006), Diniz (2010), Mazzotta (2005), Matos (2007 ) and Souza (2009). The corpus of this research was formed with the data from a focused discussion on the subject of inclusion of people with disabilities in school; the proposal was drawn up on a focus group of elementary school teachers in public schools of Sergipe. Although the Focus Group has been the main source, there was the triangulation of data generated by diagnostic form, individual interviews and participant observation. The data analysis shows that politeness which occurs in the speech of teachers on the inclusion of people with disabilities in the school environment not only serves to disguise the stigma that hangs over the image of people with disabilities, but especially to the projection, preservation and confirmation of teachers' images of themselves and the group they belong to. These images result from projections of ideological values of society over the person, which applies to him in the form of a system of appearances. Thus, words and actions of teachers integrate a representation that person meet in order to enroll in a group and not to be classified as strange or deviant from what is considered appropriate or proper. This appearance game disguises attitudinal barriers and negative procedures for effective inclusion of people with disabilities in school and society. / A polidez linguística pode ser entendida como fruto da necessidade do homem de manter o equilíbrio de suas relações interpessoais. Os falantes empregam estratégias de polidez em suas interações verbais, com o propósito de mantê-las livres de possíveis conflitos. Tais estratégias podem ser verificadas no discurso de professores sobre a inclusão de pessoas com deficiência no ambiente escolar. Acredita-se que esses professores façam uso da polidez não só para manter a harmonia das relações interpessoais, mas, principalmente, para projetar, preservar e confirmar imagens de si e do grupo ao qual pertencem, em conformidade com o que é codificado socialmente como politicamente correto. Objetiva-se investigar a polidez linguística presente no discurso desses professores, discutindo as razões que subjazem ao seu uso e suas implicações para o efetivo processo de inclusão escolar da pessoa com deficiência, a partir dos seguintes questionamentos: a) Quais estratégias de polidez podem ser verificadas no discurso dos professores sobre a inclusão da pessoa com deficiência em salas regulares? b) Que motivos levam os professores a empregarem estratégias de polidez em seu discurso? c) Que efeitos esse discurso polido pode produzir para o processo de inclusão da pessoa com deficiência no ambiente escolar? A pesquisa fundamentou-se nos conceitos fornecidos pelas teorias pragmáticas, no que concerne à polidez, a partir do modelo proposto por Brown e Levinson (1987 [1978]), segundo as reformulações e os aperfeiçoamentos feitos por Kerbrat- Orecchioni (2004; 2006), associados a outras reflexões fornecidas, sobretudo, pelos estudos de Rodriguez (2010), Goffman (2008) e Bravo (2000). Articularam-se tais conceitos à questão da deficiência, que é apresentada e discutida a partir das contribuições de diversos autores, entre os quais Pessotti (1984), Pereira (2006), Diniz (2010), Mazzotta (2005), Matos (2007) e Souza (2009). Constituiu-se o corpus desta pesquisa a partir dos dados gerados de uma discussão focalizada sobre o tema inclusão da pessoa com deficiência na escola, desencadeada em um Grupo Focal de professores do Ensino Fundamental da rede estadual de ensino de Sergipe. Embora o Grupo Focal tenha sido a principal fonte, houve ainda a triangulação dos dados gerados com questionário diagnóstico, entrevistas individuais e observação participante. A análise dos dados realizada demonstra que a polidez que se verifica no discurso dos professores sobre a inclusão da pessoa com deficiência no ambiente escolar serve à dissimulação do estigma que pesa sobre a imagem da pessoa com deficiência e à projeção, preservação e confirmação de imagens de si, dos professores e do grupo a que pertencem. Tais imagens decorrem de projeções dos valores da ideologia da sociedade sobre o indivíduo, que se impõe a este sob a forma de um sistema de aparências. Assim, atos e palavras dos professores integram uma representação que os indivíduos cumprem, a fim de se inscreverem num grupo e de não se deixarem classificar como estranhos ou desviantes do que é considerado apropriado ou adequado. Esse jogo de aparências mascara barreiras atitudinais e procedimentos negativos à inclusão efetiva da pessoa com deficiência na escola e na sociedade.

The political debate is a face-to-face verbal interaction in which the candidates interact verbally and, consequently, expose their images (faces). To protect them or to minimize threatening acts, the interlocutors usually make use of strategies of linguistic politeness. Politeness with respect to the linguistic-pragmatic studies refers to linguistic strategies used to prevent, mitigate or repair potential threats to the interlocutor or speaker’s face in order to maintain a balance in interpersonal relations. In this perspective, the objective of this study is to analyze under a linguistic-pragmatic bias these strategies as constituents of the argumentation in the corpus formed by the verbal interactions of the last electoral political debate, specifically of the first and third blocks, between the second round candidates for the presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil, in 2014, Dilma Rousseff (PT) and Aécio Neves (PSDB), televised by Globo television network. Such selection is justified because this is a communicative interaction where actions take place that affect the relationships with himself, or with another, in which the participants emphasize the concern to maintain the balance, making use of strategies in order to protect own face, and also to avoid discomfort with their interlocutors. This analysis is based on the following questions: a) Do candidate's speeches convey polished effects? b) How are these effects structured? c) What is the relationship between politeness and political discourse? d) How politicians use strategies of politeness to carry the speech and maintain the image of themselves in the face of a debatable question? e) How to build the relationship of the political subject, and speaker, from the strategies of politeness so that he can convince his interlocutor? f) To what extent do politicians harmoniously reconcile self-preservation and respect for the others by maintaining positive projections of their images and respective groups, in accordance with the expectations of the electorate? For this proposal, the research is based on Brown and Levinson's model of politeness (1987 [1978]) and on the reformulations of this model made by Kerbrat-Orecchioni (2006). Likewise, discussions are carried out by Castilho and Castilho (1993), Castilho and Elias (2012), Santos (2012), Dias (2010), Perelman & Olbrechts-Tyteca , Fiorin (2015), Marcuschi (2004), Osakabe (1999), Charaudeau (2013), among others. From the data analysis performed, we identified politeness strategies: i) positive; ii) negative – accompanying and substitute procedures; iii) covert. In general, the results demonstrate that the politeness strategies used by the candidates of the second round of the presidential elections of 2014 tend to soften the large number of threats to the face during the debate, since it is a characteristic of the gender to attack the image of the other and to value their own image. However, presidential candidates use such strategies to preserve their image before an attentive audience (voters) in order to gain the votes and win presidential election. / O debate político é uma interação verbal do tipo face a face, em que os candidatos interagem verbalmente e, consequentemente, expõem suas imagens (faces). Para protegê-las ou para minimizar atos ameaçadores, os interlocutores costumam fazer uso de estratégias de polidez linguística. A polidez, no que concerne aos estudos linguístico-pragmáticos, refere-se a estratégias linguísticas utilizadas para impedir, atenuar ou reparar eventuais ameaças à face do locutor ou do interlocutor, com o propósito de manter o equilíbrio nas relações interpessoais. A par dessa perspectiva, o objetivo deste estudo é analisar, sob um viés linguístico-pragmático, tais estratégias como constituintes da argumentação no corpus formado pelas interações verbais do último debate político eleitoral, especificamente do primeiro e terceiro blocos, entre os candidatos do segundo turno à Presidência da República Federativa do Brasil do ano 2014, Dilma Rousseff (PT) e Aécio Neves (PSDB), televisionado pela Rede Globo. Tal seleção justifica-se por se tratar de uma interação comunicativa onde ocorrem ações que afetam as relações consigo e com o outro, nas quais os participantes imprimem a preocupação em manter o equilíbrio, fazendo o uso de estratégias com intuito de resguardar a própria face e também para evitar desconforto com seus interlocutores. Essa análise se constitui a partir dos seguintes questionamentos: a) Os discursos dos políticos veiculam efeitos polidos? b) Como são estruturados esses efeitos? c) Qual a relação entre polidez e discurso político? d) Como os políticos se utilizam de estratégias de polidez para efetivar seu discurso e manter a imagem de si diante de uma polêmica? e) Como se dá a construção da relação do sujeito político, locutor, a partir das estratégias de polidez a fim de que possa convencer seu interlocutor? f) Até que ponto os políticos conseguem conciliar harmonicamente a preservação de si e o respeito ao outro, mantendo projeções positivas de suas imagens e respectivos grupos, de acordo com as expectativas do eleitorado? Para dar conta de tal proposta, a pesquisa fundamenta-se no modelo de polidez de Brown e Levinson (1987 [1978]) e nas reformulações desse modelo feitas por Kerbrat-Orecchioni (2006). Da mesma forma, dá-se vez a discussões realizadas por Castilho e Castilho (1993), Castilho e Elias (2012), Santos (2012), Dias (2010), Perelman & Olbrechts- Tyteca (2005 [1958]), Ferreira (2010), Fiorin (2015), Marcuschi (2004), Osakabe (1999), Charaudeau (2013), entre outros. A partir da análise dos dados realizada, identificamos estratégias de polidez: i) positiva; ii) negativa – procedimentos substitutivos e acompanhantes; iii) encoberta. De modo geral, os resultados demonstram que as estratégias de polidez utilizadas pelos candidatos à Presidência do segundo turno de 2014 tendem a suavizar o grande número de ameaça à face ocorrido durante o debate, visto que é uma característica do gênero atacar a imagem do outro e valorizar a sua. No entanto, os presidenciáveis se valem de tais estratégias para preservar sua imagem diante de um auditório específico (os eleitores) a fim de conquistarem os votos e vencerem a eleição. / São Cristóvão, SE

Submitted by Fabiano Vassallo (fabianovassallo2127@gmail.com) on 2017-05-24T17:41:57Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação Sabryna-2017PDF.pdf: 604603 bytes, checksum: 57b45feb325833a6ac4281599e2adf7d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Josimara Dias Brumatti (bcgdigital@ndc.uff.br) on 2017-06-13T14:46:45Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação Sabryna-2017PDF.pdf: 604603 bytes, checksum: 57b45feb325833a6ac4281599e2adf7d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-13T14:46:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação Sabryna-2017PDF.pdf: 604603 bytes, checksum: 57b45feb325833a6ac4281599e2adf7d (MD5) / A presente dissertação tem como objetivo principal investigar as interações e os discursos construídos entre professores e coordenadores de um curso de idiomas do Rio de Janeiro. Considerando um contexto em que as relações entre eles podem ser conflitantes, devido à hierarquia e aos discursos de poder envolvidos, é possível observar traços de cooperação e tentativas de aproximação nessa interação. Esta pesquisa se situa no âmbito dos Estudos do Discurso – com contribuições da pragmática, da análise do discurso e da análise da conversa – e tem como objetivo geral investigar como as estratégias de Polidez e da Face são utilizadas pelos falantes investigados. O estudo se baseia principalmente na teoria da Face proposto por Goffman (1980) e Polidez desenvolvida por Brown e Levinson (1987). Como técnicas de geração de dados, foram utilizadas gravações de sessões de feedback pós-aula entre professores e coordenadores, em que as estratégias utilizadas pelos sujeitos e as relações de poder existentes em seus discursos puderam ser identificadas, revelando as identidades móveis/fragmentadas (HALL, 2011). A pesquisa demonstra, por fim, que através de seus discursos, o coordenador pedagógico carrega no seu dizer marcas constitutivas de sua multiplicidade e que ambos, coordenadores e professores utilizam estratégias para manutenção e preservação de suas faces / This dissertation aims to investigate the interactions and discourses between teachers and coordinators of a language school in Rio de Janeiro. Considering a context where the relations between teachers and coordinators can be conflicting due to hierarchy and power discourses involved, it is possible to see cooperation traits and attempts of approximation in this area. This research lies in Discourse Studies – with the support of pragmatics, discourse analysis and conversation analysis – and aims to investigate how the speakers investigated use politeness and face strategies. This study is basedmainly on the Face theory suggested by Goffman (1980) and the Politeness theory developed by Brown and Levinson (1987). As the data for the present research were generated by records of feedback meeting after classes between teachers and coordinators, the strategies used by the subject and the power in their discourses where fragmented identities (Hall, 2011)could be identified. This research finally shows that by the discourse, the pedagogical coordinator has it his/her speech traits that composes its plurality and both, coordinators and teachers use strategies to sustain and preserve their ‘faces’

This essay examines the relation between gender and adherence to Brown and Levinson's Politeness Principle. Women and men tend to use language for different purposes and for the purpose of achieving various goals. In order to examine this relation, a research study was conducted. Two women and three men were observed discussing subjects given by an interviewer. The collected interview data gathered from the conversation was analyzed and related to the Politeness Principle. Aspects from sociolinguistics, such as theories from gender and language studies, and the Cooperative Principle as proposed by H P Grice, were also considered and formed part of the analysis. The results indicate that there is a small difference between women’s versus men’s adherence to the Politeness Principle. More specifically, women tend to use more aspects of linguistic politeness. However, as the sample group of the research study consisted of only five participants, the limits of the study in terms of the generalizability of the results are recognized and suggestions have been made for further research.

This paper focuses on facework used by the invited guests in a broadcasted debate. The purpose of this analysis is to investigate how the invited guests use facework and how the guest relate to their functional role within the debate. The aim is also to investigate how the phases of the debate regulate the facework used by the guests. The analysis is based on transcrition and videomaterial from one of Sweden’s most viewed debates, Opinion Live. Conversation analysis (CA) is part of the theoretical framework used to analyse support, interruption and conversation turns. To analyze facework this paper relies on Goffman’s theory of face and Muntigl & Turnbull’s four types of disagreement acts in facework and arguing. Brown & Levinson’s politeness theory has also been used to investigate facework and strategies. In addition, Svensson’s definition of the debate’s specific roles within the format has also been used. The results show that facework has two purposes. The first is that it is used to defend the guest’s own face. The other purpose is to attack other guest’s faces which implies that their functional roles in the debate are being challenged. The results also points towards that the structure of the conversation in the debate itself influence the types of facework used by the guests.

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences and similarities regarding verbal politeness in greetings and requests in Swedish and the Chilean variety of Spanish. A survey with 12 questions, both open-ended and closed-ended, has been distributed to 20 native speakers of the two languages. Thus, the questions have been analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results show that the perception that the Swedes and the Chileans have about verbal politeness is similar, since the speakers of both languages see it as a way to show respect towards others. The study also shows that Swedes and Chileans share a similar view upon politeness, i.e. as a social norm that facilitates social interaction between people.

Alan Garcia, l’actuel président du Pérou, est un des politiciens les plus controversés dans l’histoire péruvienne. Le succès de sa carrière comme candidat est fort opposé aux résultats catastrophiques de sa première gestion présidentielle. Dans la culture populaire, les compétences discursives de Garcia, ainsi que le contraste entre son succès et ses pauvres performances en tant que président, l’ont élevé au rang de mythe. Ce travail de recherche présente une analyse pragmatique linguistique des stratégies discursives utilisées par le président Garcia dans son deuxième mandat (2001-2006). L’analyse sera centrée sur le rapport établi par Steven Pinker (2007) entre politesse positive et solidarité communale. Les travaux de Brown et Levinson (1978, 1987) et d’Alan Fiske (1991) sont notre base théorique. L’exclusion sociale d’une partie de la population électorale péruvienne, selon le point de vue de Vergara (2007), est l’élément clé pour mieux comprendre le succès de la stratégie discursive de Garcia. Vegara présente une analyse diachronique multi-variable de la situation politique péruvienne pour expliquer la rationalité de la population électorale péruvienne. À partir de cet encadrement théorique, nous procéderons à l’analyse lexicométrique qui nous permettra d’identifier les stratégies discursives utilisées dans le corpus des discours de Garcia qui a été choisi pour l’analyse. D’après le schéma de Pinker, les données obtenues seront classifiées selon la définition de politesse positive de Brown et Levinson. Finalement, nous évaluerons le rapport entre les résultats classifiés et le modèle de solidarité communale de Fiske. L’objectif est de démontrer que le style discursif de Garcia est structuré à partir d’une rationalité dont l’objet est de fermer la brèche sociale entre le politicien et l’électorat. / Peruvian President Alan Garcia is one of the most controversial politicians in Peruvian history. His successful career as a presidential candidate is opposed to the catastrophic results of his first presidential government. Garcia’s discursive skills and the high contrast between his political success and his poor performance as a president have become a myth in Peruvian popular culture.. In this work we will present a pragmatic-linguistic analysis of the discursive strategies used by Garcia in his second administration (2006-2011). The analysis will be focused on the relationship established by Steven Pinker (2007) between Positive Politeness and Communal Sharing. The works of Brown and Levinson (1978, 1987) and Alan Fiske (1991) will be our theoretical groundwork. Social exclusion in Peruvian electoral population, as explained by Vergara (2007), is the key factor to understand the success of Garcia’s discursive strategy. In his work, Vergara presents a diachronic multi-variable analysis of the Peruvian political situation that explains the rationality behind Peruvian elector’s decisions. Once established the referential political framework, we will proceed with the lexicometric analysis that will help us to identify the discursive strategies used in a previously selected sample of Garcia’s public discourses. In order to match Pinker’s scheme, we will classify these findings according to the positive politeness categorization of Brown and Levinson. Finally, we will associate these results to the Communal Sharing model of social relationship, as defined by Fiske. Our goal is to demonstrate that Garcia’s discursive style is rationally structured to reduce the social gap between the Politician and the Elector.

In this thesis, I use a multi-perspectival analytical approach to investigate the paralanguage of naturally occurring work-based Instant Message conversations. My research into the field of computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA) has shown that written non-verbal cues have been considered as important means of contextualising text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC), yet their scholarly treatment has been scant. Previous findings about the importance paralanguage in CMD have been further strengthened by the findings of the field of business communication: in the virtual work environment the lack of audio-visual information has been found to contribute to miscommunication and consequently hinder cooperation. The linguistic devices and discursive strategies that are used in order to compensate for the limitations imposed by the text-based communicative channel have therefore been identified as in need of further exploration. In this thesis, I have outlined a CMC cue system based on the previous findings of CMDA to investigate the range of cues used as non-verbal signals in workplace text- based CMC. I have also used a multi-perspectival approach based on the theoretical frameworks of interactional sociolinguistics, communities of practice, relational work and politeness and conversation analysis (CA) in order to investigate the range of interactional roles of paralanguage during computer-mediated business conversations. The interpretive CA-informed analysis I have conducted has provided evidence of the important role of non-verbal signals during the contextualisation of complex transactional and relational communicative goals in the workplace. The analysis in this thesis has provided two significant results: firstly, by incorporating the findings of research into paralanguage of spoken as well as other written genres it resulted in a comprehensive description of the orthographic and typographic non-verbal cues used in text-based CMC and, secondly, by drawing on the multi-perspectival framework, it allowed for a description of the complex interactional functions of these cues during the contextualisation of content and relational intent and the creation of interactional coherence in IM.

The extent to which Swedish learners of English master the formulaic language of greetings and their responses has not been well researched over the years. This study aims to fill the gap by examining how 66 Swedish senior high school students respond to two question-based English greetings: the formal “How are you?” and the informal “What’s up?”. To enable a comparison with greeting responses produced in the native language, another 28 students were greeted in Swedish, with the corresponding phrases “Hur står det till?” and “Läget?”. In addition, 217 students were asked via a questionnaire about their opinions on the most appropriate greeting responses, as well as what greeting phrase they would prefer to use if they were the ones who greeted first. The results indicate that Swedish students have no problem with understanding the formulaic nature of greetings; thus, the high frequency of “pragmatic failure” which has been seen among Polish students greeted with “How are you?” was not found in this study. However, the Swedish students responded somewhat differently than what has been observed in earlier research on native English-speakers, and the answers often came after a moment of hesitation. Swedish students failed to produce responses to the English greetings (especially to “What’s up?”) in an automatic, native-like way. Moreover, the students claimed in their answers to the questionnaire that an appropriate response to “How are you?” and “What’s up?” should include a “thanks” or a “thank you”, but this politeness marker was absent in almost all the cases in the field study.