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Pragmatics and its Interfaces
Edited by Cornelia Ilie and Neal R. Norrick
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 294] 2018
► pp. 213–239

Integrative pragmatics and (im)politeness theory

| The University of Queensland, Australia
| Lancaster University, U.K.
In this chapter, we first discuss the role that pragmatics has played in the development of (im)politeness theory, and the recent move towards a middle ground that integrates classic and discursive approaches to (im)politeness. We outline the key tenets of integrative pragmatics that afford such a move, before illustrating how these can be implemented through a case study focusing on an incident in Big Brother UK where the (ostensibly) jocular use of a racial slur by a contestant caused offence and the subsequent removal of that contestant from the show. Our analyses draw from multiple methods, including those of interactional pragmatics and corpus pragmatics. In this way, we aim to both highlight the fundamentally pragmatic basis of (im)politeness, as well as the need for a nuanced and complex theorisation that integrates multiple perspectives and methods of analysis.
Keywords: corpus pragmatics, discursive, impoliteness, integrative pragmatics, interactional pragmatics, jocular abuse, offence, politeness, pragmatics, racist discourse
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The role of pragmatics in politeness theory
  • 3.Integrative pragmatics
  • 4.Case study: Jocular abuse and offence
    • 4.1User and observer perspectives on the use of the n-word
    • 4.2Pragmatics, (im)politeness and conventionalization: The case of the n-word
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 7 September 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.294.10hau
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