低调陈述作为语用策略的顺应性研究

Understatement as a pragmatic strategy: An adaptation-based approach,

本文回顾并总结了以往从心理学、社会学和语言学等不同角度对低调陈述作为言语行为的语用策略研究;试用Verschueren的顺应理论讨论低调陈述在言语交际中语境的动态性和顺应性;分析了人们在言语行为中选择使用作为语用策略的低调陈述的定义与类型;最后探讨了低调陈述语言使用的顺应性特征,即低调陈述是与语言使用者的心理世界、社交世界和物理世界相互顺应的结果。

Understatement, as a pragmatic strategy of speech acts, has attracted great attention of many scholars who conducted their research from different viewpoints like psychology, sociology and linguistic pragmatics. After reviewing the previous research from the above viewpoints and pointing out their achievements and limitations, the authors of the paper attempt to apply Verschueren's adaptation theory to the study of understatement as a pragmatic strategy of speech acts, proposing that the use of understatement is a process of making linguistic choices in terms of variability, negotiability and adaptability, discussing the dynamics of its contextual adaptation. The authors conclude that understatements are actually the outcomes of linguistic choices interadaptable with language users' mental world, social world and physical world.