一 : Impoliteness and entertainment in the television quiz show-The Wea

Impolitenessandentertainment

inthetelevisionquizshow:

TheWeakestLink

JONATHANCULPEPER

Abstract

BuildingonCulpeper(1996)andCulpeperetal.(2003),Ifirstproposeanewdefinitionofimpolitenessandgeneralrevisionstomymodelofimpo-liteness,bothderivedfromdataanalyses.Giventhatmyparticulardatainthispaper,TheWeakestLink,isatelevisionentertainmentquizshow,Iwillbrieflyaccountforwhyimpolitenessmightbeentertaining.Asaback-droptomymicro-analysesofinteractions,Idiscussthenatureof“exploita-tive”chatandgameshows,andIexaminethestructureofTheWeakestLinkandhowitmaximizesthepotentialforface-damage.Inmyanalyses,Ishowtheformulaicandcreativenatureofpartsofthediscourse,andalsohowanalyzingprosodyiskeytounderstandingtheimpoliteness.Ipayspecialattentionto“off-recordimpoliteness”,sarcasmandmimicry,andIintegrateintomymodelSpencer-Oatey’s(2002)revisionsofBrownandLevinson’s(1987)conceptsofnegativeandpositiveface.Finally,referringtoLevinson’s(1992)“activitytypes”,Iconsiderwhetherthecontextofthequizshow“neutralizes”the“impoliteness”.Iarguethatthesalienceof“impolite”signalsengulfthecontext,withtheresultthattargetsoftentakeoffenseincontextswheretheytheoreticallyshouldnot.

Keywords:impoliteness;mimicry;politeness;prosody;quizshows;sarcasm

1.Introduction

TheWeakestLinkwaslaunchedontheU.K.’sBBC2in2000with68dailyepisodes.Itwashugelysuccessful,resultinginasecondseriesof90episodesfordaytimeand21showsforprimetimetelevision.Thisquizshowappearstohaveevolvedfromstandardquizshowsinawaythatisanalogoustodevelopmentsinchatshows.Itisan“exploitative”show,designedtohumiliatecontestants,nottosupportorcelebratethemasisoftenthecaseinstandardshows.Assuch,itoffersexcellentdataforextendingandrefiningmyresearchon“impoliteness”?akeyaimofJournalofPolitenessResearch1(2005),35?721612-5681/05/001?0035

?WalterdeGruyter

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thispaper.Thefirstsectionofthispaperclarifieswhatismeantbyimpo-liteness,proposinganewdefinition,andthesecondsectionintroducesmymodelofimpoliteness,examiningfurtherthenotionofsarcasmandproposinganewcategoryof“off-recordimpoliteness”.IalsosuggestthatSpencer-Oatey’s(2002)refinementofBrownandLevinson’snotionsofpositiveandnegativefaceshouldbeadopted.Theserevisionsarealldata-driven:asIwillshow,theyareneededinordertoofferanadequatebutparsimoniousaccountofmydata.

ThefactthatTheWeakestLinkisclearlyanentertainmentshow?amediaconstruct?issignificant.Amongstotherthings,Iwillneedtoexplainwhyimpolitenessmightbeentertaining,somethingwhichIhavealreadyundertakenforanothergenre,thefictionalfilm(Culpeper1998).Someofmypreviouspublicationsintheareaofimpolitenessdidnotpayadequateattentiontothecontext.Consequently,beforemymicro-analysesofinteractionsinTheWeakestLink,Iwillelaborateonthenatureof“exploitative”chatandgameshows;thestructureofTheWeakestLinkandhowitmaximizesthepotentialforface-damage;and,briefly,thepersonawhichthehost,AnneRobinson,hascreatedfortheshow.Iwillfocusagainoncontextattheendofthepaper,inordertoaddresstheissueofwhetherthecontextofthequizshow“sanctions”or“neutralizes”the“impoliteness”.Theheartofthispapercontainsmicro-analysesofinteractionswithinTheWeakestLink.Thefirstanalyses,inparticular,showtheformulaicandcreativenatureofpartsofthedis-course.Theremaininganalysespayspecialattentiontoprosody,some-thingwhichotherresearcherstypicallyoverlook.Theygivetruthtothefrequentobservationmadebypeoplewhohavebeenoffendedthatitwasnotwhatwassaidbuthowitwassaid.

2.Thenotionofimpoliteness

Thephenomenonofimpolitenessistodowithhowoffenseiscommuni-catedandtaken.Myfirsttaskinthissectionwillbetodelimitanddefineimpolitenessmoreprecisely,andmysecondwillbetopointoutanumberofareaswherefurtherresearchisneeded.

Ibeginbyproposingfourthingswhichimpolitenessisnot:

(1)Impolitenessisnotincidentalface-threat.AsGoffman(1967:14)

putsit,“[t]hereareincidentaloffences;theseariseasanunplannedbutsometimesanticipatedby-productofaction?actiontheof-fenderperformsinspiteofitsoffensiveconsequences,thoughnotoutofspite”1.Thekeypointhereisthattheyarenotperformed“outofspite”.Tutors,forexample,regularlygivestudentscriticalcommentswhichmayhavepotentiallyoffensiveconsequences,but

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thisisaby-productofhelpingthestudentstoimprove,notthepri-marygoal.Thetutorisnot(usually!)seekingtooffendthestudent.Incidentalface-threatisattheheartofpolitenesstheories.Tutorstypicallydopolitenesswork,inordertocounterthosepotentialof-fensiveconsequences.

(2)Impolitenessisnotunintentional.Again,thiscanberelatedtoGoff-

man(1967:14),whenhepointsoutthattheoffendingperson“mayappeartohaveactedinnocently;his[sic]offenceseemstobeunin-tendedandunwitting[…].Inoursocietyonecallssuchthreatstofacefauxpas,gaffes,bonersorbricks”.Asub-typehereis“failedpoliteness”.Forexample,aninteractantmightmisjudgehowmuchpolitenessworkisrequiredinaparticularsituationandthuscauseoffense(e.g.,notappreciatingtheextraordinarylengthssomebodywenttoinprocuringaparticulargift,andtherebygivinginsufficientthanksfromthegiver’spointofview).

扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

(3)Impolitenessisnotbanter.DrawinguponLeech(1983),Isuggested

inmyearlierpaper(1996)thatweshoulddistinguish“mockimpo-liteness”from“genuineimpoliteness”.Banterormockimpolitenessremainsonthesurface,becauseitisunderstoodinparticularcontextsnottobetrue.Ritualizedbanter(or“sounding”,“playingthedozens”)has,ofcourse,beenthesubjectofsomeofLabov’s(1972)famouswork.

(4)Impolitenessisnotbaldonrecord(BOR)politeness.Aselaborated

inCulpeperetal.(2003),BrownandLevinson’s(1987:69)definitionofBORpolitenessstatesthatitisdirect(complieswithGrice)andoccursinspecificcontexts:emergencysituations,whentheface-threatisverysmall,andwhenthespeakerhasgreatpower.However,thevastmajorityofinstancesofwhatIwouldcall“impoliteness”failtofitthedefinitionofBOR.AsanexampleofBORpoliteness,Thomas(1995:171)citesTamDalyell’sreferencetoMargaretThatcher(thenPrimeMinister)intheBritishHouseofCommons:“Isaythatsheisabounder,aliar,adeceiver,acrook”.Therepeti-tionclearlyfloutsthemaximofmanner,wherebyDalyellimplicatestheimpolitebeliefthatThatcherisextremelydishonest.Thus,itnei-thercomplieswithGrice(1975)norfitsthespecificcontextsforBOR.

Sowhatisimpoliteness?Inmymostrecentworkonimpoliteness(2003),acollaborationwithDerekBousfieldandAnneWichmann,attentionwasdrawntoanumberofdeficitsintheoriginalpolitenessmodelIproposedin1996.Weemphasizedtheneedtogobeyondthesinglespeaker’sutterance,lexicallyandgrammaticallydefined.However,myoriginaldefinitionofimpolitenesswasnotrevised,simplyrestatedina

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slightlymoresuccinctformas:“communicativestrategiesdesignedtoattackface,andtherebycausesocialconflictanddisharmony”(Culpeperetal.2003:1546.Referencewasalsomadetosimilardefinitionsintheliterature:Kienpointner1997:259?260;Beebe,1995:159).Oneproblemwiththisoriginaldefinitionistheassumptionthatface-attackwill“causesocialconflictanddisharmony”.Thiselementofthedefinitionhadevolvedbywayofcontrasttohowresearchershaddefinedpoliteness,forexample:[TheroleofthePolitenessPrincipleis]“tomaintainthesocialequilibriumandthefriendlyrelationswhichenableustoassumethatourinterlocutorsarebeingcooperativeinthefirstplace”(Leech1983:82).Buttherearetwoproblemshere:itisnotclearwhatthissocialconflictanddisharmonyconsistsof,anditisnotanecessaryconditionofimpolitenesshavingtakenplace.Infact,lookingaheadtoourdiscus-sionofTheWeakestLink,itisnotatallclearinwhatsensethereissocialconflictanddisharmonyhere.Moreover,thedefinitionfailstotakeadequatelyintoaccountwhatthehearerisdoing.Thisspeakerbiasisanotherlegacyfrompolitenesswork,particularlythatofBrownandLevinson(1987).

AbetterdefinitionisproposedbyTracyandTracy:“wedefineface-attacksascommunicativeactsperceivedbymembersofasocialcom-munity(andoftenintendedbyspeakers)tobepurposefullyoffensive”(1998:227).Likeme,theauthorsalsorefertoGoffman(1967),whorelatessuchface-threattocaseswhere“theoffendingpersonmayappeartohaveactedmaliciouslyandspitefully,withtheintentionofcausingopeninsult”(Goffman,1967:14).However,theirdefinitionstillneedssomeunpacking(e.g.,inwhatwaysmighttheseattacksbeunintended?),andtherolesofthespeakerandhearerarenotverytransparent.Ithusproposeareviseddefinition:

Impolitenesscomesaboutwhen:(1)thespeakercommunicatesface-attackintentionally,or(2)thehearerperceivesand/orconstructsbe-haviorasintentionallyface-attacking,oracombinationof(1)and(2).Thekeyaspectofthisdefinitionisthatitmakesclearthatimpoliteness,asindeedpoliteness,isconstructedintheinteractionbetweenspeakerandhearer.Perhapstheprototypicalinstanceofimpolitenessinvolvesboth(1)and(2),thespeakercommunicatingface-attackintentionallyandthehearerperceiving/constructingitassuch.Forexample,apoten-tiallyimpoliteactsuchasaninterruptionmayseemjusttoinvolveactiv-ityonthepartofthespeaker,but,asBilmes(1997)convincinglyargues,interruptionsareareciprocalactivity,involvingboth“doinginterrupt-ing”and“doingbeinginterrupted”(1997:514?550).“Doingbeingin-terrupted”involvesthecommunicationofdisruptiveintentstothein-

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terrupterthroughovertprotests,ignoringor“interruptiondisplays”?“ashowofinsistenceand/orannoyance”by“facialexpressions,gestures,grammaticaldevices,repetition,andraisedvoice”(1997:518?520).However,otherpermutationsof(1)and(2)arepossible.Face-attackmaybeintentionallycommunicatedbutfailtofinditsmarkinanyway,or,conversely,thehearermayperceiveorconstructintentionalface-attackonthepartofthespeaker,whennonewasintended.Considerthisexampleofthelatter:

[Context:AnextendedfamilyiseatingamealataPizzaHut.ThereisatenserelationshipbetweenparticipantsAandB.]

A:Passmeapieceofgarlicbread,willyou?

B:That’llbe50p

[AopenspurseandproceedstogiveB50p]

Inthiscontext,B’srequestforpaymentwasintendedasajoke?asbanter.A,however,reconstructsitasagenuinelyimpoliteact,thereby,attackingBherselfbyconstructinghimasmean.Thisparticularstrategyis,infact,onethatoccurselsewhereinmydatacollection.

扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

Twootheraspectsofmydefinitionarenoteworthy.Firstly,thenotionofintentionisofcentralimportance,anditwillbeclearfrommydiscus-sionofwhatimpolitenessisnotandalsomyreferencestoGoffmanwhythisisso(i.e.,ithelpsusexcludeby-product,accidentalandmocktypesofface-threat).ThiscanberelatedtoGrice’sdistinctionbetween“natu-ralmeaning”and“non-naturalmeaning”:foranutterancetohavenon-naturalmeaningitmustnotmerelyhavebeenuttered“withtheintentionofinducingacertainbeliefbutalsotheutterermusthaveintendedthe“audience”torecognizetheintentionbehindtheutterance”(Grice[1957]1989:217).Impoliteness,then,hastwolayers:theoffensiveinformationbeingexpressedbytheutteranceandtheinformationthatthatinforma-tionisbeingexpressedintentionally2.Ofcourse,recognizingintentionsishighlyproblematic:theyhavetobeinferredincommunication.Acorollaryofthisisthatrecognizingcategorieslike“by-product”,“acci-dental”and“mock”isamatterofinferencingnotjustsignaling.Sec-ondly,itwillbeclearthatIamnotabandoningtheconceptof“face”,despitecriticismsintheliterature,particularlywithregardtoBrownandLevinson’snotionofnegativefacehavinga“Western”biasinfocusingonindividualautonomy(e.g.,Matsumoto1988;Gu1990;foramoregeneralcritiqueof“face”,seeBargiela-Chiappini2003).Impolitenessconcernsoffense,andface,inmyview,stillrepresentsthebestwayofunderstandingoffense.Ofcourse,faceshouldbemoreadequatelycon-ceptualizedandcontextuallysensitive.HelenSpencer-Oatey(e.g.,2002)isoneofthefewresearcherstogetoutofthearmchairandpropose

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Table1.Revisingthenotionofface:Componentsof“rapportmanagement”(Spencer-Oatey2002:540?2)3.

Face

(definedwithreferencetoGoffman(1972:5):“thepositivesocialvalueinapersoneffectivelyclaimsforhimself[sic]bythelineothersassumehehastakenduringaparticularcontact”[Spencer-Oatey’semphasis])

Qualityface:“Wehaveafundamentalde-toevaluateuspositivelyintermsofourpersonalqualities,e.g.,ourconfidence,abilities,appearanceetc.”Socialidentityface:“Wehaveafundamen-taldesireforpeopletoacknowledgeandup-holdoursocialidentitiesorroles,e.g.,asgroupleader,valuedcustomer,closefriend.”

Equityrights:“Wehaveafundamentalbe-areentitledtopersonalcon-siderationfromothers,sothatwearetreatedfairly,thatwearenotundulyim-poseduponorunfairlyorderedabout,thatwearenottakenadvantageoforexploited,andthatwereceivethebenefitstowhichweareentitled.”

Associationrights:“Wehaveafundamentalentitledtoassociationwithothersthatisinkeepingwiththetypeofrelationshipthatwehavewiththem.”

Socialityrights

(definedas“fundamentalpersonal/so-cialentitlementsthatapersoneffec-tivelyclaimsforhim/herselfinhis/herinteractionswithothers”[Spencer-Oatey’semphasis])

definitionsbasedonsolidempiricalwork.Spaceprecludesafulloutlineofherproposals,butIofferabriefsummaryinTable1.

Thenotionoffaceissplitintotwocomponents.QualityfaceisclearlypresentinBrownandLevinson’s(1987)notionofpositiveface,andtherearehintsofsocialidentityface.Spencer-Oateyexplicitlysplitstwoverydifferentcomponents:theformerbeinganindividualorpersonalaspect,andthelatterbeingamatterofone’sidentityinthegroup.Al-ready,onecanseehowwearemovingawayfromBrownandLevinson’s(1987)emphasisonindividualautonomy.Interestingly,“socialityrights”arenotconsideredfaceissues,“inthataninfringementofsocialityrightsmaysimplyleadtoannoyanceorirritation,ratherthantoasenseofface-threatorloss(althoughitispossible,ofcourse,thatbothwilloc-cur)”(Spencer-Oatey2002:541).BrownandLevinson’s(1987)notionofnegativefaceoverlapsprimarilywiththenotionofequityrights,inasfarastheyrelatetomattersofimpositionandcosts/benefits,butitalsooverlapstoadegreewithassociationrights.Iwillrefertoallthesecom-ponentsinmyanalysesofimpolitenessinTheWeakestLink,butthemostrelevantcomponentsareQualityface(e.g.,attacksontheinad-equacyofthecontestantinansweringthequestions)andSocialIdentityface(e.g.,attacksonthecontestant’sregionalaccentandjob).

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3.Amodelofimpoliteness41

Inmywork,Irefrainfromreferringtoanimpoliteness“theory”.Insofarastheorieshavepredictivepower,themodelofimpolitenessIhavebeendevelopingisnotyetatheory.Twoareasinparticularneedatten-tion.Firstly,impolitenessisnotinherentinparticularlinguisticandnon-linguisticsignals.ThesameargumentforpolitenessismaderepeatedlybyWatts(2003).Thisisnottorefutethefactthatsomelinguisticitemsareveryheavilybiasedtowardsanimpoliteinterpretation(onehastoworkquitehardtoimaginecontextsinwhich“youfuckingcunt”wouldnotbeconsideredimpolite).Nevertheless,thisinstabilitymeansthatim-politenesscomesaboutintheinteractionbetweenlinguisticandnon-linguisticsignalsandthecontext,andsocontextmustbefullyfactoredin.Someworkontheco-textwasundertakeninCulpeperetal.(2003),butwestillknowlittleabouttheeffectofparticularsocialrelations(e.g.,power)andoftheactivitytypeinwhichtheimpolitenesstakesplace.Thispaperhasasoneofitsaimsanexaminationofaparticulargenreoractivitytype.Secondly,descriptionsofpolitenessandimpolitenesstendtoover-emphasizelexicalandgrammaticalresources,andhencetheyhavealimitedviewofthecommunicativesignal.WorkonprosodyundertakeninCulpeperetal.(2003)byAnneWichmannmadeastartinimprovingthissituation.Aparticularaimofthepresentstudyistoemphasizetheimportanceofprosodyindescriptionsofimpoliteness,andinTheWeakestLinkinparticular.

扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

Itisappropriateatthispointtore-statemyimpolitenessmodelinbrief,becauseIwillrefertoitinthispaperandbecauseIwishtodevelopitfurther.

Baldonrecordimpoliteness:theFTAisperformedinadirect,clear,unambiguousandconcisewayincircumstanceswherefaceisnotirrel-evantorminimized.

Positiveimpoliteness:theuseofstrategiesdesignedtodamagethead-dressee’spositivefacewants,e.g.,ignoretheother,excludetheotherfromanactivity,bedisinterested,unconcerned,unsympathetic,useinappropriateidentitymarkers,useobscureorsecretivelanguage,seekdisagreement,usetaboowords,calltheothernames.

Negativeimpoliteness:theuseofstrategiesdesignedtodamagetheaddressee’snegativefacewants,e.g.,frighten,condescend,scornorridicule,becontemptuous,donottreattheotherseriously,belittletheother,invadetheother’sspace(literallyormetaphorically),explicitlyassociatetheotherwithanegativeaspect(personalize,usethepro-nouns“I”and“You”),puttheother’sindebtednessonrecord.

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Sarcasmormockpoliteness:theFTAisperformedwiththeuseofpolitenessstrategiesthatareobviouslyinsincere,andthusremainsur-facerealisations.

Withholdpoliteness:theabsenceofpolitenessworkwhereitwouldbeexpected.Forexample,failingtothanksomebodyforapresentmaybetakenasdeliberateimpoliteness.

(summarizedfromCulpeper1996:356?7)

OneconclusionofCulpeperetal.(2003)isthatthese“superstrategies”rarelyoccursingularlybutaremoreoftenmixed(contrarytowhatBrownandLevinsonclaimforpoliteness).Moreover,itisoftenthecasethatorientationtoonekindoffacemayhaveimplicationsforanother.Thus,aninterruptionmay,inspecificcontexts,attacknegativefacebyimpedingsomeone,butitmayalsoimplythattheinteruptee’sopinionwasnotvalued?apositivefaceissue4.Thus,therecanbeprimaryeffectsforonetypeoffaceandsecondaryforanother.Moreover,asIsuggestedinthelastsection,thesuperstrategiesofpositiveandnegativeimpolitenessshouldberevisedtofitSpencer-Oatey’scategorizationoffaceor“rapportmanagement”,givingQualityFaceimpoliteness,SocialIdentityFaceimpoliteness,EquityRightsimpolitenessandAssociationRightsimpoliteness.ItistothesecategoriesthatIwillreferinmyup-cominganalyses.

EachofthesuperstrategieswasoriginallymodeledonapolitenesscounterpartinBrownandLevinson’s(1987)politenessframework,withoneapparentexception?“sarcasmormockpoliteness”?whichisnotclearlythecounterpartofoff-recordpoliteness.Sarcasm,inspiredbyLeech’s(1983)conceptionofirony,isunliketheothersinthesensethatitisameta-strategy,usingpolitenessforimpoliteness.Anillustration`helpyourse`lf(won’tyou?)”,saidtosomeonewhoisfromLeechis“DO

greedilyhelpinghim/herselfalready.Thepoliteassumptionthatthead-dresseeisholdingbackfromthefeastuntilinvitedtotuckinisobviouslyuntrue,andsoanoppositeimpoliteassumptionisimplicated.Thus,po-litenessisusedforimpoliteness.AsLeech(1983:142)pointsout,ironyisa“second-orderprinciple”.ButisthereanysenseinwhichsarcasmmightbetheoppositeofBrownandLevinson’s“off-recordpoliteness”?LetusstartfromanotherofLeech’s(1983:80)examples,oneshowinghowGrice’s(1975)cooperativeprinciplemightbesacrificedinordertoupholdpoliteness:

A:We’llallmissBillandAgatha,won’twe??LL.B:Well,we’llallmissBI

B’sresponsefailstoobservethemaximofquantity,suggestingthe“im-polite”implicaturethatAgathawillnotbemissed.Leech(1983:81)

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remarksthatthiscouldhavebeenmademorecooperative(inGrice’ssense)withtheadditionof“butnotAgatha”,butthatthiswouldhavehadconsequenceofmakingitmore“impolite”.Suchanexample,ofcourse,fitsBrownandLevinson’s(1987)understandingofoff-recordpoliteness,sincethe“impolite”beliefisconveyedindirectlybyanimpli-catureandcouldbecancelled(e.g.,denied).However,Leech(1983:82)lateraddsthatexamplessuchasthis“caneasilytipoverintoanironicinterpretation”,andstatesthat“[i]ronytypicallytakestheformofbeingtooobviouslypolitefortheoccasion.ThiscanhappenifsovervaluesthePP[PolitenessPrinciple]byblatantlybreakingamaximoftheCPinordertoupholdthePP”.Themaximofquantityisfairlyobviouslyfloutedintheaboveexample.Tofurtherclarifytheargument,considerthisexample:

[Context:FromthetelevisionprogramPopIdol,hostedbyAntandDec.Theaimoftheshowistoselectthebestcontestantfromnumer-ouswould-bepopstars.Thisextractoccursinoneofthelaterpro-gramsinaseries,whenthenumberofcontestantsisdownto10.Itoccursatthebeginningoftheprogram.Thejudgessitinfrontofthestudioaudienceandcanhearallthatissaid.]

Ant:Ourjudgeshavebeenaccusedofbeingill-informed,opinion-

atedandrude.

Dec:We’dliketosettherecordstraight:ourjudgesarenotill-in-

formed.

Insomeways,thisappearstofitthenotionofoff-recordpoliteness.AswiththeBillandAgathaexample,an“impolite”beliefthattheyare“opinionatedandrude”isnotstated?anostensiblypolitemaneuver.Moreover,setting“therecordstraight”raisesexpectationsofapolitedefense.However,theyveryobviouslyfailtosetthewholerecordstraight,thusfloutingthemaximofquantityandgeneratingthestrongimplicaturethattheaccusationthatthejudgesare“opinionatedandrude”istrue.TheblatantwayinwhichthishappenswouldmakeitverydifficultforAntandDectodenytheimplicature.Insum,whatwehavehereisinsincereoff-recordpoliteness:itisnotagenuineattempttoavoidcausingoffense.Assuch,itfallswithinmycategoryofsarcasm.

扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

However,thereisafurtherkindofoff-recordnessorindirectnessthatisnotcoveredbyanyofmycategories.Considerthefollowingexample,specifically,theemboldenedpart5:

[Context:FromthefilmScentofaWoman.Charlie(CH)isastudentataprestigiousprivateschool,butheisnotrichandissupportedbystudentaid.Inordertomakeendsmeet,ratherthangohomefor

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Thanksgiving,herespondstoanadvertisementaskingforsomebodytoactasacarerforablindrelative?theColonel(COL).Thedia-loguebelowoccursafewturnsintotheirfirstencounter.]

COL:SimmsCharles,senior.Youonstudentaid,Simms?

CH:Ah,yesIam.

COL:Forstudentaidreadcrook.Yourfatherpeddlescartelephones

ata300%mark-up;yourmotherworksonheavycommissioninacamerastore,graduatedtoitfromexpressomachines.Ha,ha!Whatareyou...dyingofsomewastingdisease?

CH:No...I’mrighthere.

ThisisnotatallcooperativeinGrice’s(1975)sense,and,aswithoff-recordpoliteness,the“impolite”beliefisconveyedbyimplication.Itisarhetoricalquestionthatimplicates,viathemaximofquality,theimpo-litebeliefthatthereisevidencethatCharlieisdyingofawastingdisease.However,thisisnotlikethesarcasmexamplesthathaveasoneoftheirdefiningfeaturessomeclaim,nomatterhowsuperficial,tobepolite.TheColonel’sutterancehasnosuchclaim.Whatwehavehereistheoff-record(inthesensethatitfloutsamaxim)expressionofimpoliteness.Ithusproposeanadditionalcategoryformyimpolitenessmodel:

Off-recordimpoliteness:theFTAisperformedbymeansofanimplica-turebutinsuchawaythatoneattributableintentionclearlyout-weighsanyothers.

Intheoutlineofthemodelabove,thiscantaketheplaceofsarcasm,whichcanbeseparatedoutasdistinctfromtheothers,givenits“meta-strategic”nature.Itisnottobeforgottenthatthesemoreindirectformsofimpoliteness,suchasoff-recordimpoliteness,shouldnotbeconsid-eredanylessimpolitethanmoredirectforms.Infact,IarguedinCul-peperetal.(2003),withreferencetoLeech(1983:171),thattherearetheoreticalgroundsforbelievingittoworkintheoppositedirection,namely,thatmoreindirectformsofimpolitenessaremoreoffensive.Ishallillustrateoff-recordimpolitenessfurtherinmyanalysesofTheWeakestLink,particularlyinsection5.2.

4.Impolitenessasentertainment

TheWeakestLink,incommonwithallthetelevisiondatathatIhavecollectedformyimpolitenessresearch,isdesignedforentertainment.Eventhe“documentaries”(e.g.,RedCaps,Clampers,Ramsey’sBoilingPoint),forexample,donotpresentthelatestscientificdiscovery,but

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heatedconfrontationalinteractionsforentertainment.Thisbegsthequestionastowhetherthereisalinkbetweenimpoliteinteractionsandentertainment.Iwouldarguethatthisisindeedthecase,andpositfourgenericfactors:

1.Intrinsicpleasure.AsMyersputsit,discussingchatshows,“[s]ome-thingisengagingaboutargumentforitsownsake.”(Myers2001:174).Importantly,headds“[…]thethrillisinthepotentialforvio-lence”(Myers2001:183).Inotherwords,wedon’tneedactualfisti-cuffs:themeresuggestionoffisticuffscancausethethrill.

2.Voyeuristicpleasure.Againinrelationtochatshows,researchershaveidentifiedavoyeuristicaspectintheentertainment:“Daytimetalkshowsnowresemblestuntwrestling,stockcarracing,orvideogames.Colourfulconfrontationalismandquick,bruisingskirmishesaretherule.”(Paglia1995,inRichardsonandMeinhof1999:128);“[…]theseshowstradeintheexploitationofhumanweaknessforthesakeofvoyeuristicpleasure.”(RichardsonandMeinhof1999:132).

3.Theaudienceissuperior.“Superioritytheories”(e.g.,Bergson[1900]1911),developedwithinhumortheory,articulatetheideathatthereisself-reflexivepleasureinobservingsomeoneinaworsestatethanoneself.AlthoughforeshadowedinPlatoandAristotle,mosttheoristsrefertoHobbes’Leviathan([1651]1946:PartI,chapter6):

Suddenglory,isapassionwhichmakeththosegrimacescalledLAUGHTER;andiscausedeitherbysomesuddenactoftheirown,thatpleaseththem;orbytheapprehensionofsomedeformedthinginanother,bycomparisonwhereoftheysuddenlyapplaudthemselves.

Superioritytheorieshavebeenusedtoexplainthe“butts”ofThereisasenseinwhich“exploitative”chatorquizshows“butts”outofthecontestantsfortheaudience’samusement.

4.Theaudienceissafe.Thisfactorcanbeseenasasub-category

previous.Lucretius(DeRerumNatura,BookII,1?4)statesitjokes.createofthethus:Itispleasant,whenonthegreatseathewindsareagitatingthewaters,

tolookfromthelandonanother’sgreatstruggle;

notbecauseitisadelectablejoythatanyonebedistressed,

butbecauseitispleasanttoseewhatillsyouyourselfarefreefrom6.

Compare,forexample,witnessinganactualfightinapub,inwhichcaseyoumightfeelinsecureandwishtomakehastyexit,withapubfightpresentedinafilm.

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Inadditiontothesefourgeneralfactors,theremayalsobesomemorespecificfactors.Literarygenresthriveonconflictasameansoffurther-ingtheplotandcharacterization,andcreatingdramaticentertainment(seeCulpeper1998).Humorofteninvolvesimpoliteness(e.g.,ajokeatsomeone’sexpense).OneaspectofTheWeakestLinkwhichIwillexam-ineistherelationshipbetweenverbalcreativityandimpolitenessforthepurposesofentertainment.Outsidediscussionsofbanter(e.g.,Labov1972),littleattentionhasbeengivenintheliteraturetosociallynegativeusesofverbalcreativity7.

5.Thenew“exploitative”chatshowsandquizshows

Inordertobegintounderstandthekindofgenreoractivitytypeconsti-tutedbyTheWeakestLink,weneedtoconsiderhowthisquizshowrelatestootherquizshowsandtochatshows.Table2givesexamplesof“standard”and“exploitative”chatshowsandquizshows.

Table2.Examplesof“standard”and“exploitative”chatandquizshows.

“Standard”ChatShow

QuizshowTheMichaelParkinsonShow,Wogan,DonahueUniversityChallenge,Who

WantstobeaMillionaire?“Exploitative”TheMrsMertonShow,DameEdnaExperience,JerrySpringerTheWeakestLink

Therearesomegeneralsimilaritiesbetweenstandardchatshowsand“exploitative”variants.Theybothhave:animmediateaudience,are-moteTVaudience,ahost,question-answersequencesandparticipantsarewhoare“ordinary”people(exceptcelebrityshowvariants).Richard-sonandMeinhofproposethatthefollowingisageneraldifference:“Aconditionofconfrontationonscreenisthatsubjectsbeallowedtotalktooneanotherratherthantothehost/audience”(1999:136).Infact,thisparticular“general”differenceonlyappliestotheexampleofJerrySpringerinTable1.Whattrulyseparatestheexploitativechatshowsfromthestandardshowsisthattheyareallcharacterizedbyimpolite-ness.Thestandardchatshowsgenerallytreatguestsandstudiopartici-pantswithadegreeofdeference.Infact,theyaretypicallyopportunitiesforacelebrationoftheachievementsoftheguests,andarecharacterizedbylotsofface-support.Incontrast,exploitativechatshowsseemmoreintentonhumiliatingthe“guests”.AsMontgomery(1999:105)pointsout:

althoughtheguestscontinuetobecelebrities,theyfrequentlyarenotallowedthedeferenceandthediscursivespaceallowedinearlier

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shows.DameEdnaEveridge,whooftenhumiliatesherinterviewees,treatingthemmoreasvictimsthanguests,isperhapsanextremecase(seeTolson1991);butsomethingsimilarmaybeseenatplayinTheMrsMertonShow.

Exploitativeshowshaveevolvedthroughthesubversionofthepolitenessnormsofthestandardshows.

Quizshowsareaspecifictypeofgameshow.Gameshowsandquizshowsarebasedonacompetition:identifyingeitherawinnerthroughtheeliminationofparticipantsfromthegame,ortheamountofmoneyanindividualistoberewardedwith.Quizshowcompetitionsareconsti-tutedby“quizquestions”,i.e.,questionsdesignedtotestwhethertheparticipantsknowsomething.Aswithchatshows,theexploitativequizshow,ofwhichTheWeakestLinkisthemostwell-knownintheUK,hasevolvedagainstthebackdropofstandardquizshows,wheretherearenosustainedattemptstohumiliateparticipants.However,toallowgreaterscopeforexploitation,thestructureofstandardquizshowhasundergonesomechanges.Quizshowsvaryaccordingto(amongstotherthings)theamountandkindof“chat”thatisallowed.Theterm“chat”isusedbyTolson(1991:179)toreferto:

aclearshiftofregisterwithintheprogramformatwhereitoccurs,suchthattheprimarybusinessoftheformatistemporarilydelayedorsuspended.Thusinthecontextofthegameshow,chatbetweenparticipantsdelaystheactualplayingofthegame(aprimeexamplewouldbeBlanketyBlank[thecelebrityquizshow]).

Furthermore,Tolson(1991:180)identifiesthreefeaturesofchat:(1)top-icalshifttowardsthepersonal/private,(2)displaysofwit/humor,and(3)thepossibilityoftransgression(e.g.,theintervieweeputtingquestionstotheinterviewer).Withquizshows,the“primarybusinessofthefor-mat”isclearlythequestion-answersequencescomprisingthequiz.Butthisformatdoesnotoffermuchscopeforhumiliatingparticipants.Chatreflectingontheproceedingshasmuchmoretooffer,notleastofallbecauseitcaninvolveashifttowardspersonal/privatematters.InTheWeakestLink,chatoccursafteraroundofquestionsandanswers,andhasthefollowingstructure:

1.Thehostevaluatestheroundingeneralandinitiatesthediscoveryofthe“weakestlink”(i.e.,thepersonwhogotmostanswerswrong).

2.Contestantsnominatewhotheythinkisthe“weakestlink”.

3.Thehostinteractswitheachcontestantinturn,ostensiblyinordertorevealtheirperformanceinthequiz.

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4.Thecontestantwiththemostnominationsleaves(avoice-overrevealstotheTVaudiencewhethertheyhadinfactgotthemostquestionswrong).

ItisinthechatinTheWeakestLinkthatimpolitenessoccurs.Table3comparesthechatinthreequizshowsscreenedintheUK.

Table3.Thenatureof“chat”inthreequizshows.

扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

Chatquantity

University

Challenge

WhoWants

tobeaMil-

lionaire

TheWeakest

Link(Veryoccasionalremark)AmajorpartofthediscourseAmajorpartofthediscourseChatposition(Afterablatantlywronganswer)Beforetheanswerisgiven(andverybriefchatsafter)Afteraroundofques-tionsandanswersHost’schatorientation(Non-supportive)SupportiveNon-supportive

UniversityChallengeisverymuchastandardquizshow.Notethatchathardlyoccurs(henceallcellshaveentriesinbrackets).Veryocca-sionallythehost,JeremyPaxman,makesabriefwryremarkafteranobviouslywronganswer,butthesuggestionoftenseemstobethatthiswasafoolishslip,notthattheanswererisacompletefool.WhoWantstobeaMillionairedeviatesfromthestandardformatinhavingchatasamajorpartoftheprogram’sdiscourse,mostlybeforetheanswerisgivenandalwayssupportiveinnature.Similarly,TheWeakestLinkdevi-atesfromthestandardformatinhavingamajorpartofthediscourseontheprogramaschat,but,importantly,thischatoccursafteraroundofquestionsandanswersandisnon-supportive.Infact,theprogramisstructuredtomaximizethepotentialforface-damage.ThereasonswhyTheWeakestLinkhasgreatpotentialforface-damageinclude:

?Answersaregiveninpublic.Faceisfundamentallyrelatedtowhatothersthink?“thepositivesocialvalueinapersoneffectivelyclaimsforhimself[sic]bythelineothersassumehe[sic]hastakenduringaparticularcontact”(Goffman1967:5).Greaterpublicexposuremeansthatmorefaceisatstake.?Answersaregivenbyindividuals,andthustheyhavecompletere-sponsibilityforthem.ContrastthiswithUniversityChallenge,wheresomeanswersaregivenbytheteam.?Theeasierthequestionisthoughttobe,themorefoolishthecontestantmayfeeliftheansweriswrong.ThequestionsonTheWeakestLinkareconsiderablyeasierthanthoseonUniversityChal-

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lenge.Thefactthatcontestantsstillgetthemwrongprobablyhasmoretodowiththehigh-pressuresituation.?Thereisnopre-answersympathizingchattoreducetheimpactofanincorrectanswer.OnWhoWantstoBeaMillionaire,ChrisTarrant’sfrequentsupportivecommentis“thequestionsareonlyeasyifyouknowtheanswer”.?Thechatallowsreflectionontheinadequacyoftheanswers,andthustheanswerer.OnUniversityChallengechatisminimal,andonWhoWantstoBeaMillionairechatoccursbeforetheanswerisgiven.?Thechatallowsashifttowardspersonalaspects,andthusaspectswhichmaybemoreface-sensitive.

6.TheWeakestLink

6.1AnneRobinson

CentraltothesuccessofTheWeakestLinkhasbeenthehost,AnneRobinson.AnneRobinsonwasbornandbroughtupinLiverpool,wherehermotherworkedonthelocalmarketstall.Shecametobemoregen-erallyknowntotheBritishpublicthroughhercausticarticlesforvarioustabloidnewspapers.ShehasdevelopedthiscausticstyleforthepurposesofthepersonashepresentsonTheWeakestLink,asthesequotationsfromtheBBCwebsitemakeclear:

AcrossbetweenCruelladeVil,adominatrixandabossyschoolma’am...allnamesgiventotheflame-hairedpresenteroftheWeakestLink.IthasalsoearnedherthetitleoftheRudestWomanonTelevi-sion.

Theprogramhasattracteduptofifteenmillionviewers,andAnne’scontemptuousanddismissivephrase“YouaretheWeakestLink,good-bye”,hasbecomesomethingofanationalcatchphrase.

AnneRobinson’saciddeliveryandherverbalput-downshavegivenherareputationastherudestpersonontelevision.“You’reacoward,aren’tyou?”;“We’renotfaintingwithadmirationhere”;“pathetic”;“ap-palling”;“shameful”;“stupid.”?justsomeofAnne’schoicerphrases!

AnneRobinsonissynonymouswiththeshow.Whentheshowwasex-portedtotheU.S.A.,theBBCwebsitereported“AnneRobinsonhastakenheruniquebrandofBritishrudenesstotheUSA”.Whetheritreallyisa“uniquebrandofBritishrudeness”,issomethingthatcouldberesearched.Theshowhasbeenfranchisedtothefollowingcountries:

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TheNetherlands,Denmark,Turkey,Australia,NewZealand,Ireland,Germany,Belgium,Italy,RomaniaandHungary.Ineachcase,thefor-matandvisualappearanceoftheshowisidentical.Moreover,thehostsinalltheseshowsadoptAnneRobinson’sinteractivestyle,and“powerdress”inasimilarway.Interestingly,inthreecountries,Ireland,ItalyandRomania,thehostismale,suggestingthatthehost’sgenderisnotanecessaryfeaturefortheshow’ssuccess.ThisisnottodenythatthepersonaAnneRobinsonhasconstructedpartlytradesonnegativeste-reotypesforwomen.Notethatthefirstquotationaboverefersto“abossyschoolma’am”,astereotypeforawomanexertingpowerinaclass-likesetting(class-likefeaturesinclude:examination-typequestionsandanswers,thedistributionofspeakingrightsandthesetting,withcontestantsinalinebehinddesk-likelecterns).

ReferencestoAnneRobinsoninthispaperarereferencestotheper-sonaconstructedbyAnneRobinson;theydonotrefertothe“real”AnneRobinson,unlessotherwisestated.

6.2Theone-liners

Aswillhavebeenclearfromtheprevioussection,AnneRobinsonisfamousforherverbalput-downs.Herput-downsworkby“devaluing”thepersonalqualitiesorabilitiesofthetarget?theyattackQualityFace.Themostwell-knownoftheseusuallyoccurasone-liners,deliv-eredafteraroundofquestions,beforetheattemptstoidentifythecontestantwhoistheweakest(i.e.,gotthemostanswerswrong).Astheyaregiveninthisstructuralposition,thereclearlyisopportunityforAnneRobinsontopreparetheminadvance.BelowIfocusontheone-linersgiveninTheWeakestLinkstickercollection,groupedaccordingtotheirmainlinguisticfeature.

扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

Who-questionsandyes-noquestions

Whoshouldslingtheirhook?Whoisn’tperforming?Whoisawasteofrations?Whoshouldgoandlockthemselvesinadarkenedroom?Who’strippedupjustoncetoooften?Whoisseveralsandwichesshortofapicnic?Who’snotcomingupwiththegoods?Whosetimeisup?Whoselightswillbeturnedout?Whosetrainfarecouldhavebeenbetterspent?Didyougotoschool?Losttheplot?Runningonempty?Allthesewho-questionsandyes-noquestionsachievetheirimpolitenessbyimplication.Theyarerhetoricalquestionsimplicatingimpolitebeliefsthatthereissomebodywhoshouldslingtheirhook,whoisn’tperform-ing,orwhodidn’tgotoschool,islost,etc.Notealsothatseveralare

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metaphorical:peopledon’thavehooksorlights,andarenotrations,picnicsorcars.Rhetoricalquestionsandmetaphorsbothfloutthemaximofquality.Theseareoff-recordstrategiesexpressingimpolitebe-liefs?theyareoff-recordimpoliteness.

(Pseudo)aphorisms

Hewhostumblesshouldnotsurvive;Hewhohesitatesdeservesahardtime

Bothoftheseinstancesareintertextual:thefirstisfromApostles,thesecondismodeledontheage-oldadage“hewhohesitatesislost”.Be-causetheyarenotstraightforwardexpressions,theyfloutthemaximofmanner.Again,wehaveoff-recordimpoliteness.

Soundpatterns

Despatchthedeadwood;Sacktheculprit;Givetheheave-hotothehopeless;Rootouttherubbish;Dazedandconfused;WasteofspaceAlltheseinstancescontainobvioussoundpattering.Theyfloutthemaximofmanner,implicatingparticularimpolitebeliefs.Again,wehaveoff-recordimpoliteness.

Oneimportantaspectofalloftheaboveexamplesisthattheyhaveadegreeofcreativity.Butalsonotethattheyarenearlyallbased-onorincorporateaformulaofsomekind.Thefirstgroup,withtheexceptionof“Didyougotoschool?”andpossibly“Whoselightswillbeturnedout?”,incorporatethefollowingformulaicexpressions8:

sling[possessivedeterminer]hook;wasteofrations;lock[reflexivepronoun]inadarkenedroom;oncetoooften;several[pluralnounphrase]shortofa[nounphrase];comingupwiththegoods;timeisup;couldhavebeenbetterspent;losttheplot;runningonemptyFurthermore,thesecondgroup,the(pseudo)aphorisms,isclearlybasedonaformulaicexpressiondrawnfromtheoriginaltext,andthethirdgroup,thesoundpatterns,ismostlybasedonasemi-fixedgrammaticalframe:“[verb,usuallyimperative]the[noun]”(perhapsaframeevolvedfrom“givetheheave-ho”).However,notealsothattheuseofsomeoftheseformulaeissomewhatcreative.Forexample,“hewhohesitatesdeservesahardtime”adoptsacreativelyoriginalpredicate“deservesahardtime”insteadof“islost”;“givetheheave-ho”becomespartofacreativealliterativepatternwiththeadditionof“tothehopeless”.These

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characteristics,theuseofformulaeandthecreativeor“clever”useoflanguage,raiseaseriousissue,fortheseareamongstthecharacteristicsofritualizedbanter(Labov1972).Accordingtothedefinitionofimpo-litenessoutlinedinsection1,thisismockimpolitenessnotgenuineimpo-liteness.Iwillreturntothisissueinsection69.

6.3Prosodicaspectsofsomecatchphrases

Inthissectionandthenext,Iwillpayparticularattentiontoprosody,especiallyintonation.Thissectioncontinuesthethemeofthepreviousinthatitfocusesonlanguagethatisformulaicinsomesense.Catchphrasesareexpressionsproducedwithparticularregularitybyapersonality,usuallytelevisionpersonality,asinthecaseofAnneRobin-son.Thecatchphrase“youaretheweakestlinkgoodbye”isinfactcitedontheBBCwebsiteasbeingoneofAnneRobinson’sparticular“con-temptuousanddismissive”phrases(seesection5.1above).“Youaretheweakestlink”does,inbaldon-recordterms,expressanegativebelief,butitisnotatallobviousthatthisalonequalifiesitasbeing“con-temptuousanddismissive”.Forthis,wemustlooktotheprosody10.Figure1displaystheresultsofaninstrumentalanalysisofthisphrase,whichcanbeheardat:11

.

Figure1.Instrumentalanalysisof‘youaretheweakestlinkgoodbye’.

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Thefigureconsistsofthreetiers.Thefirstatthetopisaspectogram,representingfluctuationsinairpressure.Itprovidesindicationsofrela-tiveloudness(intensity)andduration.Thesecondisafundamentalfre-quencygraph,representingchangesinpitch(fundamentalfrequencyex-pressedinHertz)overtime.Itprovidesanindicationoftheintonationcontouroftheutterance.Thethirdcontainsthewordsthatwerespoken.Notethatthereisnodirectrelationshipbetweenthesefiguresandmean-ing.Theacousticfeaturesrepresentedinthesefiguresarecuesthatmaytriggertheperceptionofphonologicalfeatures,andthenthosefeaturesmayinturnbeusedinaninferenceprocesstogenerateparticularmean-ings.

扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

AsFigure1makesclear,thecatchphraseismadeupoftwodistincttoneunits,“youaretheweakestlink”and“goodbye”.Regardingthefirst,heavystressfallson“are”.Thiscanbeseenfromthepitchpromi-nence,andtheloudnessandduration.Noticealsothatthereisabriefpauseimmediatelybefore“are”,givingthestressevengreaterperceptualprominence.IntermsofSperberandWilson’s(1986)relevancetheory,suchheavystressmakesaclaimonourattention,andthusguaranteessomeinformationalreward.Thatinformationmightbeaninterpretationsuchas:“thesuspicionwasthatyouweretheweakestlink;Iamnowconfirmingthatyoureallyaretheweakestlink”.Thisimplicationex-acerbatestheattackonQualityFace.Turningtotheseconddistincttonegroup,“goodbye”,thisutterancefitsthevocalcharacteristicsof“anger/frustration”,suchasslightlyfastertempo,tensearticulation,and?asistransparentfromthefigure?muchhigherpitchaverage(cf.MurrayandArnott1993:1103?1104,andrefstherein).Furthermore,notetheintonationcontouristhatofafallwithaveryhighstartingpoint?apatternthatislikelytosuggestfinalitytothehearer(cf.Wichmann2000:69?71).ThisrapiddismissalofthecontestantprimarilyattacksEquityRights(e.g.,thebeliefthatweareuntitledto“fairdismissal”),butalsohasimportantsecondaryimplicationsforQualityFace,asitimpliestheirlackofvalue.Thereisanargumentherethatthisisaninstanceofsar-casm,since“goodbye”,anostensiblyminimallypolitefarewell,issaidwithprosodysuggestiveofimpoliteness.Asthisanalysisshows,itistheprosodyof“youaretheweakestlinkgoodbye”thatgivestheimpressionofbeing“contemptuousanddismissive”.

ThesecondcatchphraseIwillconsideris“youleavewithnothing”,whichcanbeheardat:.Figure2displaystheresultsofinstrumentofanalysis.

Animportantfeatureofthiscatchphraseisthatitformstwodistincttoneunits,“youleavewith”and“nothing”.Unlikethetoneunits“youaretheweakestlink”and“goodbye”,thebreakhereoccursbetweenthepreposition“with”anditscomplement“nothing”:itisasalientdisrup-tion.Tounderstandthisbreak,oneneedstorememberwhathappensin

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Figure2.Instrumentalanalysisof‘youleavewithnothing’.

standardgameshows.Whenacontestantmustleave,theyleavewithaprize,evenifitisonlyaconsolationprize,andthehostannouncestheprizeasasurprise:hence,risingintonationon“youleavewith”andthenadramaticpausebeforetheprizeisrevealed.AnneRobinson’simpolitenessherefeedsoffthisstrategy:insteadoftheexpectedprize,thecontestantgets“nothing”.Also,notethatthesecondtoneunitdoesnotcontainthekindofprosodyonemightexpectofjubilation.“Noth-ing”stepsdownthepitchrange,relativetotheprecedingdiscourse,andcontainsafallingtone,therebyaddinganairofdeflationandasenseoffinality(cf.Wichmann2000:69?71).Theexplicitwithholdingorfrustra-tionofrewardcanbeseenasEquityrightsimpoliteness,asitworksbyremindingthecontestantthata“benefit”hasbeenwithheld(italsohassecondaryimplicationsforQualityFace,aswithholdingthebenefitim-pliesthatthecontestantwasnotgoodenoughtomeritit).

6.4WeakestLink:Anextractfromastandardepisode

Iwillnowanalyzeanextractfromastandard(i.e.,notacelebrityspe-cial)episodeofTheWeakestLinkscreenedonBBC2(March6,2003).Isupplyabroadorthographictranscriptionbelow,theemboldenedpartsbeingtheonestowhichmyphoneticandprosodicanalyseswillpayparticularattention(AR?AnneRobinson):

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1AR:soDannywhatdoyoudo

2Danny:I’masalesconsultantAnnebutI’malsoapart-timefoot-

ballreferee

3AR:areyou,asalesconsultant.

4Danny:Iamindeed

5AR:isthatdifferentfromasalesman

6Danny:it’saposhwordAnne

7AR:wellyoudon’tcomefromaposhplacedoyou

8Danny:alittlebitharshAnne,IliveinSolihullnowsoI’ve

movedup.

9AR:whatwaswrongwithLiverpool

10Danny:eer

11AR:eeh

12Danny:[laughter]it’squitearoughplacesoIwantedtobetter

myselfsoImovedtotheMidlandstoergivetheBrum-

miesabitofhumour..

13AR:whyChris

14Danny:shewasunluckytogetaquestiononfootballandI’veer

postponedafewmatchesmyselfsothatquestionstuck

inmymind

15AR:Shaun,you’reatrafficmanagementoperative

16Shaun:that’scorrect

17AR:okay,whatdoyouactuallydo

18Shaun:erputtrafficconesinintheroad

19AR:youdon’t

20Shaun:Ido

21AR:wellwhataninterestingpersonyouturnedouttobe,why

Chris

22Shaun:shegottwoquestionswrong.Sheseemedabitnervous

ononeofthemit’sjustunluckyshegotthetwowrong

23AR:soyou’reafitnessinstructor[Jay

24Jay:[IamAnne

25AR:whotrainedyou

26Jay:theAustralianarmytrainedme

扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

27AR:oh.isthatwhyyougoupinallyoursentences

28Jay:yes

6.4.1Mimicry

MimicryisusedwithgreatregularitybyAnneRobinson,notjustinthisextractbutintheprogramgenerally.Letusconsiderthefollowingex-ample:

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Figure3.Instrumentalanalysisof‘er’ontheleftand‘eeh’ontheright.

10Danny:er

11AR:eh

12Danny:[laughter]it’squitearoughplaceAnnesoIwantedto

bettermyselfsoImovedtotheMidlandstoergivethe

Brummiesabitofhumour

Danny’spause-filler“er”isarticulatedfurthertothefrontofthemouththanwouldbethecaseinRP(AnneRobinson’saccent,broadlyspeak-ing),whichwouldbecloserto[e].ThisisacharacteristicofhisLiverpoolaccent.ThepositionofDanny’s“er”relativetoothervowelsoundsisrepresentedbystarintheleft-handchartofFigure312.AnneRobinsonprovidesanechoofDannywhichisevenmoretothefrontthanwouldbenormalforaLiverpoolaccent.Thisisshowninright-handchartofFigure3.

Mimicry,here,consistsofacaricaturedre-presentation.AsGoffman(1974:539)pointsout,mimicryinvolvesquotingsomeone,andaquota-tionwillinvolvefeaturesoftheoriginalaccentandgesturalbehavioraswell.Butifonequotes“toomuch”(e.g.,alltheoriginalspeaker’spro-sodicfeatures)thequoterbecomes“suspect”.Thisisthekindofmimicrythatinterestsme.Butwhatexactlycountsas“toomuch”?Torecognizea“quotation”assuchandtoinferthespeaker’smeaning,requiresinfer-entialwork.OnecanconceiveimpolitemimicryasaspecialcaseofSperberandWilson’s(1986)echoicirony,wherethe“echo”isofsome-body’sbehavior(typically,acharacteristicbehavior),ratherthantheirverbalutteranceorthoughts.AccordingtoSperberandWilson(1986:240),therecoveryoftherelevantimplicaturesdepends:

first,onarecognitionoftheutteranceasanecho;second,onanidentificationofthesourceoftheopinionechoed;andthird,onarecognitionthatthespeaker’sattitudetotheopinionechoedisoneofrejectionordisapproval.

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Mimicryrequiresbroadeningoftheterm“utterance”byreplacingitwith“behavior”,thereplacementoftheabstractterm“opinion”with“behavior”,andanextraelement(thethirditem):

first,onarecognitionofthebehaviourasanecho;second,onanidentificationofthesourceofthebehaviourechoed;third,there-cognitionthatthesourcebehaviourisacharacteristicofthespeakerwhogaverisetoit,andfourthly,onarecognitionthatthespeaker’sattitudetothebehaviourechoedisoneofrejectionordisapproval.So,thehearermustrecognizeAnneRobinson’s“eh”asanecho,Danny’s“er”asthesourceoftheecho,Danny’sparticulararticulationof“er”asoneofhischaracteristics(i.e.,ofhisLiverpoolaccent),andthenmustworkoutAnneRobinson’sattitude.Regardingthefinalpoint,SperberandWilson(1986:241)state:“[g]enuineironyisechoic,andisprimarilydesignedtoridiculetheopinionechoed”.WhilstIamnotconvincedthattheirsweepingstatementappliestoalltypesofirony,itdoesfitmimicry.SperberandWilson(1986)donotofferguidanceonhowwemightworkoutaspeaker’sattitude.AnneRobinsonclearlyridiculesDanny’saccent.TherearetworeasonswhyIsay“clearly”here:(1)AnneRobinson’snegativeattitudetowardsthecontestantsisawell-knownpartofthisactivitytype,and(2)mimicrydoesnotinvolveanykindofechobutadistortion?acaricature.

WorkbyCouper-Kuhlen(1996)onprosodicregister(theoverallpitchofanutterance)matchingsuggeststhatmimicrygenerallyoccurswhenaspeakerattemptsanabsolute(nearperfect)matchwithanotherspeaker’sprosody,ratherthanarelativematch(i.e.,ifanotherspeaker’sspeechisXabovetheirnorm,thenthemimicker’sspeechwillalsobeXabovetheirownnorm).Somecasesofabsolutematchinginvolvedistortion,aswhenaspeakerwithanaturallylowbasetriestomimicaspeakerwithamuchhigherbase,andsoadoptsafalsettovoice(Couper-Kuhlen1996:389).Inmydata,thecasesofDannyandShaun(tobediscussedbelow)involveneitherrelativematchingnorabsolutematching,buttheexag-gerationofapre-existingmismatch?themismatchbetweenAnneRob-inson’saccentandtheaccentofthecontestants.Intermsofmyimpolite-nessmodel,mimicrybestfitsEquityRightsimpoliteness,sinceitcastsjudgmentdownwardsfromapositionofpower.But,aswithmanyotherpolitenessandimpolitenessstrategies,thereareothersocialimplications.Importantly,mimicryalsoattacksSocialIdentityFace,sinceitimpliesthatanidentitycharacteristicofthespeaker,suchasregionalaccent,isoddorunpleasant.NotethatDanny’slaughterseemstobeacounterstrategy?anattemptto“laughoff”theattack.ButnotealsothatthelaughterissomeevidenceofthefactthatDannymighthaveperceived

扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

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Figure4.Aninstrumentalanalysisof‘theAustralianarmytrainedme’.

AnneRobinsonasbeingimpoliteinthefirstplace.Howgenuinethatimpolitenessis,ofcourse,anissue,notleastofallbecause,paradoxi-cally,AnneRobinsonherselforiginallycomesfromLiverpool.

Iwilllookatonemoreexampleofmimicry,andagainonethatin-volvesaccent:

26Jay:theAustralianarmytrainedme

27AR:oh.isthatwhyyougoupinallyoursentences

28Jay:yes

JayisAustralian.Asisclearfromtheorthographictranscription,AnneRobinsondrawsattentiontoafeatureofJay’spronunciation.Thehighrisingtone(orAustralianquestionintonation)isawell-knownfeatureofAustralianEnglish(e.g.,GuyandVonwiller1989),notjustinaca-demiccirclesbutalsomoregenerallythroughitsdiscussioninthemedia.Itreferstotheuseofrisingcontours,whichonemightexpecttocorre-latewithquestions,forstatements.AlthoughAnneRobinson’swordsdrawattentiontoacharacteristicofJay’sspeech,therearenoobviousimplicationsofunpleasantness,becausethemimicryisconveyedbytheprosody.LetusfirstlookatJay’simmediatelyprecedingdiscourse,asrepresentedinFigure4.

Risingintonationisnottransparenthere.Thereisaslightriseon“army”andmoreclearlyon“me”.Butthefactthattherearenotclear

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Figure5.Aninstrumentalanalysisof‘isthatwhyyougoupinallyoursentences’and‘yes’.

risesisnotimportantforAnneRobinson,sincethereareotherfeaturesthatarecharacteristicoftheAustralianaccent.Forexample,AustralianEnglishspeakerstendtohaveanarrowerrangeofpitch,andthisisquitenoticeableintheFigure.Also,varioussegmentalfeaturesaremarked.Forexample,thefirstvowelin“army”isclosertothe[a:]ofbroadAustralianEnglishthanthe[a:]ofRP(andofAnneRobinson).Insum,JaysoundsAustralian,andthisaffordsAnneRobinsonthegroundsforstronglyimplyingthathehasthestereotypicalAustralianfeatureofthehighrisingtone.AnneRobinson’sechoisrepresentedinFigure5.

AnneRobinsonproducesanechoicacousticcaricatureofapurportedfeatureofJay’sprosody.SheattackshisSocialIdentityFace.Interest-ingly,AnneRobinsonuttersayes/noquestion,whichwouldnormallycarryarisingtone(e.g.,Quirketal.1985:807).Inordertocarry-offthemimicryofthehighrise,sheproducestwoexaggeratedrises:oneon“up”andoneattheendofherutteranceon“sentences”.ThefactthatJay’soriginalprosodybearsonlythefaintestrelationtohercaricatureisnotanissue:mimicrycanworkbyattributingabehaviortothetarget,regardlessofhowapparentorrealthatbehavioris.

Withtheabovediscussionsinmind,Icanstatethatimpolitemimicryinvolvesthefollowingelements:

Theecho.Theproductionandrecognitionofabehaviorasnotonlyanecho,butalsoadistortionoftheechoedbehavior.

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Theechoedbehavior.Anidentification(orattributiontothetarget)ofthebehaviorwhichwasechoed(typically,anidentitycharacteristicofthepersonwhogaverisetoit).

Theechoer.Arecognitionthattheattitudeofthepersonwhopro-ducedtheechoisoneofridiculetowardsthepersonidentifiedas(orattributedwithbeing)thesourceoftheechoedbehavior.

Finally,notethatJay’sresponse,“yes”,apparentlyacceptstheface-dam-age.However,asshowninFigure4,itismuchlowerinpitch.AsWich-mann(2000:139ff.)pointsout,speakerscandoconflictingthingsbysimultaneouslysignaling“disaffiliation”throughamarkedshiftinpitchandloudness,whilstutteringcooperativewords.Thisisanimpolitenesscounter-strategythathoversbetweenacceptingandblockingtheface-attack.Ithastheadvantagethatitisdifficulttocounter,sincedisaffilia-tioncouldbedenied.

6.4.2Sarcasm

Thetheoreticalbackgroundforsarcasmhasalreadybeenelaboratedinsection3.AnneRobinsonusessarcasmduringherinteractionwithDanny(turn[3]inthetranscription).Iwillnotdiscussthatinstance,becausethepointstobemadearesimilartothoseIwillbemakinginrelationtoAnneRobinson’sinteractionwithShaunbelow:

18

19

20

21Shaun:AR:Shaun:AR:erputtrafficconesinintheroadyoudon’tIdowellwhataninterestingpersonyouturnedouttobe

Inthiscontext,evenwithouthearingtheprosody,itisclearthat“youdon’t”isanegativedeclarativequestionseekingverification.And,in-deed,Shaunprovidesthatverificationwhenhesays“Ido”.Actionstoseekverificationsuggestthatthereissomedoubtinthemindofthespeaker,aswouldhavebeenthecasehadShaunclaimedheworkedforMI5orNASA.ButShaun’sjob,byanyaccount,issomewhatmundane.Clearlythen,AnneRobinsonfloutsthemaximumofqualityandimpli-catesthatShaun’sjobisextremelymundane.Thereis,however,evenmoregoingonhere.ConsiderFigure6,showingananalysisoftheprosodyof“youdon’t”.

扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

Giventhatitisadeclarativequestion,onemightexpectarisingques-tionintonation(e.g.,Quirketal.1985:814).Thisisnotwhatweseemtoget.Infact,AnneRobinson’sprosodybetterfitsdescriptionsofthe

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Figure6.Aninstrumentalanalysisof‘youdon’t’.

′nagyandMagdicsprosodiccharacteristicsofsarcasm.Forexample,Fo

(1963:297,citedinMurrayandArnott1993:1105)suggestedthatthemostimportantfeatureofsarcasmisthe“portamento”ofthestressedsyllablesglidingtoalowlevelina“widearc”,andalsonoted“alength-eningofstressedsyllables,‘restrained’tempo,‘tense’articulationleadingto‘grumbling,purring’”.Asameasureofthis“lengthening”,considerthedurationofAnneRobinson’sutterance.Thevaluefor“you”is0.279secondsandfor“don’t”itis0.729seconds,makingacombinedtotalof1.008seconds.Bywayofcomparison,Shaun’sfollowingutterance“Ido”hasavalueof0.343seconds?roughlyathirdthelengthofAnneRobinson’s“youdon’t”.

Thereisaproblem,however,withthedescriptionoftheprosodiccharacteristicsofsarcasm.Notethatthereissomesimilaritywiththecharacteristicsofsurprise/astonishment:“thebeginningofthephrasebearsastrongstress,thefollowingsyllablesrundownweakly”,the

′nagyandMagdics“tempoisrestrained”,andthe“voiceisbreathy”(Fo

1963:297,citedinMurrayandArnott1993:1105).Intheliteratureonemotionandprosody,sarcasmisasecondaryemotion,itfeedsoffotheremotionssuchassurprise,andsoitiseasytounderstandwhytheyhavecharacteristicsincommon.Whatmakessarcasmsarcasmisacontextualjudgmentthatitisso.AnneRobinson’sprosodysignalspolitesurprise,asdoesthefactthatsheseeksverificationwithanegativedeclarativequestion,butthisconflictswiththemundanejobShaunactuallydoes.

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ThemostrelevantinterpretationinthiscontextisthatAnneRobinson’ssurprisefloutsthemaximofquality,implicatingthatShaun’sjobisex-tremelymundane.Insodoing,sheattackshisSocialIdentityFace.ConsiderAnneRobinson’sresponsetoShaun’sconfirmation“Ido”?“wellwhataninterestingpersonyouturnedouttobe”?inFigure

7.

Figure7.Aninstrumentalanalysisof‘wellwhataninterestingpersonyouturnedouttobe’.

Theintonationcontourresemblesastaircasegoingdown.Thisdown-wardspatternseemstosignalboredom.Inthepreviousutterancewehadtheprosodyofsurpriseconflictingwithpropositionswhichsuggestedsomethingmundane.Incontrast,herewehavetheprosodyofboredomconflictingwithapropositionstatingthatsomethingisinteresting.So,thepoliteverbalassertionturnsouttobesarcastic,whereasintheprevi-ouscasethepoliteprosodyturnedouttobesarcastic.Interestingly,someresearchers(e.g.,ArndtandJanney1987)assumethatitistheverbalcontentthatisuntrueinsarcasmnottheprosody,whichisviewedassomekindofcontextualcueastotherealstateofaffairs.Mydiscussionheredemonstratesthatitcanbeotherwise.

Finally,itisnotclearhowShauntakesAnneRobinson’ssarcasm.Inmyview,helooksterrified.Itmaywellbethecasethatthesarcasmjustdoesnotregister.Perhapsevidenceofthisisinhiseagerconfirmationofhisjob,“Ido”.Adangerwithindirectstrategiesisthatthemessagemightnotgetthrough.

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7.Butistherereally“impoliteness”inTheWeakestLink?63

IsoffensereallycommunicatedandtakenbyparticipantsinthecontextofTheWeakestLink?Thisquestioniscrucial,sinceIhavealreadymadeclearthatimpolitenessisnotinherentinparticularlinguisticstrategies,andsomyoutlineof“impoliteness”strategiesinTheWeakestLinkabovedoesnotautomaticallymeanthatthosestrategiesaretobejudgedimpolite.Impolitenessisinferredfromlanguageincontext.

Asapreliminarytoaddressingthisquestion,itisinstructivetocon-siderWatts’(2003)distinctionbetween“politicbehaviour”and“polite-ness”.Indoingso,wewillseethatWattsalludestothreedifferenttypesof“impoliteness”.Politicbehavioris“perceivedtobeappropriatetothesocialconstraintsoftheongoinginteraction”,whereaspolitenessis“perceivedtogobeyondwhatisexpectable,i.e.,salientbehaviour”(Watts2003:19).Someresearchersseepolitenessasamatterofdoingwhatisappropriate,butWattsisclearlyrightinallowingforthefactthatpeoplefrequentlydomorethanwhatisappropriate.ThedistinctionWattsmakes,inmyview,isnotabsolutebutamatterofdegree.Itcapturesthedifferencebetweenhighlyroutinizedbehaviors,suchasgreetingsandleave-takings,andbehaviorswhicharemoreelaborate,inviting,asWattsseesit,“potentialclassification”aspoliteness.Thispoliteness,heargues,canbeevaluatedpositivelyornegatively(e.g.,itcouldinclude“potentialirony,aggressiveness,abuse,etc.”)(Watts2003:161).GivenWatts’concernswithpeople’sactualusageandunderstand-ingoftermslike“politeness”,itseemsalittleoddtotalkofnegativelyevaluatedpoliteness.This,thefirsttypeof“impoliteness”,seemstobewhatIwouldunderstandbymyimpolitenesssuperstrategyof“sar-casm”.Wattsgoesontosaythatifpoliticbehavioris“missing”,it“tend[s]toleadtoanevaluationofaparticipant’sbehavioras‘impolite’,‘brash’,‘inconsiderate’,‘abrupt’,‘rude’,etc.”(Watts2003:169;seealso131,182).Ifthepoliticbehaviorisintentionallymissedout,thenthis,thesecondtypeof“impoliteness”,wouldequatewithmyimpolitenesssuperstrategyof“withholdpoliteness”.Forcaseswheretheabsenceofpoliticbehaviorisunintentional,Ihavereservedtheterm“rudeness”.Wattsalsoreferstoathirdkindof“impoliteness”:“sanctionedaggres-sivefacework”(Watts2003:260).AccordingtoWatts(2003:131?132):certainsocialinteractiontypeshaveinteractionorderswithlines[inGoffman’sfaceworksense]thatsanctionorneutraliseface-threateningorface-damagingacts,e.g.,interactionbetweenfamilymembersoramongclosefriends,competitiveformsofinteractionsuchaspolitical

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debate,rigidlyhierarchisedformsofinteraction,e.g.,inthemilitaryservices.

ThistypeofbehaviorispertinenttomydiscussionofTheWeakestLink:isitthecasethatherewehaveoneofthosesocialinteractiontypesthatsanctionorneutralizeface-threatordamage?

InonesenseAnneRobinson’sbehaviorisnon-politic:asIhavear-gued,exploitativequizshowsruncountertothegeneric“polite”norms?thepoliticbehavior?ofstandardshows.However,theissueiswhethertheexploitativequizshowTheWeakestLinkconstitutesitsownsocialinteractiontypewhichsanctionsorneutralizes“impolite”behaviors.Asanexampleofanimpolitenesssanctioninginteractiontype,Wattsgives“militaryservices”.Infact,inmyearliestpublishedworkonimpoliteness(1996),Ialsostudiedthisinteractiontype.Regard-ingmyanalysesofarmytrainingdiscourse,Mills(2002)arguesthatweneedtoconsider“impoliteness”aspartofa“CommunityofPractice”(Wenger1998).Shewrites:

IwouldarguethatwithinthatparticularCofP,this[theinstancesof“impoliteness”identifiedinmypaper]isnotclassifiedasimpolite,althoughitwouldbewithinalmostanyothercommunity.Thedomi-nantgroupintheinteraction,theofficers,hasmanagedtoachieveasituationwheretheseemingexcessiveimpoliteness(barkedorders,ritualisedinsults)isconsideredtobethenorm.Thus,ifwesimplyanalyseimpolitenessintheapparentlydecontextualisedwaythatCul-peperdoes,wewillbeunabletograspthewaythatpolitenessisonlythatwhichisdefinedbytheCofPassuch,andeventhenitissome-thingwhichmaybecontestedbysomecommunitymembers.Thus,Iwouldsuggestthatimpolitenessonlyexistswhenitisclassifiedassuchbycertain,usuallydominant,communitymembers,and/orwhenitleadstoabreakdowninrelations.(Mills2002:79)

Itisnottruetosaythatmydiscussionofthelanguagewas“decontextu-alised”inthewaythat,forexample,SperberandWilson(1986)discussdecontextualizedexamples(partofmypaperdiscussedthesituation,thearmytrainingphilosophy,andsoon).Moresignificantly,Mills’under-standingofimpolitenessseemstocutthetargetoutoftheequation.Recallmydefinitionofimpoliteness,whichclearlyincludesthehearer.Inmyarmytrainingdata,thereisstrongevidencethatPrivateAlvesperceivedtheNon-CommissionedOfficersasintentionallycommunicat-ingface-attack.AsIpointedout,shecommentstoafriendlaterinthe

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documentarythatthe“screaming”ofthesergeantsandthefactthattheycome“upclose”can“gettoaperson”(Culpeper1996:363).Interest-ingly,inafootnoteMills(2002:86)reportsthataconferenceparticipanthadstatedthatinhisyear’sarmytraining“hefoundthelevelofimpo-litenesspersonallythreateningandoffensive”,butMillsaddsthat“neverthelessherecognizedthatitwasappropriatetothecontextanddidnotinfactcomplaintotheauthoritiesaboutit”.WhatWattsfailstodistinguishadequatelyandMillsseemstomix-upisthedifferencebetweensanctioningsuchbehaviorandneutralizingit.Much“impolite-ness”inarmytrainingissanctioned,asMillssuggestsbydominantmem-bers,butthatdoesnotmeantosaythatitisneutralized,i.e.,thatthetargetwon’ttakeoffenseatperceivedface-attack13.

WhereMillshasavalidcriticismisthatcontextdidnotadequatelyfigureinmytheoreticalthinking.Millsandothers(e.g.,S.Harris2001,Mullany2002)employthenotionofcommunityofpractice,butIprefer,forreasonsthatIdonothavespacetoelaborate,amorecentrallyprag-maticnotion,thatofactivitytypes(Levinson1992;seealsoThomas1995:187?194),notleastofallbecauseitinterfaceswellwithmydefini-tionofimpoliteness.Levinson’s(1992)workonactivitytypeswasin-spiredbyWittgenstein’scommentsthatunderstandingthemeaningofutterancesinvolvesknowingtheactivitywithinwhichthoseutterancesplayarole.(Wittgenstein’sthinkingpartlyrelatedtotheconstitutionofgames,whichisparticularlyapt,giventhatwearedealingwithagameshowhere).AccordingtoLevinson,thenotionofactivitytype:

referstoanytoanyculturallyrecognizedactivity,whetherornotthatactivityiscoextensivewithaperiodofspeechorindeedwhetheranytalktakesplaceinitatall[...]Inparticular,Itakethenotionofanactivitytypetorefertoafuzzycategorywhosefocalmembersaregoal-defined,sociallyconstituted,boundedeventswithconstraintsonparticipants,setting,andsoon,butaboveallonthekindsofallowablecontributions.Paradigmexampleswouldbeteaching,ajobinterview,ajuralinterrogation,afootballgame,ataskinaworkshop,adinnerparty,andsoon.(1992:69)

Levinsongoesontosaythat:

Becauseofthestrictconstraintsoncontributionstoanyparticularactivity,therearecorrespondingstrongexpectationsaboutthefunc-tionsthatanyutterancesatacertainpointintheproceedingscanbefulfilling.(1992:79)

Andthishastheimportantconsequencethat:“[activitytypes]helptodeterminehowwhatonesayswillbe‘taken’?thatis,whatkindsof

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inferenceswillbemadefromwhatissaid”(1992:97).The(im)politenessvalueofanutteranceispartlydeterminedbytheactivityofwhichitisapart.Agoodexampleisritualizedbanter(or“sounding”,“playingthedozens”)(seeLabov1972).Inbrief,thisactivitytypetakesplacebetweenfriends(ormembersofan“in-group”)andinvolvesthetradingoffor-mulaicinsults,thesuspensionofthemaximofquality(typically,insultscannotbeliterallytrue),andthedemonstrationofcleverness(e.g.,theuseofpoeticeffectssuchasmetricalrhythmandrhyme).Withinthisactivitytype,insultsarenottobetakenasimpolite,butactsociallytoreinforcethegroup.

HowmightthisworkinrelationtoTheWeakestLink?TheWeakestLinkisagameshow,constitutedbyacertainstructureandcertaincon-versationalacts,asIhavealreadyelaboratedinthispaper.Moreover,ithasformulaicelements(e.g.,thecatchphrasesandone-linersdiscussedabove)andverbalcleverness(e.g.,theone-liners).Ratherlikeritualizedbanter,allthismightsuggestthatthe“impoliteness”isnotbeingtakenseriously.Moreover,theparticipantresponsibleforproducingmostofthepotentially“impolite”utterancesisapersonaAnneRobinsoncre-atedfortheshow?itisafiction.Thismeansthatonecannotstraight-forwardlyattributeface-attackingintentionstoAnneRobinson.Asimi-larpointismadebyMontgomery(1999:144)inhisdiscussionofthechatshowhostMrsMerton:

Inorderforaguesttotakeissuewithathreattofaceinthemomentbymomentconductofthediscourse,wouldrequirethemtotreatMrsMertonseriouslyasifshewereindeedarealpersonissuingarealFTA.InsteadtheratherelaboratelycontrivedpersonaofMrsMertongivesamockorplayfulqualitytotheperformanceofthediscourse.Allthismeansthattheoreticallyitisdifficultforahearerto“take”whatthehostsaysasintentionallyface-attacking,sincetheface-attackcanbeseenasafunctionofthegameandnotapersonalgoal.Onemightarguethenthatthe“impoliteness”isnotonlysanctionedbythedominantgroup(e.g.,thepeoplewhocreate,produceandhosttheshow),butneutralizedbythenatureoftheactivitytype.

However,inpracticethingsarelessstraightforward.Whatconcernsmeisthatpeoplecananddostilltakeoffenseinsuchsituations.Thisisclearinmilitaryinteractions,asillustratedabove.ItisalsoclearinTheWeakestLink.AfterDanny’spause-fillerismimicked,heproducesanervouslaughandlooksdown;afterChris’sjobismetwithsarcasm,hesmilesandexhales;and,afterJay’shigh-risingtoneismimicked,hepro-ducesaprosodicallydisaffiliating“yes”andasmile.Theseactionssug-gestthattheyhavetakenAnneRobinson’swordsasanattack.More-

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over,thesenon-verbalfeaturessuggestemotionalreactionssuchasem-barrassment.AccordingtoC.Harris(2001:886),themostcommonlyreportednon-verbalbehaviorsassociatedwithembarrassmentinclude“blushing,smiling,avoidingeyecontact,andselftouching”.Iviewtheseemotionsassymptomsofface-loss(seeGoffman1967:8;BrownandLevinson1987:61).InoneNorthAmericanepisodewhenthecontestantswerechildren,oneparticipantwasclearlytearful.Thereisalsooccasionalevidenceofembarrassment,humiliationanddistressinthecommentsmadetothecamerabythecontestantsthemselvesaftertheyhavebeenvotedoff.Butifthe“impoliteness”issupposedlyneutral-izedbythecontextoftheactivitytype,wheregame-drivenimpolitenessisexpected,whydotheparticipants’actionssuggestthatpersonalof-fenseistaken?Iwouldarguethattargetsofimpolitenesstendnottopaysufficientattentiontothecontext.Thetendencyforpeopletounderesti-matetheimpactofsituationalfactorsisawell-establishedfindinginsocialpsychology(e.g.,Ross1977;TverskyandKahneman1974;Gil-bertandJones1986).Onereasonforthisisthatbehaviortendstobemoresalientthansituationalfactors,asHeider(1958:54)putsit:

[...]ittendstoengulfthefieldratherthanbeconfinedtoitsproperpositionasalocalstimuluswhoseinterpretationrequirestheaddi-tionaldataofthesurroundingfield?thesituationinsocialpercep-tion.

Impolitenessstrategiestendtobe“rathermarginaltohumanbehaviourinnormalcircumstances”(Leech1983:105),and,consequently,theyareevenmoresalientthan“politeness”strategiescouldbe.Itisdifficulttoseethewoodforthetrees:whenunderface-attack,itisdifficulttoseeitincontext,andsoitisstillpossibleforittocauseoffense.Toneutralizetheimpoliteness,thecontextmustcompetewiththesalienceoftheimpo-litesignal.Thisisexactlywhathappenswithritualizedbanter.Thefor-mulaicity,suspensionofthemaximofquality,poeticeffects,andsoon,competewiththeimpolitenesstoneutralizeit(and,onoccasion,failtodoso).

AsfarasTheWeakestLinkisconcerned,weareleftwithasituationwheretherecanbedifferentperspectivesonthesameevent:somepeo-ple?perhapsincludingtherealAnneRobinson?mayseeitallasagameandthe“impoliteness”asunreal;someothers?perhapsthecontestantsinsitu?maynotpayadequateattentiontothecontextandviewthe“impoliteness”asreal.Suchdualperspectivesarefullyaccommodatedwithinmydefinitionofimpoliteness,whichexplicitlyal-lowsanycombinationofspeakerandhearerperspectives.

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8.Conclusion

InmyanalysesofTheWeakestLinkIhavefocusedongenericaspectsandstrategiesthatarepartofthestapleoftheprogram.ThisisnottosaythatIhavediscussedallconceivableaspects.Forexample,thesinequanonofimpolitenessisthatyouareabletoperformit,andimpolite-nessislikelytoinflictmoredamageifdefensiveresponsescanbepre-vented.AnneRobinsonexercisesstrongcontrolovertheconversationalfloor.Contestantswhoattempttoretaliatearemetwithutterancessuchas“Iaskthequestionshere”or“It’smyshow”.Inthedataofthispaper,DannyappearstoignoreAnneRobinson’sface-attack(helaughsitoff),Shaunseemstoacceptit,whilstJaygivesprosodicallyhedgedaccept-ance.Morerobustorcreativedefensesoccurin“celebrityspecials”,assometimesthecontestantsareseasonedpublicspeakersandbetterabletocopewithAnneRobinson’sattacks.Someremarksoncounter-impo-litenessstrategiesaremadeinCulpeperetal.(2003),butthisworkcouldbedeveloped.

Inthispaper,IhaveshownhowamodelofimpolitenessisneededtodescribethediscourseofTheWeakestLink.Ihaverevisedandcomple-mentedthatmodelinthelightofmydata,proposinganewsuper-strategyof“off-recordimpoliteness”andadefinitionofmimicry,andadoptedSpencer-Oatey’s(2002)facecategories.Inparticular,myanaly-seshaveshownthatthecommunicativeresourcesforimpolitenessgowellbeyondlexicalandgrammaticalaspects.ProsodicaspectsplayacentralroleincommunicatingoffenseinTheWeakestLink.Oneintri-guingissueiswhetheronecouldhaveunderstoodtheutterancesas“im-polite”withouttheprosody.Inotherwords,isprosodyjusta“contextualaid”tomeaninggenerationandunderstanding?Thisseemstobetheprevalentviewintheliterature.Regardingsarcasm,SperberandWilson(1981)takethisviewofprosody,andGibbs(1986)providesempiricalsupportforit.Lookingsolelyatmyorthographictranscrip-tions,itseemslikelythatsomeoftheimpolitenesswouldstillbeinter-pretable.Justafewverbalcluesmaybeenoughinacontextwhereimpo-litenessisexpected.Forexample,asarcasticinterpretationofapositivestatementlike“whataninterestingpersonyouturnedouttobe”wouldbethemostrelevantinterpretationinthiscontext(SperberandWilson1986).However,itisalsohighlylikelythatpotentialinstancesofimpo-litenesswouldbemoreambiguouswithoutprosody,andsomewouldbemissed.Forexample,thefullimpactof“youdon’t”maybelost,aspartofthesarcasmliesinthe“polite”prosodyofsurprisedinterest;andpreciselywhatisgoingonintheinstancesofacousticmimicrymaybelost.

Partofthispaperaddressedtheissueofwhyimpolitenessmightbeentertaining,andIreferredtosuchfactorsas“voyeuristicpleasure”.In

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myanalyses,Ishowedhowthe“impoliteness”isdoneinacleverlycre-ative?andhenceentertaining?way.Ialsooutlinedthestructural“formula”fortheshow,arguingfortheimportanceof“chat”inmaxi-mizingthepotentialforface-damage,andshowedtheformulaicqualityoftheone-linersandcatchphrases.Theseaspects?“impoliteness”,ver-balcreativity,andformulaicity?areamongsttheelementsthatconsti-tutetheactivitytypeoftheshow.Buttheyarealsoamongsttheelementsthatconstituteritualizedbanter,i.e.,mockimpoliteness.Thisraisestheissueofwhether“impoliteness”onTheWeakestLinkisgenuine.IfwealsotakeonboardthefactthatAnneRobinson’spersonaisafiction,thengenuineimpolitenessshouldnotoccur.However,Ihavearguedagainstthisforthisactivitytypeandothers(e.g.,militarytraining).Importantly,evidencethatthetargetsoftheimpolitenesstakeitasgenu-ineispresentintheformoftheircounter-strategiesandnon-verbalreac-tions.Ifthehearer“takes”abehaviorasintentionalface-attack,thenthatcountsasimpolitenessaccordingtomydefinition.Isquaretheap-parentcontradictionbetweenthetheoreticalneutralizationofimpolite-nessandtheactualtakingofoffensewithreferencetoresearchinsocialpsychology.Here,awell-establishedfindingisthatbehaviorstendto“engulfthefield”.Thehighsalienceofimpolitenessbehaviorsmakesitverydifficultfortargetstoneutralizethembyfactoringincontext.Notes

IamverygratefultothemembersofthePragmaticsandStylisticsResearchGroupatLancasterUniversity,theLinguisticPolitenessResearchGroupandNottinghamUniversity,whoallgavemevaluablefeedbackonearlierversionsofthispaperinitsguiseasatalk.Needlesstosay,allremainingerrorsandinfelicitiesaremine.

IamgratefultoDerekBousfieldfororiginallybringingthesedistinctionsmadebyGoffmantomyattention.

Infact,thoughthereisnotspacetoelaboratetheargument,SperberandWilson’s(1986)notionof‘ostensivecommunication’suitsmypurposesratherbetter,be-causeitisabroadernotionthanGrice’snon-naturalmeaning,andconsequentlybetterabletoaccommodatenon-linguisticcommunication.

Goffman(1972)citedhereissimplyadifferenteditionofGoffman(1967).Thepagenumbersarethesame.

IamgratefultoAnneWichmannfordrawingmyattentiontothisissue.ThisispartofalongerextractanalyzedinCulpeper(1998).

Mytranslationof:

Suave,marimagnoturbantibusaequoraventis,

eterramagnumalteriusspectarelaborem;

nonquiavexariquemquamstiucundavoluptas,

扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

sedquibusipsemaliscareasquiacerneresuaveest.

RonaldCarter’srecentlandmarkbookLanguageandCreativity:TheArtofCom-monTalk(2004)isbasedontheCANCODEcorpus.Thiscorpuscontainsalmostnoconfrontationalinteractions(Carter:pers.com.).Notsurprisingly,therefore,1.2.3.4.5.6.7.

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Carter’sbookdoesnotattendtothekindofimpoliteusagesofverbalcreativityIdescribeinthispaper.

Isearchedvariouscorporaandtheweb(viaWebCorpathttp://www.webcorp.org.uk/)toestablishthefactthatthesealloccurwithacertainregularityinthelanguage.However,someexpressionsarerestrictedtoparticularregisters.‘Wasteofrations’,forexample,seemstobelargelyrestrictedtoarmyjokes.

ThepointsmadeherealsoapplytothePopIdolexample,whichischaracterizedbycleverness.

Forausefulbriefintroductiontoprosodicresourcesandtheir‘attitudinal’func-tions,aswellasinsightsintoprosodyandimpoliteness,seeAnneWichmann’sworkinCulpeperetal.(2003:1568?1575).Moregenerally,Knowles(1987:chap-ter9and10)offersanaccessiblesurveyofprosodyinconversation,andCouper-KuhlenandSelting(1996)isakeycollectionofpapersonthistopic.

IusedPraat4.2(BoersmaandWeenik2004)forallanalysesofintonation(i.e.,allfiguresexcept3and4).MythankstoKevinWatsonforintroducingmetothisprogram.

Figures3and4wereproducedwithSpeechAnalyzer2.4(2001).Avowelsoundiscomprisedofvariousformants(resonances)producedinthevocaltract.F1,ontheverticalaxisofthefigure,canprovideanindicationofvowelheight,suchthatthelowertheF1valuethehigherthevowel.F2,onthehorizontalaxisofthefigure,canprovideanindicationoftongueadvancement,suchthatthehighertheF2valuethefurthertothefrontthevowel.Thealgorithmsusedtocapturefor-mantvaluesarecomplexandnotalwaysreliable.ToensurethatFigures3and4representatruepicture,Ialsosampledindividualformantvaluesforconfir-mation.

Infact,intheparticulardataIstudieditisnotatallcertainthatthebehaviorsthattookplacewouldbesanctionedaspartofmilitarydiscourse.AnneWich-mann(pers.com.)reportsthat,whensheshowedthedatatoanarmyofficer,hewasadamantthatitwas‘abuse’andnotatallwhatwouldbeexpectedinarmydiscourse.8.9.10.11.12.13.

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扩展：impoliteness / weakest / weakest link

二 : 土9:[The QUIZ Show2]

一上來先放海報。[www.61k.com]。

最近事情太多了，嚴重地影響了我追劇的熱情。。。人參阿～

[The QUIZ Show2]是春季檔我第2部追完的Drama。。第1部是神手輝～囧～。。話說日劇達人的我居然沒有看過The QUIZ Show1。。。反省先。。。但是正是因爲沒有看過1。。所以可能多了很多新鮮感。。言歸正傳。。。開始。。。



卡司：

櫻井翔-「嵐」

横山裕-「關8」

松浦亜弥-Ayaya

真矢みき-阿姨～

卡片男-專門發卡片

ep01

ep02

ep03

ep04

ep05

ep06

ep07

ep08

ep09

ep10

以上為10集參加SHOW的嘉賓。。。不知大家發現了嗎？最後3集正是該劇的主角來的～

我簡單總結一下劇情吧，主綫是一個姑娘引發的血案，原點的原點是一段3角戀。。。A男愛B女，但B女只喜歡C男，A男放弃這段感情的同時卻騙C男說B女不喜歡自己同時也不喜歡C男，C男信以爲真。結果A男和B女遭遇事故，B女變成植物人，C男爲了B女選擇殉情，殺了B女后自殺被A男阻止，A男反而差點挂，然後A男植物人化，過了N年，A男奇迹般醒來，C男石化，而且把殺B女的記憶强制轉換成A男殺B女。同時C男策劃報復所有遭遇B女事故的參與者，包括A男。。。

A男醒來卻記憶全失。。。累計了10集，終于知道真相。並告知C男。C男徹底石化。。。真相徹底大白。。。這就是THE QUIZ SHOW

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

看點：

A男與C男的那段說不清道不明的感情

A男無敵的“花輪君”髮型

清純的B女-[戀空]drama版的女主。。

C男臉上挂的長鼻涕。。。。讓我想到周星星了。。。題外話：怎麽沒個人幫他擦擦。。冊那

最後有介紹夏季新劇。。又是一部囧劇阿。。

人參路漫漫，日劇看不完～

over。。。

三 : The show

　　Today, I saw a film, called "the pursuit of happyness". It is a very great film about life.

　　I really like the father said to his son in the movie: "don't let people say 'you be do it with you, even I also not line, ok? You have a dream, you gotta protect him, didn't do something themselves, they are also wana tell you can't, what you want if you try to get." This sentence tell me whenever you have a dream to defend, can't do things by halves!

　　So, let's round own dream, create their own happiness!

    六年级:张卫雅

四 : Describe a TV quiz show

DescribeaTVquizshow

Well,itseemsthatmanyTVchannelsliketopresentsomequizshowstothepublic,suchas“thelucky52”inCCTV2,“happydictionary”inCCTV3,and“greatcompetitionofintelligence”inCCTV1.Buthere,I’dliketotalkaboutaquizshowfromShenzhenTVchannel,whichisnamedas“whoiscleverer”.

Thisquizshowbringstheadultsbacktotheprimaryschoolclass,helpsthemrecallthosehappymemoriesinthechildhood,recollectsthoseforgottenknowledge.Itaimstoattractaudienceofprimaryschoolstudents,aswellasadults.

Inthisquizshow,agroupofprimaryschoolstudentsandateamofadultsarecompetingonthesamestage,forthoseseeminglyfamiliarandseeminglysimplequestionsfromprimaryschoolsubjects.Itisfuntoseetheembarrassmentofthoseadultcompetitorsunabletoanswerthoseeasyquestions,anditisalsofuntoseethoseprimarystudentsshowingofftheirknowledgeinfrontoftheiradultcompetitors.Altogether,thereare10questionsforeachcompetitor,andthoseadultswhocananswerrightallthe10questionsmayhaveachancetogettheprize:50thousandYMB,butifhefail,hehastosaytotheaudience,“wow,Iamnotsocleverasaprimaryschoolstudent”andthenheisreplacedbyanotheradults.

Wow,it’ssofunnythataftersomanyyearseducation,almostnoadultscouldwinthegameandgettheprize.Andit’ssointerestingthatthisquizshowcanbringsomanyparentsandchildreninfrontoftheirTVsetstoenjoytheirget-together.IlikethefeelingofwatchingthiskindofTVprograms.

the quiz show Describe a TV quiz show

tvprogramme

iseldomwatchtv,becauseihaveacomputerandmostofmyfreetimeisspentinfrontofthecomputerbrowsingthewebsitesandchattingwithmyfriends.anyhow,idohaveafavouritetvprogramandit’scalled“happydictionary”.it'saquizshow.inthisprogramawiderangeofprizesisgiventothewinners.thehostofthisprogramismyfavouritehernameis“wangxiaoya”.sheisanincrediblehost.

inthebeginningoftheprogramtheywillintroducethe5participantsandthentheywillbeaskedaquestion,thepersonwhoanswersthequestioncorrectlyandquicklywillbegivenanopportunitytotakethequiz,thequizisdividedintothreeorfourstages,ican’trememberthisexactlyrightnow,anywayineachstageyouwillgetaprize.theprizesaredecidedbyparticipants,e.g.acomputer,laptop,digitalvideocamera,afreepackageholiday,youknowthingslikethat.therearetherequestionsineachstage,andthewaythehostasksthesequestionsmakethemmoredifficult.forexampleafteryouhavegivenananswershewillaskyouareyousureornot,andthepersonstartsgettingconfusedandchangeshisrightanswertoawrongone,itsfunnyandinteresting,ireallyenjoythispart.theparticipantscangethelpfromothersforansweringthequestionsbutitslimitedthereareonlythreewaysandifyouhaveusedonethenyoucannotuseitagainthesethreewaysarecallingafriendbyphone,askingtheaudienceandlettingthecompuutereraseoneofthewronganswer.theentirequestionsaremultiplechoices.

thisprogramisanhourlongandisusuallybroadcastedat9:00pm.theotherreasonwhyilikethisprogramisthatthereisnoviolenceanditcanenhancesmygeneralknowledge.

idislikewatchingnews,becausetheyalwaysgiveyoudepressionandtension.soiwanttosticktoanoldenglishproverb“nonewsisgoodnews”,soifidon’twatchthemorlistentothemihavenonewsaboutwhat’shappeninginthismeanandcrazyworld.ithinkthat’sit

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