同学们，本栏目是对你们学过的知识和生活中常见问题的归纳。其中，有一些共性问题，也许你会需要哦！

让我来帮你解决常见问题！

Question1: What are pragmatic functions of hedges?

Answer:

Hedges are frequently found in social interactions. People use different hedges to achieve different communicative effects, and they are closely related to the CP, the PP and conversational implicature.

In communication, sometimes people have to violate certain maxims of the CP in order to observe another, and in such cases, hedges may be used by the speaker to indicate that some maxims are violated. It is on the part of the hearer to infer the implicature arising from the use of the hedges, for example: I think he is probably wounded.

Hedges are used as mitigators for politeness reasons. E.g. That’s very kind of you.

Question2: what are the maxims of the politeness principle (PP)?

Answer:

Besides being cooperative, participants of conversations normally try to be polite. The speakers consider the matter of face for themselves and others. Based on this observation, Leech proposes the politeness principle (PP), which contains six maxims.

 Tact

Minimize cost to other.

Maximize benefit to other. 

 Generosity

Minimize benefit to self.

Maximize cost to self. 

 Approbation

Minimize dispraise of other.

Maximize praise of other. 

 Modesty

Minimize praise of self.

Maximize dispraise of self. 

 Agreement

Minimize disagreement between self and other.

Maximize agreement between self and other. 

 Sympathy

Minimize antipathy between self and other.

Maximize sympathy between self and other.

Question3: What are the maxims of cooperative Principle?

Answer:

The general idea behind the principle is that people involved in a conversation will cooperate with each other. Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. The maxims are:

 The maxim of quantity 

1) Make your contribution as informative as is required (for the current purposes of the exchange).

2) Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

 The maxim of quality – Try to make your contribution one that is true.

1) Do not say what you believe to be false. 

2) Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

 The maxim of relevance – Be relevant.

 The maxim of manner – Be perspicuous. 

1) Avoid obscurity of expression. 

2) Avoid ambiguity. 

3) Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity). 

4) Be orderly. 