An interpersonal pragmatic perspective on seductive discourse

This paper explores the interpersonal pragmatic aspect of seductive discourse (SD). It demonstrates that SD – understood as getting people to do, believe or feel what you want them to do, believe or feel – is more than a matter of propositional content and also more than a matter of the linguistic f...

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Main Author: Jim O’DRISCOLL
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA) 2017-12-01
Series:E-REA
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/erea/5908
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author Jim O’DRISCOLL
author_facet Jim O’DRISCOLL
author_sort Jim O’DRISCOLL
collection DOAJ
description This paper explores the interpersonal pragmatic aspect of seductive discourse (SD). It demonstrates that SD – understood as getting people to do, believe or feel what you want them to do, believe or feel – is more than a matter of propositional content and also more than a matter of the linguistic finery in which this content is dressed. This is because all language forms and all speech acts depend for their effects on context.Furthermore, it demonstrates that SD in the sense above is an inherent part of everyday interaction and at the centre of relationships. The fact that these desires often take the form of background, half-conscious or unconscious expectations should not blind us to the fact that this concern for self-presentation is ever-present. This is one reason why, although SD is often necessarily covert, it is not thereby inherently deceptive. The other reason is that we simply do not have the time to present ourselves fully and explicitly. The exigencies of interaction force us all to act on impressions.Among other pragmatic concepts, a major tool for the exploration of these inevitable interactional realities is the concept of face. Following a brief account of these concepts, and the interpersonal pragmatic perspective more generally, the demonstration of the above claims is achieved through the analysis of three very different cases: an excerpt from a TV comedy, a (generic) academic conference presentation and a (particular) incident during a rugby match.
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spelling doaj-art-2c8203292cec4d2ab125c2de63f19c542025-01-09T12:53:52ZengLaboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches sur le Monde Anglophone (LERMA)E-REA1638-17182017-12-0115110.4000/erea.5908An interpersonal pragmatic perspective on seductive discourseJim O’DRISCOLLThis paper explores the interpersonal pragmatic aspect of seductive discourse (SD). It demonstrates that SD – understood as getting people to do, believe or feel what you want them to do, believe or feel – is more than a matter of propositional content and also more than a matter of the linguistic finery in which this content is dressed. This is because all language forms and all speech acts depend for their effects on context.Furthermore, it demonstrates that SD in the sense above is an inherent part of everyday interaction and at the centre of relationships. The fact that these desires often take the form of background, half-conscious or unconscious expectations should not blind us to the fact that this concern for self-presentation is ever-present. This is one reason why, although SD is often necessarily covert, it is not thereby inherently deceptive. The other reason is that we simply do not have the time to present ourselves fully and explicitly. The exigencies of interaction force us all to act on impressions.Among other pragmatic concepts, a major tool for the exploration of these inevitable interactional realities is the concept of face. Following a brief account of these concepts, and the interpersonal pragmatic perspective more generally, the demonstration of the above claims is achieved through the analysis of three very different cases: an excerpt from a TV comedy, a (generic) academic conference presentation and a (particular) incident during a rugby match.https://journals.openedition.org/erea/5908discourseinterpersonal pragmaticsfaceinteractionseduction
spellingShingle Jim O’DRISCOLL
An interpersonal pragmatic perspective on seductive discourse
E-REA
discourse
interpersonal pragmatics
face
interaction
seduction
title An interpersonal pragmatic perspective on seductive discourse
title_full An interpersonal pragmatic perspective on seductive discourse
title_fullStr An interpersonal pragmatic perspective on seductive discourse
title_full_unstemmed An interpersonal pragmatic perspective on seductive discourse
title_short An interpersonal pragmatic perspective on seductive discourse
title_sort interpersonal pragmatic perspective on seductive discourse
topic discourse
interpersonal pragmatics
face
interaction
seduction
url https://journals.openedition.org/erea/5908
work_keys_str_mv AT jimodriscoll aninterpersonalpragmaticperspectiveonseductivediscourse
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