<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> This paper accounts for how modals are interrelated with speech acts and (im)politeness, to offer a new perspective to the interactions in Shakespeare’s plays. A variety of strategies to save or attack the hearer’s positive or negative face are taken into account within the frameworks of Brown &amp; Levinson (1987) and Culpeper (1996), and the interplay between these strategies is observed in relation to the modals. Furthermore, this study analyses how speech acts performed with the aid of modals are associated with (im)politeness strategies, based on the inventory of speech acts proposed by Nakayasu (2009). It has been shown that there are more strategies to save or attack the hearer’s positive face in Shakespeare which are employed with the use of modals. The analysis reinforces the proposal by Kopytko (1993, 1995) that social interactions in Shakespeare’s time were positive politenessoriented, going further to extend the analysis to impoliteness, and suggests the interrelated nature of modality, speech acts and (im)politeness.</abstract>

This paper accounts for how modals are interrelated with speech acts and (im)politeness, to offer a new perspective to the interactions in Shakespeare’s plays. A variety of strategies to save or attack the hearer’s positive or negative face are taken into account within the frameworks of Brown & Levinson (1987) and Culpeper (1996), and the interplay between these strategies is observed in relation to the modals. Furthermore, this study analyses how speech acts performed with the aid of modals are associated with (im)politeness strategies, based on the inventory of speech acts proposed by Nakayasu (2009). It has been shown that there are more strategies to save or attack the hearer’s positive face in Shakespeare which are employed with the use of modals. The analysis reinforces the proposal by Kopytko (1993, 1995) that social interactions in Shakespeare’s time were positive politenessoriented, going further to extend the analysis to impoliteness, and suggests the interrelated nature of modality, speech acts and (im)politeness.

Modals, Speech Acts and (Im)Politeness: Interactions in Shakespeare’s Plays

Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan

Studia Anglica Posnaniensia

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

{"article-title":"Modals, Speech Acts and (Im)Politeness: Interactions in Shakespeare\u2019s Plays"}

This paper accounts for how modals are interrelated with speech acts and (im)politeness, to offer a new perspective to the interactions in Shakespeare’s plays....

Modals, Speech Acts and (Im)Politeness: Interactions in Shakespeare’s Plays

Publié en ligne: 13 juin 2014

Pages: 5 - 33

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/stap-2013-0012

Mots clés
speech acts, impoliteness, modals, Shakespeare’s plays

© 2014

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Modals, Speech Acts and (Im)Politeness: Interactions in Shakespeare’s Plays

Publié en ligne: 13 juin 2014

Pages: 5 - 33

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/stap-2013-0012

Mots clésspeech acts, impoliteness, modals, Shakespeare’s plays

© 2014

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Mots clés
speech acts, impoliteness, modals, Shakespeare’s plays