Between (im)politeness and face saving acts: on evidentiality in Aristophanes
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Published
21-02-2022
Maria Napoli
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8882-6592
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to connect the theory of politeness with the analysis of the linguistic category of evidentiality, following an approach that, to our knowledge, has never been adopted in studies on Ancient Greek. We shall apply this approach to the analysis of the linguistic means used to express evidentiality in passages taken from two plays by Aristophanes, The Clouds and Lysistrata. It will be shown how the need for avoiding a face threatening act may be a key factor in the speaker’s choice of indirect or direct evidential strategies, in order to protect his/her pragmatic interests and to avoid conflictuality. In the light of this, we will provide an interpretation of evidentiality as a preventive face saving strategy within the context of dramatic dialogues.
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References
Aikhenvald, A. Y., 2004, Evidentiality, Oxford: OUP.
Aikhenvald, A. Y., 2015, «Evidentials: Their links with other grammatical categories», Linguistic Typology 19/2, 239-277.
Aikhenvald, A. Y., 2018, «Evidentiality. The framework», en: A. Y. Aikhenvald (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Evidentiality, Oxford: OUP, 1-43.
Barrios-Lech, P., 2020, «Developments in politeness from Aristophanes to Menander and beyond», en: M. Gunther, F. Iurescia, S. Hof, G. Sorrentino (eds.), Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, Series: The Language of Classical Literature, vol. 32, Leiden: Brill, 234-263.
Bary, C., 2017, «Reportive markers in Ancient Greek», en: F. Logozzo, P. Poccetti (eds.), Ancient Greek Linguistics: New Approaches, Insights, Perspectives, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 299-308.
Battezzato, L., 2020, «Oedipus and Tiresias: Im/politeness Theory and the Interpretation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus», en: M. Gunther, F. Iurescia, S. Hof, G. Sorrentino (eds.), Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, Series: The Language of Classical Literature, vol. 32, Leiden: Brill, 187-212.
Brown, P., & S. C. Levinson, 1987, Politeness. Some universals in language usage, Cambridge: CUP.
Brugmann, C. M., & M. Macaulay, 2015, «Characterizing evidentiality», Linguistic Typology 19/2, 201-237.
Caffi, C., 1991, «On mitigation», Journal of Pragmatics 31, 881-909.
Caffi, C., 2007, Mitigation, Oxford: Elsevier.
Conti, L., 2017, «On the non-prototypical uses of adverbs in Homer: analysis of ἤδη», en: F. Logozzo, P. Poccetti (eds.), Ancient Greek Linguistics: New Approaches, Insights, Perspectives, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 123-136.
Culpeper, J., 2011, Impoliteness: Using Language to Cause Offence, Cambridge: CUP.
Cuzzolin, P., 2010, «Evidentialität Strategien im Lateinischen. Vorläufige Bemerkungen», en: P. Anreiter, M. Kienpointner (eds.), Latin Linguistics Today. Akten des 15 Internationalen Kolloquiums zur lateinischen Linguistik, Innsbruck, 4-9, April 2009, Innsbruck: Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft, 247-256.
Denizot, C., 2012, «Impolite orders in Ancient Greek? The οὐκ ἐρεῖς; type», Journal of Historical Pragmatics 13/1, 110-128.
Dickey, E., 2016, «Emotional Language and Formulae of Persuasion in Greek Papyrus Letters», en: E. Sanders, M. Johncock (eds.), Emotion and Persuasion in Classical Antiquity, 237-262, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner.
Greco, P., 2013, «Latin Accusativus cum Participio: syntactic description, evidential values, and diachronic development», Journal of Latin Linguistics 12/2, 173-198.
Gunther, M., F. Iurescia, S. Hof & G. Sorrentino (eds.), 2020. Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, Series: The Language of Classical Literature, Volume 32, Leiden: Brill.
Lillo, A., 2017, «On the oblique optative in Herodotus’ completive sentences, an evidentiality mark in Ancient Greek», en: F. Logozzo, P. Poccetti (eds.), Ancient Greek Linguistics: New Approaches, Insights, Perspectives, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 319-332.
Logozzo, F., & P. Poccetti (eds.), 2017, Ancient Greek Linguistics: New Approaches, Insights, Perspectives, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.
Lloyd, M., 2020, «Politeness and impoliteness in Aristophanes», en: M. Gunther, F. Iurescia, S. Hof, G. Sorrentino (eds.), Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, Series: The Language of Classical Literature, vol. 32, Leiden: Brill, 213-233.
Meluzzi, C., 2014, «Variabilità sociolinguistica e pragmatica nelle commedie femminili di Aristofane», en: N. Grandi, M. Nissim, F. Tamburini, M. Vayra (eds.), La nozione di classico in Linguistica. Atti del XXXVIII Convegno della Società Italiana di Glottologia. Bologna, 24-26 ottobre 2013, Roma: Il Calamo, 167-175.
Meluzzi, C., 2016, «Pragmatic use of Ancient Greek pronouns in two communicative frameworks», Pragmatics 26/3, 447-471.
Napoli, M., 2014, «Consecutio Temporum et Modorum», en: G. K. Giannakis (ed.), Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics, vol. 1, Leiden, New York: Brill, 366-369.
Napoli, M., 2019, «Strategies of evidentiality in Plautus», comunicazione presentata durante il 20th International colloquium on Latin linguistics, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 17-21/06/2019.
Orlandini, A., & P. Poccetti, 2015, «Specie – re vera: deux mondes en parallèle», en: G. Haverling (ed.), Latin linguistics in the early 21st century: Acts of the 16th International Colloquium on Latin linguistics, Uppsala June 6th-11th, 2011, Studia Latina Upsaliensia 35, Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet, 502-516.
Orlandini, A., & P. Poccetti, 2017. «Manifestazioni del ‘locutore’ in greco», en: F. Logozzo, P. Poccetti (eds.), Ancient Greek Linguistics: New Approaches, Insights, Perspectives, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 353-390.
Palmer, G., 1996, Towards a theory of cultural linguistics, Austin: University of Texas Press.
Poccetti, P., 2014, «Politeness/Courtesy Expressions», en: G. K. Giannakis (ed.), Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics, vol. 3, Leiden, New York: Brill, 112-114.
Squartini, M., 2007, «Investigating a grammatical category and its lexical correlates», en: M. Squartini (ed.), Evidentiality between lexicon and grammar, Special Issue of Italian Journal of Linguistics 19/1, 1-6.
Squartini, M., 2018, «Extragrammatical expression of information source», en: A. Y. Aikhenvald (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Evidentiality, Oxford: OUP, 273-285.
Unceta Gómez, L., 2020, «The Politics of Manipulation: Politeness and Insincerity in the Language of Parasites and Courtesans in Plautus’ Comedies», en: M. Gunther, F. Iurescia, S. Hof, G. Sorrentino (eds.), Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, Series: The Language of Classical Literature, vol. 32, Leiden: Brill, 291-316.
Van Rooy, R., 2016, «The Relevance of Evidentiality for Ancient Greek. Some Explorative Steps through Plato», Journal of Greek Linguistics 16, 3-46.
Voghera, M., 2012, «Chitarre, violini, banjo e cose del genere», en: A. M. Thornton, M. Voghera (eds.), Per Tullio De Mauro. Studi offerti dalle allieve in occasione del suo 800 compleanno, Studies in Language Companion Series 189, Roma: Aracne, 341-364.
Voghera, M., & L. Collu, 2017, «Intentional vagueness. A corpus-based analysis of Italian and German», en: M. Napoli, M. Ravetto (eds.), Exploring Intensification: synchronic, diachronic and cross-linguistic Perspectives. Studies in Language Companion Series 189, Amsterdam, Philadelphia: Benjamins, 371-389.
Watts, R. J., 2003, Politeness, Cambridge: CUP.
Willi, A., 2003, The Languages of Aristophanes: Aspects of Linguistic Variation in Classical Attic Greek, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Aikhenvald, A. Y., 2015, «Evidentials: Their links with other grammatical categories», Linguistic Typology 19/2, 239-277.
Aikhenvald, A. Y., 2018, «Evidentiality. The framework», en: A. Y. Aikhenvald (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Evidentiality, Oxford: OUP, 1-43.
Barrios-Lech, P., 2020, «Developments in politeness from Aristophanes to Menander and beyond», en: M. Gunther, F. Iurescia, S. Hof, G. Sorrentino (eds.), Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, Series: The Language of Classical Literature, vol. 32, Leiden: Brill, 234-263.
Bary, C., 2017, «Reportive markers in Ancient Greek», en: F. Logozzo, P. Poccetti (eds.), Ancient Greek Linguistics: New Approaches, Insights, Perspectives, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 299-308.
Battezzato, L., 2020, «Oedipus and Tiresias: Im/politeness Theory and the Interpretation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus», en: M. Gunther, F. Iurescia, S. Hof, G. Sorrentino (eds.), Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, Series: The Language of Classical Literature, vol. 32, Leiden: Brill, 187-212.
Brown, P., & S. C. Levinson, 1987, Politeness. Some universals in language usage, Cambridge: CUP.
Brugmann, C. M., & M. Macaulay, 2015, «Characterizing evidentiality», Linguistic Typology 19/2, 201-237.
Caffi, C., 1991, «On mitigation», Journal of Pragmatics 31, 881-909.
Caffi, C., 2007, Mitigation, Oxford: Elsevier.
Conti, L., 2017, «On the non-prototypical uses of adverbs in Homer: analysis of ἤδη», en: F. Logozzo, P. Poccetti (eds.), Ancient Greek Linguistics: New Approaches, Insights, Perspectives, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 123-136.
Culpeper, J., 2011, Impoliteness: Using Language to Cause Offence, Cambridge: CUP.
Cuzzolin, P., 2010, «Evidentialität Strategien im Lateinischen. Vorläufige Bemerkungen», en: P. Anreiter, M. Kienpointner (eds.), Latin Linguistics Today. Akten des 15 Internationalen Kolloquiums zur lateinischen Linguistik, Innsbruck, 4-9, April 2009, Innsbruck: Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft, 247-256.
Denizot, C., 2012, «Impolite orders in Ancient Greek? The οὐκ ἐρεῖς; type», Journal of Historical Pragmatics 13/1, 110-128.
Dickey, E., 2016, «Emotional Language and Formulae of Persuasion in Greek Papyrus Letters», en: E. Sanders, M. Johncock (eds.), Emotion and Persuasion in Classical Antiquity, 237-262, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner.
Greco, P., 2013, «Latin Accusativus cum Participio: syntactic description, evidential values, and diachronic development», Journal of Latin Linguistics 12/2, 173-198.
Gunther, M., F. Iurescia, S. Hof & G. Sorrentino (eds.), 2020. Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, Series: The Language of Classical Literature, Volume 32, Leiden: Brill.
Lillo, A., 2017, «On the oblique optative in Herodotus’ completive sentences, an evidentiality mark in Ancient Greek», en: F. Logozzo, P. Poccetti (eds.), Ancient Greek Linguistics: New Approaches, Insights, Perspectives, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 319-332.
Logozzo, F., & P. Poccetti (eds.), 2017, Ancient Greek Linguistics: New Approaches, Insights, Perspectives, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.
Lloyd, M., 2020, «Politeness and impoliteness in Aristophanes», en: M. Gunther, F. Iurescia, S. Hof, G. Sorrentino (eds.), Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, Series: The Language of Classical Literature, vol. 32, Leiden: Brill, 213-233.
Meluzzi, C., 2014, «Variabilità sociolinguistica e pragmatica nelle commedie femminili di Aristofane», en: N. Grandi, M. Nissim, F. Tamburini, M. Vayra (eds.), La nozione di classico in Linguistica. Atti del XXXVIII Convegno della Società Italiana di Glottologia. Bologna, 24-26 ottobre 2013, Roma: Il Calamo, 167-175.
Meluzzi, C., 2016, «Pragmatic use of Ancient Greek pronouns in two communicative frameworks», Pragmatics 26/3, 447-471.
Napoli, M., 2014, «Consecutio Temporum et Modorum», en: G. K. Giannakis (ed.), Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics, vol. 1, Leiden, New York: Brill, 366-369.
Napoli, M., 2019, «Strategies of evidentiality in Plautus», comunicazione presentata durante il 20th International colloquium on Latin linguistics, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 17-21/06/2019.
Orlandini, A., & P. Poccetti, 2015, «Specie – re vera: deux mondes en parallèle», en: G. Haverling (ed.), Latin linguistics in the early 21st century: Acts of the 16th International Colloquium on Latin linguistics, Uppsala June 6th-11th, 2011, Studia Latina Upsaliensia 35, Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet, 502-516.
Orlandini, A., & P. Poccetti, 2017. «Manifestazioni del ‘locutore’ in greco», en: F. Logozzo, P. Poccetti (eds.), Ancient Greek Linguistics: New Approaches, Insights, Perspectives, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 353-390.
Palmer, G., 1996, Towards a theory of cultural linguistics, Austin: University of Texas Press.
Poccetti, P., 2014, «Politeness/Courtesy Expressions», en: G. K. Giannakis (ed.), Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics, vol. 3, Leiden, New York: Brill, 112-114.
Squartini, M., 2007, «Investigating a grammatical category and its lexical correlates», en: M. Squartini (ed.), Evidentiality between lexicon and grammar, Special Issue of Italian Journal of Linguistics 19/1, 1-6.
Squartini, M., 2018, «Extragrammatical expression of information source», en: A. Y. Aikhenvald (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Evidentiality, Oxford: OUP, 273-285.
Unceta Gómez, L., 2020, «The Politics of Manipulation: Politeness and Insincerity in the Language of Parasites and Courtesans in Plautus’ Comedies», en: M. Gunther, F. Iurescia, S. Hof, G. Sorrentino (eds.), Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, Series: The Language of Classical Literature, vol. 32, Leiden: Brill, 291-316.
Van Rooy, R., 2016, «The Relevance of Evidentiality for Ancient Greek. Some Explorative Steps through Plato», Journal of Greek Linguistics 16, 3-46.
Voghera, M., 2012, «Chitarre, violini, banjo e cose del genere», en: A. M. Thornton, M. Voghera (eds.), Per Tullio De Mauro. Studi offerti dalle allieve in occasione del suo 800 compleanno, Studies in Language Companion Series 189, Roma: Aracne, 341-364.
Voghera, M., & L. Collu, 2017, «Intentional vagueness. A corpus-based analysis of Italian and German», en: M. Napoli, M. Ravetto (eds.), Exploring Intensification: synchronic, diachronic and cross-linguistic Perspectives. Studies in Language Companion Series 189, Amsterdam, Philadelphia: Benjamins, 371-389.
Watts, R. J., 2003, Politeness, Cambridge: CUP.
Willi, A., 2003, The Languages of Aristophanes: Aspects of Linguistic Variation in Classical Attic Greek, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Section
"New Insights into Politeness and Impoliteness"
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