Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons^™

A Sociolinguistic Analysis Of Face-Threat And Face-Management In Potential Complaint Situations, Laura Hartley

Faculty Publications - Department of World Languages, Sociology & Cultural Studies

Within the pragmatics literature, a number of studies have investigated the speech act of complaining. In most cases, the researchers have failed to define a "complaint" before proceeding with analysis. The purpose of this study is to provide a theoretical definition of a "complaint" and to examine in-depth the linguistic details of the speech act of complaining, with a particular view to illuminating the linguistic devices employed in managing the "face" of the participants involved in Potential Complaint Situations. In addition to dealing with micro-level questions regarding how complaints are realized in various circumstances, this study also sheds light on …