Positive social acts : a metapragmatic exploration of the brighter and darker sides of sociability / Roni Danziger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Danziger, Roni, author.

Series:

Elements in Pragmatics Series

Cambridge elements. Elements in pragmatics 2633-6464

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Interpersonal relations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (66 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2022.

Summary:

Sociability is friendly behavior that is performed by a variety of positive social acts that are aimed to establish, promote, or restore relationships. However, attempts to achieve these interactional goals can fail or backfire; moreover, interactants may abuse these strategies. A pragmatic focus on positive social acts illuminates the ways they succeed in promoting sociability and why they sometimes fail to enhance social relations. This Element analyzes positive social actions receiving positive and negative meta-pragmatic labels, such as firgun and flattery, in the Hebrew speaking community in Israel. Adopting a meta-pragmatic methodology enables a differentiation between positive communication and its evaluation as (in)appropriate in context. The conclusion discusses the fuzzy line between acceptable and unacceptable positive behavior and the benefits and perils of deploying positive social acts in interaction. It also suggests a conceptualization of the darker and brighter sides of sociability as intrinsically connected, rather than polar ends.

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

Positive Social Acts

Contents

1 Introduction

1.1 The Sections in This Element

2 What Are Positive Social Acts?

2.1 Positive Communication

2.2 Polite Communication

2.3 Understanding Positive Social Actions through Relational Work Theory

2.4 Metapragmatics As a Methodological Pillar for This Element

2.5 Summary

3 Positively Evaluated Positive Social Acts

3.1 Positive Communication in the Hebrew-Speaking Community in Israel

3.2 Positive Social Actions under the Umbrella Term "Firgun"

Support

Praise

Thanking Someone

Recommendation

Good Wishes

Congratulations

Give Someone the Benefit of the Doubt

Acting Generously

3.3 Positive Communication and the Moral Order: #FAMING

3.3.1 (In)civility

3.4 Positively Evaluated Communication: Firgun vs. Politeness

3.5 Summary

4 Negatively Evaluated Positive Social Acts: Over-Politeness

4.1 Intention and Politeness

4.2 The Semantic-Pragmatic Field of Over-Politeness

4.3 The Contexts of Over-Politeness

4.3.1 Failed Politeness

4.3.2 Intercultural Pragmatic Failures

4.3.3 Strategic Use of Positive Social Actions

4.4 The Peril of Over-Politeness: Flattery in Political Discourse in Intercultural Contexts

4.5 Summary

5 Conclusion

References

Acknowledgments.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 19 Dec 2022).

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781009195959

1009195956

9781009195942

1009195948

9781009184410

1009184415