出版物 ｜Sophia Linguistica
Mariko Yoshida
In communication, the directness or the indirectness of the messages conveyed may
become a crucial factor in constructing amicable relationships, and the use of indirect
messages typified by implicatures often serve as a lubricant in situations where one is
required to express rather unpalatable messages. However, in past studies in the field
of Pragmatics and Applied Linguistics, the presumption on which set of circumstances
implicatures are normally used, has mostly been based on the intuition of the researchers.
This study aims to determine the pragmatic strategies that are expected by native
speakers (NSs) of English, to be conducted through implicatures. An online questionnaire
testing 9 pragmatic strategies in 18 different situations was administered to 34 NSs of
English from different cultural backgrounds. The selection of strategies was based on past
research on the subject. Regarding some of the strategies, the results seemed to concur
with the expectations of scholars; NSs preferred indirect responses to refuse requests,
make negative evaluations, and to criticize. Also, direct expressions were considered
most appropriate in accepting requests or invitations, and making positive evaluations.
However, regarding other strategies that were initially assumed to be “implicature-prone”,
NSs’ choices contradicted conventional presumptions. When conducting disclosures, NSs
did not rely on the use of implicatures, and the results were non-conclusive regarding
refusing invitations and making complaints.
