Write a paper exploring the notion of discourse as a social practice by analyzing a conversation between two speakers. Consider how speakers’ intentions shape discourse, how hearers interpret meta-communicative signals, and how both speakers and audiences contextualize what they say and hear. To begin this assignment, you will choose one of the short video clips listed below. Watch the clip several times, considering how the conversation portrayed illustrates some of the key concepts discussed this week.
Where do you see examples of quantity, quality, relation, and manner? Where do you see any of the maxims violated? Apply Lakoff’s rules of politeness to the conversation. Where are they maximized or violated? Do any utterances in the exchange provide examples of positive face, negative face, or face-threatening acts? Analyze two contextualization cues or discourse markers that contribute to the speakers’ meaning(s). Evaluate two rhetorical strategies used by the speakers that contribute to their persuasiveness. Assess the ways in which the discourse is a performance or a verbal art. Consider the aesthetic nature of the discourse and of the hearer’s response. Evaluate the interplay between intention and interpretation in the conversation. What is each speaker’s intention? Is the speaker interpreted correctly? Why or why not?
