An Analysis Of Vagueness In Diplomatic Language-From The Perspectives Of The Cooperative Principle And The Politeness Principle

Much progress has been made in the past years in the areas of the Cooperative Principle and the Politeness Principle study and its application to various styles. However, little work has been done in the study of vagueness from the perspectives of the Cooperative Principle and the Politeness Principle. In the current thesis, the author focuses on a number of selected diplomatic language materials to study the vagueness in diplomacy. To address this topic, both qualitative and empirical methods are employed for the research work. Based on the previous research achievements, the author will have a pragmatic analysis of vagueness in diplomatic language with the theories of Cooperative Principle and Politeness Principle.In order to have a pragmatic analysis of diplomatic vagueness from the theories of Cooperative Principle and Politeness Principle, the author chooses five transcripts in press conferences. This paper is mainly aimed to answer the following questions: (1) What strategy is principally used in diplomatic language? What is the frequency of using vagueness by diplomats and statesmen? (2) What are the basic principles that govern the use of vagueness in diplomatic language? (3) What's the relationship between diplomatic vagueness and the Cooperative Principle and the Politeness Principle in diplomatic language? (4) What are the functions that vagueness takes on in diplomatic language?The major findings of the research are: (1) Diplomatic vagueness is often used by diplomats in diplomatic language and the frequency is high. (2)The Cooperative Principle and the Politeness Principle are the two main principles that govern the use of diplomatic vagueness. (3)Generally speaking, diplomatic vagueness violates the Quality, Quantity and Manner Maxim of the Cooperative Principle due to different reasons like substitution, disguise while observing the Relation Maxim and the Politeness Principle. It can also be found that diplomatic vagueness can sometimes be regarded as violation of two maxims of the Cooperative Principle at the same time. (4) Diplomatic vagueness is mainly to help the spokesperson manage his remarks, to maintain the power of the foreign policy, and to create a good international environment for country's development.The significance of this thesis is both theoretical and practical. Theoretically, equipped with the rationale of pragmatics, this thesis extends the Cooperative Principle and the Politeness Principle to cover a special sphere of social communication—language in diplomacy and disclose the nature of vagueness in diplomatic language as well as the language strategy in diplomacy. Practically, this thesis enables readers to gain a better understanding of vagueness in diplomacy, and is helpful for diplomats' interpretation and analysis of diplomatic language.