The Pragmatic Functions Of Rhetorical Questions: An Adaptation-theoretic Perspective

As a common linguistic phenomenon frequently used in everyday discourse, rhetorical question has been extensively discussed from different perspectives.The formation of rhetorical questions is influenced by the norms and structure of the language wherein they are used.Culture also exerts its influence on the use of rhetorical questions.Therefore, rhetorical questions used in one culture can be quite different from those used in another in terms of motivation, formation and cultural connotation. Besides, situational factors also have an impact on the use of rhetorical questions.The present paper is expected to reconsider the linguistic phenomenon from a pragmatic perspective, in an attempt to solve some of the problems the previous studies about rhetorical questions have and thus to provide a more plausible explanation of rhetorical question utterances.The thesis takes Verschueren's Adaptation Theory as the theoretical framework of interpretation of rhetorical questions.From the functional perspective on language use, the study presents a discussion of a series of functions that are involved in rhetorical question interactions and these functions are classified into two main types: negative ones (e.g. criticism, sarcasm,etc) and positive ones (e.g. face-saving, humor, intimacy, etc).As for the fundamental research question of why people choose the indirect way of expressions rather than direct ways,based on the detailed analysis of the collected data, the study attributes the choice of rhetorical questions mainly to the speaker's negative emotions, his/her motivation, the interlocutor's hierarchical relationships/their close or intimate relationships,etc. What's more, indirectness can preserve the relationships between interlocutors.In short, the choice of rhetorical questions in given contexts is a good adaptation to the interlocutors'social and mental world.The study of many Chinese rhetorical question utterances taken by way of self-depreciating reveals that the Chinese traditional culture is another important adaptation factor in language choice in attending to the addressees'face but also protecting their own. Thus, the self-depreciating rhetorical question utterances reflect the Chinese norm of modesty. We can see how culture norms and social factors may intervene in determining the distinct patterns of the rhetorical question behavior for a given speech community.