The Pragmatics Of Identity Markers In Conflict Talk

Conflict talk refers to verbal divergence as disagreement,argument,rejection,squabble and the like,generating from the incompatibility of values,viewpoints,intentions or some other factors between two individuals or two groups.In conflict talk,the speaker adopts some identity markers or labels to construct his or her own identity as well as the identity of the recipient in an explicit way.However,most of the previous studies concentrate on how the speaker constructs his or her own identities through analyzing turn taking,topic control,stance-taking move and so on concerning conflict talk.Few of them pay attention to how the speaker constructs his or her own identities as well as the identities of the listener by applying identity markers,let alone the functions of these identity markers in conflict talk.The present study is a qualitative investigation of identity markers in conflict talk with data extracted from TV series based on the output strategies of impoliteness proposed by Bousfield(2008)and rapport management of Spencer-Oatey(2008).The thesis focuses on three main aspects,that is,types of identity markers,realization of identity markers as impoliteness as well as defense and functions of identity markers in conflict talk.Identity markers can be very briefly classified into speaker-oriented ones and listener-oriented ones in terms of their orientation in conflict talk.However,according to Tracy's classification of identity and the working definition of identity markers,they may have a more detailed category.The author further categorizes identity markers in conflict talk into four types based on collected data,namely,identity markers of personal traits,identity markers of relation,identity markers of rights and social status,and identity markers of self-interest.Identity markers are context-dependent and the same label can be classified into different types of identity markers according to the specific context in which it occurs.Under the guidance of output strategies of impoliteness proposed by Culpeper(2011)and Bousfield(2008),the present study focuses on the realization of identity markers as impoliteness and defense in conflict talk.On the one hand,the author maintains that in conflict talk identity markers(mostly listener-oriented ones)may work as or co-occur with some offensive strategies to highlight or construct negative and unfavorable identities of the hearer as impoliteness.On the other hand,the author discovers that identity markers(mainly speaker-oriented ones)can function as or appear with defensive strategies to construct positive identities or make favorable identities prominent as a defense.The thesis also lays emphasis on the functions of identity markers in conflict talk,discovering that listener-oriented identity markers often function as a challenge to one's quality face,identity face,equity right or association right,while speaker-oriented ones are frequently applied to save one's own face and protect one's own rights.