A Pragmatic Study Of Rhetorical Questions In Argumentative Discourse

A rhetorical question(hereinafter called RQ)is a sentence in which an affirmative proposition is expressed in the form of a question.It is assumed to have a stronger mood than the declarative sentence and is apt to invoke introspection from the addressees.RQs have been extensively studied from various perspectives,such as rhetoric,syntax,semantics and pragmatics.A pragmatic perspective on RQs mostly focuses on the pragmatic meanings and context-dependent functions in diverse discourse types.As is observed,few studies have explored the RQs in argumentative discourse.During the argumentation,RQs have been pervasively used by debaters as a pragmatic strategy to achieve a persuasive goal.Therefore,this study attempts to investigate the RQs in the argumentative discourse with a specific focus on the various illocutionary forces and the maneuvering strategies.Within the analytical frameworks of speech act theory and pragma-dialectical theory,the study seeks to explore two questions: 1)What types of illocutionary forces are conveyed in RQs in the argumentative discourse? 2)How are RQs strategically maneuvered in the argumentative discourse? The data are drawn from an online debating program Let's Talk.The study firstly attempts to classify these RQs in terms of orientation in the argumentative discourse and then analyze the various illocutionary forces of them on the basis of speech act theory.Following this,the manipulation of RQs in the two aspects of potential topic and audience demand is analyzed.Two major findings are summarized as follows.1)The offense-oriented RQs are used to realize the illocutionary forces of refuting arguments and making accusations while the defense-oriented RQs are raised to realize the illocutionary forces of making an appeal and reminding others.2)In the aspect of topical potential,RQs are often maneuvered strategically to convert the topic,negate the presupposition of the topic,expand the topic focus and narrow the topic focus.Moreover,in the aspect of audience demand,RQs are often maneuvered strategically to achieve theidentification with audience from three aspects,i.e.,identification by antithesis,identification by inaccuracy and identification by sympathy.This study provides a new perspective for people to understand RQs in specific discourse.At the same time the research also contributes to improving the quality of argumentative discourse and providing some insights for speech and debate enthusiasts.