The Modality–Illocutionary Force Correlation Through Language Attenuation and Hedged Performatives
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Abstract
This research addresses one issue that relates to correspondence between the modality of an utterance and its illocutionary force represented by two separate yet interrelated notions, viz. attenuation and hedged performative. Although the two notions might sound unrelated, they do correlate in that a hedged performative can be seen as an utterance whose illocutionary force is attenuated/mitigated/hedged. Further, attenuation, which is the gradual lessening or weakening of the illocutionary force or effect of an utterance, has been confused or used synonymously / interchangeably with mitigation, downgrading, hedging, slack regulation, downplay, sugarcoating, fine-tuning, and downtoner. The other notion is Hedged Performative. Although it was introduced by Fraser in (1975), it has neither received due attention nor its communicative function has been subject to an in-depth study. The aim of this article is twofold: to explicate both notions and to establish a link between them in terms the discursive / argumentative strategies that are adopted by interlocutors to moderate the strength of speech act / illocutionary force and reduce the predicted negative impact of performatives.
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