A PRAGMALINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF SPEECH ACTS AND POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN JANE AUSTEN’S EMMA

Abstract

This study investigates the pragmalinguistic realization of speech acts and politeness strategies in Jane Austen’s novel Emma. The research aims to identify the dominant types of speech acts, examine the linguistic realization of politeness strategies, and explore their contribution to characterization and social interaction within the narrative. The theoretical framework combines Speech Act Theory developed by Searle (1969, 1979) and Politeness Theory proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987). A qualitative descriptive approach supported by quantitative analysis was employed. The corpus consisted of one hundred utterances selected from dialogues involving the major characters of the novel, including Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Knightley, Harriet Smith, and Miss Bates. The findings indicate that assertive speech acts constitute the most frequent category, representing 48% of the analyzed data, while directive speech acts account for 32% and politeness strategies for 20%. The analysis demonstrates that Austen’s characters frequently employ indirectness, hedging, and mitigation devices to maintain social harmony and observe the norms of Regency society. The study reveals that pragmalinguistic choices function as indicators of social status, interpersonal relationships, and power dynamics. The findings contribute to the field of literary pragmatics by providing insights into the interaction between language, social hierarchy, and characterization in literary discourse.