2013 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Computational semantics and pragmatics of politeness phenomena
| Project/Area Number |
25370441
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Research Institution | Aoyama Gakuin University |
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Principal Investigator |
E・S McCready 青山学院大学, 文学部, 准教授 (30433692)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
戸次 大介 お茶の水女子大学, 大学院人間文化創成科学研究科, 准教授 (90431783)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
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| Keywords | semantics / pragmatics / politeness / honorification |
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| Research Abstract |
This project aims for a better understanding of linguistic politeness. It focuses on two aspects: 1. the semantics of linguistic expressions such as honorifics which indicate (in)formality and (dis)respect, and 2. the pragmatics of how such expressions are used and how the (in)formality they indicate relates to genuine (im)politeness. (1) requires analyzing the lexical meaning of honorific and anti honorific expressions and how they work in semantic composition. (2) requires the analysis of choice of polite expressions and discourse patterns of politeness behavior. A clear picture of how these two parts of politeness work will contribute substantially to empirical and theoretical debates and applications in linguistics. Both of these aspects were addressed in the first year of the project.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Our plan in the first year of the project was to analyze the lexical semantics of honorific and anti honorific expressions and come to better understand how they work in composition. We have made substantial progress in this area which has led to several presentations at international conferences and publications, as well as substantial related work on other sorts of expressive content (detailed in the publication list). We plan to present further results at a conference this summer. We have also made good progress on the pragmatic side of the project with significant results in the topological analysis of politeness, which has been presented at international conferences and led to several publications, as well as a forthcoming book. We therefore are on track to achieve our project goals.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Since the project is on track, we will continue to follow our original research plan, as follows.
FY2014. We will continue work on the lexical semantics and composition of honorific and anti honorific expressions. One aspect of this work has been accepted for presentation at an international conference. We also plan to continue work on foundational and empirical aspects of the pragmatic analysis.
FY2015. We hope to have the analysis of lexical politeness complete in the early part of this year, and plan to continue work on game-theoretic and topological aspects of politeness until the completion of the project.
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| Expenditure Plans for the Next FY Research Funding |
The budget for FY2014 is needed in order to purchase research materials, especially books, relating to politeness, honorification, and their semantics and pragmatics, and to pay for travel to conferences to present research results, as well as for travel to work with Asher at IRIT.
The budget will be used for travel to domestic and international conferences and to meet with research collaborators, and to purchase research materials (books, printer supplies, etc.) as required.
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