A Study Of Deliberate Misinterpretation In The Utterances Of Political Figures From Pragmatic Perspective

The present study is an analysis of deliberate misinterpretation from the perspective of pragmatics. Deliberate misinterpretation, as a common linguistic phenomenon, frequently occurs in daily verbal communication. Different from misunderstanding, deliberate misinterpretation occurs when the hearer correctly understands the intended meaning which the speaker expresses through an utterance, but deliberately distort the intentions of the speaker by making use of the particular context or the ambiguous expressions in the speaker's utterance to satisfy his own communicative effects.The study abroad on ambiguity and misunderstanding has been conducted by many scholars, they did researches mainly from cross-cultural, pragmatic and psychological linguistic points of view.( Thomas, 1983; Yus, 1999) In Cross-cultural Pragmatic Failure, Thomas points out that there are two levels of misunderstanding: the first level misunderstanding refers to the hearer's failing to understand the proposition the speaker expresses; the second-level misunderstanding refers to the hearer's failing to understand the pragmatic meaning intended by the speaker. Yus defines misunderstanding as the addressee's inability to select one interpretation from the perspective view of pragmatics. The study at home on deliberate misinterpretation is mainly focused on those fields such as daily verbal communication, English dramas, and Chinese Cross Talk. (Shen Zhiqi, 2004; Li Ruonan, 2006; Wang Sa, 2006) Shen Zhiqi (2004) has studied this linguistic phenomenon systematically in daily verbal communication. Li Ruonan (2006) analyzed this phenomenon that occurrs in English dramas. Wang Sa (2006) has studied deliberate misinterpretation in traditional Chinese Cross Talk. As to deliberate misinterpretation in the utterances of political figures, not much research work has been done. The present research attempts to give a pragmatic analysis of deliberate misinterpretation in the utterances of political figures from such perspectives as Communicative Accommodation Theory, Linguistic Adaptation Theory, Relevance Theory, Face and Politeness Theory. This study begins with the prerequisites for deliberate misinterpretation. There are four prerequisites for deliberate misinterpretation: the fuzziness of utterance, the context of situation, pragmatic presupposition and cognitive inference of the hearer. With Communicative Accommodation Theory and Linguistic Adaptation Theory, this thesis explores the factors that cause deliberate misinterpretation from two perspectives, that is, prerequisites from the perspective of the speaker, prerequisites from the perspective of the hearer. Then the author analyzes the pragmatic functions of deliberate misinterpretation. These functions include breaking the deadlock, protecting face, withholding information and avoiding embarrassment.The thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter one presents a general introduction to the research. Chapter two provides a general review of the relevant literature based on the previous studies at home and abroad. The theoretical framework is laid down on the basis of related theories, among which Communicative Accommodation Theory, Adaptation Theory, Relevant Theory, Face and Politeness Theory. Chapter three introduces the methodology the thesis adapted and sources of the data. Chapter four investigates the prerequisites to deliberate misinterpretation and the pragmatic functions. Chapter five, the author summaries the major findings and the implications, points out its limitations and gives some suggestions for further study.