Impoliteness Strategies Used In "Hardcore" Anti-pandemic Slogans In China

At the beginning of 2020,a sudden outbreak of COVID-19 gave rise to a large number of “hardcore” anti-pandemic slogans in China.Based on the relevant research and theories concerning impoliteness strategies,the author of this thesis collects and classifies,by means of the Internet and other sources,a large number of hardcore anti-pandemic slogans posted all over the country as the research material.Helped with the questionnaire survey,the author discusses the use of impoliteness strategies applied in the slogans,aiming to explore the function of a certain degree of impoliteness in the non-face-to-face communication.This study mainly discusses first,how do the public view and evaluate the hardcore slogans?Second,what are the basic linguistic features of hardcore slogans? And third,what specific impoliteness strategies are applied in the process of information transmission of the slogans?Of the 105 collected hardcore anti-pandemic slogans embodied with impoliteness strategies,the two most frequently used strategies are negative impoliteness（41.90%）and bold on-record impoliteness（24.76%）.The strategy that is not found is withhold politeness because it only occurs in spoken language.In the study the author also finds that sometimes more than one impoliteness strategy is adopted in the same slogan,such as the use of both positive and negative impoliteness strategies.In addition,this study found a new strategy not mentioned in the framework of J.Culpeper’s（2005）impoliteness theory,namely,prejudice.Generally speaking,the study of the application of impoliteness strategies in slogans will help to further improve our understanding of the impolite phenomenon.Although impoliteness may bring certain benefits to our social activities in a special period of time,their restriction and influence on the construction of harmonious interpersonal relationship urge us to treat and deal with this kind of language phenomenon more rationally.