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To achieve successful communication, it is crucial to say clearly what we mean, but, at the same time, we need to pay attention to the form of our utterances, to avoid misunderstandings and the risk of offending our interlocutors. To avoid these pitfalls, we use a special category of utterances called 'indirect speech acts' (ISAs) that enable an optimal balance between clarity and politeness. But how do interpreters identify the meaning of these ISAs? And how does the social context influence the use of ISAs? This book attempts to answer these questions. It deals with the main theoretical and empirical questions surrounding the meaning and usage of ISAs, drawing on the latest research and neuroimaging data. Adopting a truly interdisciplinary perspective, it will appeal to students and scholars from diverse backgrounds, and anyone interested in exploring this phenomenon, which is so pervasive in our daily lives.

Acknowledgements 

List of Tables 
List of Figures 
Abbreviations 

Introduction 

1 Classic Speech Act Theoretic Approaches 
1.1 Introduction 
1.2 Generative Semantics 
1.3 Austin 
1.4 Grice 
1.5 Searle’s Speech Act Theory 
1.6 Bach and Harnish 
1.7 Recanati 
1.8 Weak Literalism 
1.9 Brown and Levinson’s Politeness Theory 
1.10 Conventionalized and Standardized ISAs 
1.10.1 Conventionality of Means  
1.10.2 Standardization 
1.11 Summary 
1.12 Discussion Questions 
1.13 Suggestions for Further Reading 

2 The Semantics of Sentence-Types 
2.1 Introduction 
2.2 Imperatives 
2.2.1 Neo-Literalist Approaches to Imperatives 
2.2.2 The Features of Imperatives 
2.3 Interrogative Sentences 
2.3.1 What Is a ‘Question’? 
2.3.2 Why Interrogative Requests for Information Are Direct 
2.3.3 Rhetorical Questions 
2.3.4 Interrogatives and Declaratives As Indirect Requests 
2.4 Deontic Modal Declaratives: Indirect Requests for Action? 
2.6 Discussion Questions 
2.7 Suggestions for Further Reading 

3 Cognitive and Relevance-Based Approaches 
3.1 Introduction 
3.2 Cognitive Linguistic Approaches 
3.2.1 A Graded Notion of Speech Act Conventionality 
3.2.2 Illocutionary Force Salience 
3.3 Relevance Theory 
3.3.1 Maximal Relevance 
3.3.2 Extra Processing for Indirect Requests? 
3.3.3 Extra Cognitive Effects in Indirect Requests? 
3.3.4 Standardized Indirect Requests and Speakers’
3.4 The Graded Salience Hypothesis 
3.5 Summary 
3.6 Discussion Questions 
3.7 Suggestions for Further Reading   

4 The Comprehension of ISAs 
4.1 Introduction 
4.2 Processing Differences between Sentences Used Directly or Indirectly 
4.3 Processing Differences between Direct and Indirect SAs 
4.4 Are Indirect Speech Acts Necessarily Secondary? 
4.5 Three Linguistic Factors Inûuencing the Processing of ISAs 
4.5.1 Conventionality of Means 
4.5.2 Degrees of Standardization
4.5.3 Illocutionary Force Salience
4.6 Measures of Cognitive Processing: Some Clariûcation 
4.7 Eye-Tracking Experiments into the Interpretation of ISAs 
4.8 Prosodic Aspects of ISA Comprehension 
4.9 Summary 
4.10 Discussion Questions 
4.11 Suggestions for Further Reading 

5 Indirectness, Politeness and the Social Context 
5.1 Introduction 
5.2 The Reasons behind Indirectness 
5.2.1 Face-Threat and Politeness 
5.2.2 ‘Communication’ without Commitment 
5.2.3 Multiple Meanings, Immediacy and Intimacy 
5.3 Face Concerns and Social Variables 
5.3.1 Status Asymmetries 
5.3.2 Degree of Imposition 
5.3.3 Social Distance 
5.3.4 Status, Imposition and Distance 
5.3.5 Gender-Based Differences 
5.3.6 Individual Variables 
5.4 Explicitness and Face-Threat in Complaints 
5.5 Summary 
5.6 Discussion Questions 
5.7 Suggestions for Further Reading 

6 Computational and Artiûcial Intelligence Approaches to Indirectness 
6.1 Introduction 
6.2 Computational Models of ISA Interpretation 
6.2.1 Plan-Based Approaches 
6.2.2 Specific Interpretation Rules 
6.2.3 Hybrid Approaches 
6.2.4 Indirect Directives and Reasons to Act 
6.3 Indirectness in Human–Robot Interactions 
6.3.1 Do People Use Indirectness with Robots? 
6.3.2 How to Make a Robot Disambiguate ISA Utterances 
6.4 Summary 
6.5 Discussion Questions 
6.6 Suggestions for Further Reading 

Conclusion 

Glossary

References

Index