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Pragmaticsandlearningaforeignlanguage
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intosayingthatanylanguagepresupposesorexpressesHimplicitandexplicit
values,norms,rulesandlaws,and[...]allitsparticularconditionsoflife”(Mey
2002:190).Theysimultaneouslygovernlanguageuse,predominantlyinahid-
denmanner.Thisimplies,forexample,thattherearecertainpresuppositions
sharedwithintheEnglishspeakingcommunitywhichaddtotheconnotative
meaningofparticularsegmentsofthelanguage.Mostlanguagelearners,in-
cludingPolishEFLlearners,havealimitedawarenessoftheseconstraints,be-
causetheyarerarelymembersoftheinnerspeechcommunityinthislanguage.
Thus,theydonotparticipateinformingandtransformingsuchpresuppositions
becausethistakesplaceinternallytoagivenspeechcommunity.Forexample,
PolishlearnersofEnglishcannotlearnpresuppositionsfromdailyinteractions,
i.e.,theyareunabletolearnthemimplicitly,becausetherealityinPolandisthat
suchlearnersprobablyusethelanguagemostfrequently,ifnotsolely,inthe
classroomandveryoccasionallyinspontaneousconversationsoutsideschool.
Finally,Iventuretocallthisworkmacropragmaticincharacterbecause
myinterestisnotinjuxtaposingpragmaticoutputofthestudentscoming
fromtheExpandingCircle(Kachru1985:12)againstsomemodel(anNSstan-
dardoranyothermodeloriginating,forexample,fromtheOuterCircle).Iam
mostlyinterestedinpragmaticcompetencedevelopmentinEFL,i.e.,thestages
itfollows,strategiestheNNSsapplytorenderspeechacts,andsociopragmat-
icfactorswhichdeterminetheirlanguageuse.
1.2.Theoriesofverbalpolitenessandimpoliteness
Humancommunicationispurposeful.Moreoftenthannot,communica-
torshaveanaimforaparticularinteraction,whichcanbesubsumedunder
ageneralsuper-goal:interpersonalcontrol.Thisiswhy,bydefnition,human
interactionisstrategicincharacter,andtherebytodifferentdegreesjeopar-
dizessocialequilibrium,peacefulcoexistenceandpeople’sserenity.Commu-
nicatorsapplydifferentstrategiestoachievetheirgoalandsimultaneously
complywithotherrequirementsthatarebinding,e.g.,theneedforcollabo-
ration.Oneoftheconceptswhichtakesthisstanceintoaccountispoliteness,
whichconcentratesonHthestrategiesemployedbylanguageuserstoprotect
theirownandtheiraddressees’faces”(Verschueren1999:51).Acomplemen-
taryconcepttopolitenessisdeferencelWhilepolitenessreferstochoicesmade
byinterlocutorstopreservepeople’sfaceingeneral,deferenceHisreserved
forexpressionsofrespectforpeopleofhigherstatus”(Verschueren1999:45).
Thisdifferentiationwillgainmoreimportancewhentypicalwaysofformu-
latingrequestsinPolishandEnglishareconsidered(cf.Sections4.3and4.4).
Politenessrequiresthatcompetentcommunicatorsrecognizetheimpor-
tanceofmaintainingtherulesofsocialconduct,especiallybeingawareofthe