"Vou ver e te aviso": polidez e estratégias de recusa velada por falantes nativos de português brasileiro

Abstract

In this research, we investigate, from the Conversational Pragmatic perspective, based on theories such as the Gricean theory (1975[1982]) and the Politeness theory (Brown and Levinson, 1987), linguistic usages frequently expressed by Brazilian Portuguese native speakers in certain interactional situations. We denominate such uses, generically, as veiled refusal. To this end, we reviewed the relevant literature on the topic, especially the basic concepts of Conversational Pragmatics. Then, we resort to some representative data to illustrate the existence of the selected research problem, seeking to demonstrate the plausibility of the idea that this specific linguistic behavior can be explained by pragmatic theories, especially those that include concepts such as implicatures, politeness, attenuation, and indirectness. We also consider that the existence of this research problem shows that there are marked pragmatic differences at the cultural level (that is, in the communicative use of language) between native Brazilian Portuguese speakers and foreigners (speakers of other languages that do not know certain cultural aspects linguistically manifested by Brazilians). We also emphasize the relevance of such research problem in the field of Pragmatics, since Politeness Theory (PT) and its development represent a great interest of study within the scope of linguistic interaction in several contexts. In order to obtain the results we present, which consist of the analysis and discussion of some of the data mentioned, we sought to describe them according to pragmatic concepts in general. As a result, based on the data we analyzed, we confirmed that the linguistic phenomenon selected for this study is supported by real uses of language by Brazilians and that pragmatic analysis, more specifically through the Gricean theory and the PT, can contribute to the description and analysis of this phenomenon.