Self-denigration as a relational strategy in lingua franca talk: Asian English speakers

Abstract

This paper examines how Asian speakers of English as a lingua franca employ self-denigration as a relational strategy (i.e. contributing to the ongoing management of interpersonal relationships) in talk-in-interaction. The study applies a protocol informed by conversation analysis to illuminate the relational functions of self-denigration and the prosodic and paralinguistic features that help to accomplish these. The data indicate that self-denigration in the ACE corpus tends to occur in informal, non-role-assigning, non-task-focused interactions. It may present as a first-turn stand-alone utterance, or as a precursor to a speaker's positive self-evaluation, where it serves a downplaying function. It also occurs as a second turn in response to an interlocutor's praise, criticism, or neutral statement. In terms of its relational functions, self-denigration may perform a face-saving, face-maintaining, or even face-enhancing role for the producer and/or other interlocutors. It may also be employed to generate shared humour, promoting a sense of in-group solidarity among the participants. Finally, it may perform a socially moderating function – particularly in reaction to a praising utterance – wherein a speaker uses self-denigration to appear modest rather than inappropriately vain. Several such functions may be served simultaneously.