INDIRECTNESS, IMPOLITENESS AND CONFRONTATION
Indirectness is part of everyday interaction in spoken English. It is important to learn to handle and interpret the conventional politeness forms and the force each carries, as these serve to construct and negotiate meanings and actions which lead to a satisfactory outcome for both or all the participants.
This does not mean that speakers are invariably polite to each other. Far from it. Mutual insults among some communities represent a form of solidarity. In many other contexts, competitiveness or a desire to score off the adversary lead quickly to confrontational attitudes and acrimonious exchanges. Indirectness and implicit meanings are common in such cases also, as is illustrated in the following extract from Ian Rankin’s novel Set in Darkness.
Detective Inspector Linford is sitting in his BMW in the only spare bay belonging to a large office block in Edinburgh. Another car approaches and stops, its driver sounding the horn and gesturing:
Linford slid his window down.
‘That’s my space you’re in, so if you wouldn’t mind.......?’.1
Linford looked around. ‘I don’t see any signs.’2
‘This is staff parking.’3 A glance at a wristwatch. ‘And I’m late for a meeting.’4
Linford looked towards where another driver was getting into his car. ‘Space there for you.’5
‘You deaf or what?’6 Angry face, jaw jutting and tensed. A man looking for a fight. Linford was just about ready. ‘So you’d rather argue with me than get to your meet ing?’7 He looked towards where another car was leaving. ‘Nice spot over there.’8
‘That’s Harley. He takes his lunch hour at the gym. I’ll be in the meeting when he gets back, and that’s his space.9 Which is why you move your junk heap.’10
‘This from a man who drives a Sierra Cosworth.’11
‘Wrong answer.’12 The man yanked Linford’s door open.
‘The assault charge is going to look bloody good on your CV.’13
‘You’ll have fun trying to make a complaint through broken teeth.’14
‘And you’ll be in the cells for assaulting a police officer.’15
The man stopped, his jaw retreating a fraction. His Adam’s apple was prominent when he swallowed. Linford took the opportunity to reach into his jacket, showing his warrant card.
‘So now you know who I am.’16 Linford said, ‘But I didn’t catch your name . . .?’17
‘Look. I’m sorry.’18 The man had turned from fire to sun, his grin trying for embarrassed apology. ‘I didn’t mean to . . .19
You will see that the numbered sentences of the fictional dialogue are either declaratives or interrogatives, although some of the clauses are verbless. Notice how the two speakers overlay the basic force of question and assertion with other more implicit forces such as explanation, reason, warning, threat, apology, challenge, provocation, suggestion, excuse. It is these indirect meanings that are inferred and which interest us here.
