Mitigation as modification of illocutionary force

Abstract

This paper proposes a way of analyzing mitigation as a form of modification of illocutionary force. This allows for a more detailed analysis of the illocutionary effects produced by mitigation processes as compared to other accounts, which mainly focus on formal and functional properties of mitigation. It is argued that, within the framework of illocutionary logic as developed by Searle and Vanderveken, mitigation processes can be described as operations on components of illocutionary force, namely on the preparatory conditions, the sincerity conditions and the degree of strength of one of the act's sincerity conditions. In this view, a mitigated act can be analyzed as an act with (1) an additional preparatory condition, (2) an additional sincerity condition, and (3) a decreased degree of strength of the sincerity condition compared to the characteristic degree of the given act. All of these operations are specified by integrating matters of face which are claimed to play an essential role in the description of mitigation. A number of examples from natural conversations in French are given to illustrate the illocutionary effects ascribed to mitigation processes.