Sobre el valor pseudo inclusivo de la primera persona del plural en laIlíada

Abstract

In the Iliad, first person plural forms are scarcely used with a pseudo-inclusive meaning. This use is observed in potentially face-threatening speech acts, concretely, both in directives and in complaints, and it reflects different (im)politeness strategies. The pseudo-inclusive meaning is promoted by the description of non-factual states of affairs and by contextual devices that orient the discourse to the interlocutor. In directives, pseudo-inclusive forms function, as previous studies have suggested, as a positive politeness strategy. In most of the complaints, on the contrary, the pseudo-inclusive forms may be rather analysed as a negative politeness strategy, particularly, as a means to protect the addressee’s self-esteem and dignity. In these contexts, pseudo-inclusive forms contribute to avoid the expression of direct disapproval and accusation. In other complaints, however, pseudo-inclusive forms function as a mock politeness strategy. In these cases, the pseudo-inclusive meaning serves the speaker to humiliate the addressee and to reinforce his/her own social or moral position of superiority.