Wywoływanie lęku jako strategia nakłaniająca (na przykładzie wypowiedzi uczniów gimnazjum)

Abstract

The article describes and analyzes how junior high students understand the meaning of fear, as well as how it is used to communicate. The results of the survey carried out in the Lublin Province show that although youth develop a denotation scope of the subject term, they’d rather use a persuading strategy based on the attempts to evoke fear and frighten an interlocutor. The realization of such a procedure is usually performed in two phases, that is, once a communication situation is recognized, the choice of suitable (effective) linguistic structures is made. Verbs expressing a wish and a duty, evaluating/assessing labels, text meta-operators emphasizing illocutionary strength/power of an utterance as well as imperatives appear to be particularly useful in the kind of persuasion being described. Both directive kinds (appeal, threat, order, warning, command, ban, request) as well as non-directive ones are used in verbal utterances/messages of dominant threatening function addressed to a specified interlocutor in appropriately indicated social situations. Despite artificial promises or declarations the latter ones may control interlocutory behaviour if in a specific use they generate fear and force behaviour frequently inconsistent with interlocutor’s beliefs but consistent with the speaker’s expectations.