Toward Multimodal Pragmatics

Classic pragmatic theories emphasize the linguistic aspect of illocutionary acts and forces. However, as multimodality has gained importance and popularity, multimodal pragmatics has quickly become a frontier of pragmatic studies. This book adds to this new research trend by offering a perspective of situated discourse in the Chinese context. Using the multimodal corpus approach, this study examines how speakers use multiple devices to perform illocutionary acts and express illocutionary forces.