Abstract: It is a common phenomenon that there are many conflict talks in people’s daily communication. Linguistic impoliteness is considered as the basic component constituting the conflict discourses in dramas and attached with sufficient importance during the interpretation of the conflict. People use impolite language to achieve certain goals, such as igniting conflicts, threatening or attacking hearers’ faces or entertaining. Friends is an American sitcom which tells a lot of stories about six friends living in the same apartment. This thesis attempts to conduct an analysis of impoliteness strategies employed under the framework of impoliteness theory. On the basis of previous studies at home and abroad, the author reclassify the strategies into ten substrategies such as using taboo words, threatening, criticizing, sarcasm, seeking disagreement, being disinterested, unconcerned, or unsympathetic, belittling the other, interrupting, and excluding the other from an activity. Moreover, this paper studies the causes of impoliteness in people’s conversation, aiming to help people better understand these strategies and better appreciate human language.

Key Words: Friends; impoliteness strategies; causes

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1.Introduction .1

2. Literature Review .1

  2.1 Previous Studies of Impoliteness Abroad

  2.2 Previous Studies of Impoliteness at Home

  2.3Introduction to Friends 

3. Realization of Impoliteness in Friends .3

  3.1 Using Taboo Words

 3.2 Threatening

 3.3 Criticizing

  3.4 Sarcasm

  3.5 Seeking Disagreement

  3.6 Being Disinterested, Unconcerned, or Unsympathetic

  3.7 Belittling the Other

  3.8 Interrupting

  3.9 Excluding the Other from an Activity

  3.10 Snubbing

4. Causes of impoliteness in Friends10

5. Conclusion11

 Bibliography12

 Acknowledgements.13