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Article published In:
Pragmatics
Vol. 32:2 (2022) ► pp.274–298

Knowledge types and presuppositions

An analysis of strategic aspects of public apologies

| De La Salle University
ORCID logo | De La Salle University

Public apologies are so prevalent in our social lives that they have become a subject of scholarly investigation all over the globe. The present study, which involves coding, frequency counting, and qualitative analysis, examines the strategic aspects of 16 public apologies issued to Filipino apologizees. The results of our analysis indicate that apologizers often choose varied knowledge types and draw upon presuppositions to strategically omit details that can negatively influence their credibility and the reception of their apology. More specifically, apologizers use the audience’s presuppositions to avoid presenting common knowledge of the offense that may incriminate them further; they also omit the mention of future action that may hold them more accountable for their transgressions. Our present analysis bolsters the view that although the sincerity of public apologies cannot be exactly measured, they are still performed as part of image repair and management of interpersonal relationships.

Keywords: speech acts, apologies, presuppositions
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical and empirical backgrounds
    • 2.1Presupposition
    • 2.2Presupposition and knowledge types
    • 2.3The speech act of apology
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Data source and data gathering
    • 3.2Data analysis
  • 4.Results and analysis
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.
Published online: 27 August 2021
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https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.20043.nav
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