Abstract:Speech Act Theory and Conversational Implicature Theory are two important pragmatic theories. With half a century of research and development, they have been improved and matured. Besides, there is a progressive relationship between the two theories to form an organic unified system. The two theories can effectively analyze and explain the language. The discourse in film and television is an application of the language, so the theory used to study “common language” can also be applied to study the scripts in film and television works. Downton Abbey is a British period drama television series produced by ITV, which obtained the consistent high praise after it’s first aired in the United Kingdom in September. The series is set in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey, in 1910 during the reign of King George V. Though the background is different from these days, the basic principles of interpersonal communication changed little. Analyzing the conversation with Speech Act Theory and Conversational Implicature Theory will help us understand characters’ characteristic and mental activity, which can contribute to a profunding understanding of the series. Besides, the thesis is supposed to provide reference for specific communication with the summarization of general cases. In addition, it will demonstrate the practical significance of Pragmatic theories, such as Speech Act Theory and Conversational Implicature Theory.

Keywords: Speech Act Theory, Conversational Implicature Theory, Downton Abbey, communication

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter 1 Introduction-1

1.1 A Brief Introduction to Downton Abbey-1

1.2 Applications of Conversation Analysis-1

Chapter 2 Theoretical Framework-3

2.1 Speech Act Theory-3

2.1.1 Austin’s Theory-3

2.1.2 The Development of Speech Act Theory by Searle-4

2.2 Conversational Implicature Theory-7

2.2.1 Grice’s Cooperative Principle-8

2.2.2 Violation of the Maxims and Conversational Implicature in Communication-8

Chapter 3 Case Studies in Downton Abbey-11

Chapter 4 Conclusion-17

References-18

Acknowledgements-19