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A Study on the Functions of General Extenders From an Intersubjective Perspective
ZHANG Gaoyuan, ZHANG Lijuan
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DOI:10.17265/2161-623X/2026.09.003
Nanjing University of Finance and Economics Hongshan College, Nanjing, China
From the perspective of intersubjectivity, this study examines English general extenders in interpersonal interaction and their implications for cross-cultural communication. Based on spoken language corpora from existing literature and integrating politeness strategy theory with the Gricean Cooperative Principles, the findings reveal that general extenders serve pragmatic functions guided by politeness strategies, which, covering both positive and negative politeness strategies, are rooted in intersubjectivity and closely related to the addressee’s self-image. Specifically, conjunctive general extenders enhance social closeness through shared experiences (positive politeness), and perform a hedging function regarding informativeness in line with the Quantity Maxim; disjunctive ones mitigate tone via alternative possibilities (negative politeness) and maintain caution about information accuracy based on the Quality Maxim. Their intersubjective function relies on the subjectively assumed shared knowledge, experiences and conceptual frameworks between communicators, enabling information omission and listener inference. Mastery of these extenders facilitates smooth cross-cultural communication by negotiating shared knowledge. The findings provide solid theoretical and practical support for cultivating sociopragmatic competence in EFL teaching.
general extenders, intersubjectivity, positive politeness, negative politeness, pragmatic competence
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