Communicative-pragmatic function of “doubt” in the context of the initiating speech activity (on the material of the English language)

Yaroslavtseva Elena F., Garaeva Marina V.

This article is devoted to the problem of determining the communicative-pragmatic function of doubt, referring to the initiating speech activity. The purpose of the study is to identify and reveal the communicative-pragmatic function of doubt in the initiating speech activity in the circumstances of communication. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the definition of the communicative-pragmatic function is examined in the aspect of the negative probable cognitive position of the personality in relation to reality. The obtained results showed that explicit language ways of manifesting doubt do not pose great difficulties for the addressee in identifying a communicative-pragmatic function, and implicitly expressed doubt, in turn, is much more difficult to recognize.

Keywords:communicative - pragmatic function, doubt, initiating speech activity, communicative and pragmatic speech act, explication, implication.