An Adaptation-based Analysis of Pragmatic Ambivalence as a Communicative Strategy

Pragmatic ambivalence is a communicative strategy employed by the speaker in a certain context.In order to achieve a communicative purpose,the speaker tends to use uncertain,vague or indirect language to convey more than one illocutionary force simultaneously.Pragmatic ambivalence reflects the speaker's metapragmatic awareness.The analysis of pragmatic ambivalence from three non-linguistic aspects:the mental world,the physical world,and the social world,is helpful to better understand its functions,and clarify ambivalence in a certain context.