The aim of this blog is to serve as a meeting point to those who study or have studied English philology and, more broadly, to all those who love literature and language.

4 Apr 2009

WHAT WE SAY AND WHAT WE MEAN

Cinema and language. Scene 9
In this scene from Mary Poppins, we find an instance of a speech act where the conventional meaning of the utterances and the speaker’s intention conflict. In this case, the hearers are requested to do just the opposite of what the speaker desires. It is also a nice example of reverse psychology, something that often works with children and teenagers.


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