The Sociolinguistic Analysis of Natural Language, Essay Example

The intentionality of this dialogue indicates that the speaker means to reprimand Ben for being late, as this happens constantly. Furthermore, he intends to punish him by leaving without him. It is clear from the specific word choice in this dialogue that the speaker is annoyed at Ben’s behavior and that he is not willing to have much of a conversation because he is afraid that he will miss his flight. Furthermore, he is annoyed at Ben not only for his lateness, but for specifically requesting that the speaker wait for him to arrive at the airport before departure.

The situationality of situation is important to this conversation because it is what provokes the speaker’s annoyance. Because he is waiting for a plane that is about to take off and his comrade is not there, he exhibits annoyance towards Ben. If Ben had been late and missing the flight was not a possibility, it is likely that the speaker wouldn’t be so annoyed at him. Furthermore, if Ben had been late to a different kind of meeting, one would expect the speaker to be more forgiving.

The context of this situation is important as well. It appears that Ben has been late to his meetings with the speaker many times, and this is made worse by the fact that this repeated mistake will now result in him missing the flight. It appears that the speaker has a right to be annoyed because of Ben’s repeated behavior, and as a result, the fact that he is unwilling to wait for Ben is somewhat justified in this particular context.

Works Cited

Stubbs, M. Discourse Analysis: The sociolinguistic analysis of natural language. Oxford: Blackwell, 1983.

Teun A. van Dijk, (ed). Discourse Studies. 2 vols. London: Sage, 1997.

Potter, J, Wetherall, M. Discourse and Social Psychology: Beyond attitudes and behaviour. London: SAGE, 1987.

Underhill, James W. Creating Worldviews: metaphor, ideology & language, Edinburgh UP, 2011.