An Offensive Pragmatic Analysis of “不然呢” in Spoken Chinese

Abstract

This article takes real cases as the starting point to explore the reasons why “不然呢” leads to impolite feelings. Firstly, the pragmatic function and historical origin of the relationship between “不然呢” and “不然” are discovered. Then, by comparing “你说呢” and “不然呢” horizontally in the same context, it is concluded that in addition to the language structure of “不然呢” itself, offensive speech acts in conversation are influenced by factors such as the social identity of both parties, kinship, and language sensitivity of the recipient. Finally, it was found that “不然呢” has a trend of being widely used in spoken language, with its meaning becoming blurred and its function in expressing emotions and tones greatly strengthened.