ii. Upgraders
a Intensifiers
The speaker over-represents the reality. e.g. Clean up this mess, it‟s disgusting.
b Extensifiers
The speaker explicitly expresses negative emotional attitudes. e.g. You still haven‟t cleaned up that bloody mess
c. External modification supportive moves
While internal modification in the head act may mitigate or aggravate the request, supportive moves affect the context in which they are embedded, and
thus indirectly modify the illocutionary force of the request. Blum-Kulka et al. 1989 distributed the external modification into five types.
i. Checking on availability
The speaker checks if the precondition necessary for compliance holds true.
e.g. Are you going in the direction of the town? And if so, is it possible to join you?
ii. Getting a precomittment
The speaker attempts to obtain a precommital. e.g. Will you do me a favor? Could you perhaps lend e your notes for a
few days?
iii. Sweetener
By expressing exaggerated appreciation of the requestee‟s ability to comply with the request, the speaker lowers the imposition involved.
e.g. You have the most beautiful handwriting I’ve ever seen Would it be
possible to borrow your notes for a few days?
iv. Disarmer
The speaker indicates awareness of a potential offense and thereby possible refusal.
e.g. Excuse me, I hope you don’t think I’m being forward, but is there any
chance of a lift home?
v. Cost minimizer
The speaker indicates consideration of the imposition to the requestee involved in compliance with the request.
e.g. Pardon me, but could you give a lift, if you’re going my way, as I just
missed the bus and there isn‟t another one for an hour.
Requests usually include reference to the requester, the recipient of the
request, andor the action to be performed. The speaker can manipulate requests by choosing from a variety of perspectives Blum-Kulka, S., House, J., Kasper,
G., 1989 in making request. Thus, the request perspective can be based on: a.
Hearer – oriented
The request emphasizes on the role of the hearer. e.g. Could you clean up the kitchen, please?
b. Speaker – oriented
The request emphasizes on the speaker‟s role as the requestor.
e.g. Do you thing I can borrow your note from yesterday’s class?
c. Speaker – and – hearer – oriented
