Apte dicere. Epistemic Phrases and Facework in Cicero’s Oratorical Works
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Francesca Mencacci
Abstract
My aim, in this contribution, is to present a survey of the use of epistemic expressions in Cicero’s oratorical production (ut opinor, ut arbitror, credo, ut mea opinio fert, ut mihi videtur, mea sententia, etc.), as a means of persuasion through style (apte dicere). As is well known, the use of such linguistic resources can respond to multiple needs, including, of course, the more properly epistemic-evidential ones of highlighting the subjective dimension of assertions and the degree of certainty that the speaker assigns to them; but equally important are other effects, which are pragmatic in nature. Epistemic modalization may in fact modify the illocutionary force of the utterance or a part of it, in the direction of limiting the statement, or of emphasizing it, with effects on the image of the participants in the interaction. Typically dialogic, resources of this kind have indeed a considerable relevance in the oratio, where they can be exploited to construct the speaker’s image (or persona), gaining the approval of his audience, and making his arguments more effective. The examination of the wide repertoire of expressions found in Cicero’s speeches shows the peculiar use he makes of this class of expressions and of their effects, varying between attenuation and boosting, for the sake of self-presentation.
Abstract
My aim, in this contribution, is to present a survey of the use of epistemic expressions in Cicero’s oratorical production (ut opinor, ut arbitror, credo, ut mea opinio fert, ut mihi videtur, mea sententia, etc.), as a means of persuasion through style (apte dicere). As is well known, the use of such linguistic resources can respond to multiple needs, including, of course, the more properly epistemic-evidential ones of highlighting the subjective dimension of assertions and the degree of certainty that the speaker assigns to them; but equally important are other effects, which are pragmatic in nature. Epistemic modalization may in fact modify the illocutionary force of the utterance or a part of it, in the direction of limiting the statement, or of emphasizing it, with effects on the image of the participants in the interaction. Typically dialogic, resources of this kind have indeed a considerable relevance in the oratio, where they can be exploited to construct the speaker’s image (or persona), gaining the approval of his audience, and making his arguments more effective. The examination of the wide repertoire of expressions found in Cicero’s speeches shows the peculiar use he makes of this class of expressions and of their effects, varying between attenuation and boosting, for the sake of self-presentation.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
-
Volume I: Word
-
Section 1: Phonology and Morphology
- Rix’s Law in Latin and the Etymology of īnfula ‘band, bandage’ 1
- Language Change across the Ancient Lifespan: Variation in the Genitive Singular of Second Declension io-stems in Ovid 15
- Marciana: A Case Study in Greek-Influenced Endings 31
- Nasal Presents in Latin between Root, Aspect and Actionality: A Nanosyntactic Account 49
- Verbs in -sc- between Inflection and Derivation. Lexicographic Representation and Theoretical Issues 67
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Section 2: Lexical Semantics
- Lexique et cognition en latin : la dénomination des catégories naturelles 85
- Las oposiciones privativas descubiertas en Praga y la tradición erudita latina 105
- Between Linguistics and Stylistics: Nominal Compounding and Literary Genre in Latin 121
- The Thing Is . . . : Observations on the Largest Noun in Latin, the Entry res in the Thesaurus linguae Latinae 139
- A New Approach to the Etymology of Latin testa ‘earthenware’ and tesca/tesqua ‘?’ 153
- Il lessico del vestiario nel glossario latino-greco degli Hermeneumata Celtis 167
- Enantiosemia in Latin: The Case of Lexemes Suffixed in -ōsus in the Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius 173
- Latin Blues: A Corpus-Based Investigation of caeruleus 189
- On the Evolution of Latin Motion Verbs. A View from Vindolanda 211
- Alternating Opinions. Latin Opinion Verbs at the Syntax-Semantics-Pragmatics Interface of Non-Prototypical Transitivity 229
- Light Verbs and Aktionsart: A Case Study 247
- Contributing to a New Database on Valency Classes with Latin Data. Challenges and Perspectives 263
- The Prefix circum- and the Locative Alternation in Latin: The Case of circumdo 283
- Drawing the Comitative Area: The Semantic Network of co(-m/-n/-r/-l)-/cum in Plautus 299
- Caught in Between: A Synchronic and Diachronic Account of inter- Prefixation in Latin 317
- Inversive re-. How to Undo an Action 339
- Sull’etimologia del lat. ballo e del gr. βαλλίζω (con integrazioni sugli esiti romanzi di denso / addenso e su alcuni termini greci per indicare la danza) 357
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Volume II: Clause and Discourse
-
Section 3: Syntax and Semantics
- Lepidus vivis: Semantic Content and Functional Gradation in Secondary Predicates 373
- Ablativus absolutus with the Perfect Participle: Grammatical Relations and Diathesis 399
- Latin Constructions sum + Present Participle: Pragmatic and Syntactic Evidence against the Periphrastic Analysis 415
- L’évolution de la négation entre double négation (DN) et concordance négative (NC) dans les langues anciennes et modernes 433
- Ita ou sic corrélatifs de complétives 451
- L’insertion syntaxique d’un constituant nominal dans la comparaison similative 467
- Présentations différentes d’un contenu sémantique en latin : la synonymie syntaxique au niveau du syntagme et au niveau de la proposition 487
- “Valenzmisere” and Latin Syntax and Semantics 499
- LASLA-SynthIA, a New Tool to Study Latin Word Order: the Case-Study of the Left- and Right-Dislocations in the Pro Roscio Amerino 517
- “Long-Distance Hyperbaton”: A Case Study based on Cicero’s Orations 527
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Section 4: Text Structure and Pragmatics
- Nunc age . . . expediam: A Didactic Introductory Construction in Virgil’s Poetry 549
- Per exempla: The Forms and Uses of Example Markers in Latin 565
- Apte dicere. Epistemic Phrases and Facework in Cicero’s Oratorical Works 583
- ¿Cómo pedir humildemente? La perífrasis dignari + infinitivo 597
- The Sequence [subject + verb sum + aliquid/ nihil subject complement]: A Comparative Study while Analysing an Ovidian Textual Motif 615
- Translatio facta: Pomponius Porphyrio on the Comprehension and Production of Metaphors 641
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Section 5: Conversation and Dialogue
- The Quotative inquit as a Device of Speech Segmentation in the Roman Novel 661
- (Story)telling in the Latin Novel and Epigram 679
- Continuations by Others 703
- Movenda iam sunt bella: Persuasion in Juno’s Prologue to Hercules Furens 721
- Pro di immortales! Invocations and Oaths as Interjections 739
- Semantic Diversity and Conversational Potential of faxo in the Language of Roman Comedy 757
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Section 6: Epigraphy
- Fecit curavit: A Micro-Contextual Approach to Epigraphic Formulae and Textual Variation in Latin Inscriptions 775
- Divodurum Vulgare: Linguistic Change and Cultural Integration in the Vulgar Latin Inscriptions of Divodurum (Metz) 789
- Index 805
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
-
Volume I: Word
-
Section 1: Phonology and Morphology
- Rix’s Law in Latin and the Etymology of īnfula ‘band, bandage’ 1
- Language Change across the Ancient Lifespan: Variation in the Genitive Singular of Second Declension io-stems in Ovid 15
- Marciana: A Case Study in Greek-Influenced Endings 31
- Nasal Presents in Latin between Root, Aspect and Actionality: A Nanosyntactic Account 49
- Verbs in -sc- between Inflection and Derivation. Lexicographic Representation and Theoretical Issues 67
-
Section 2: Lexical Semantics
- Lexique et cognition en latin : la dénomination des catégories naturelles 85
- Las oposiciones privativas descubiertas en Praga y la tradición erudita latina 105
- Between Linguistics and Stylistics: Nominal Compounding and Literary Genre in Latin 121
- The Thing Is . . . : Observations on the Largest Noun in Latin, the Entry res in the Thesaurus linguae Latinae 139
- A New Approach to the Etymology of Latin testa ‘earthenware’ and tesca/tesqua ‘?’ 153
- Il lessico del vestiario nel glossario latino-greco degli Hermeneumata Celtis 167
- Enantiosemia in Latin: The Case of Lexemes Suffixed in -ōsus in the Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius 173
- Latin Blues: A Corpus-Based Investigation of caeruleus 189
- On the Evolution of Latin Motion Verbs. A View from Vindolanda 211
- Alternating Opinions. Latin Opinion Verbs at the Syntax-Semantics-Pragmatics Interface of Non-Prototypical Transitivity 229
- Light Verbs and Aktionsart: A Case Study 247
- Contributing to a New Database on Valency Classes with Latin Data. Challenges and Perspectives 263
- The Prefix circum- and the Locative Alternation in Latin: The Case of circumdo 283
- Drawing the Comitative Area: The Semantic Network of co(-m/-n/-r/-l)-/cum in Plautus 299
- Caught in Between: A Synchronic and Diachronic Account of inter- Prefixation in Latin 317
- Inversive re-. How to Undo an Action 339
- Sull’etimologia del lat. ballo e del gr. βαλλίζω (con integrazioni sugli esiti romanzi di denso / addenso e su alcuni termini greci per indicare la danza) 357
-
Volume II: Clause and Discourse
-
Section 3: Syntax and Semantics
- Lepidus vivis: Semantic Content and Functional Gradation in Secondary Predicates 373
- Ablativus absolutus with the Perfect Participle: Grammatical Relations and Diathesis 399
- Latin Constructions sum + Present Participle: Pragmatic and Syntactic Evidence against the Periphrastic Analysis 415
- L’évolution de la négation entre double négation (DN) et concordance négative (NC) dans les langues anciennes et modernes 433
- Ita ou sic corrélatifs de complétives 451
- L’insertion syntaxique d’un constituant nominal dans la comparaison similative 467
- Présentations différentes d’un contenu sémantique en latin : la synonymie syntaxique au niveau du syntagme et au niveau de la proposition 487
- “Valenzmisere” and Latin Syntax and Semantics 499
- LASLA-SynthIA, a New Tool to Study Latin Word Order: the Case-Study of the Left- and Right-Dislocations in the Pro Roscio Amerino 517
- “Long-Distance Hyperbaton”: A Case Study based on Cicero’s Orations 527
-
Section 4: Text Structure and Pragmatics
- Nunc age . . . expediam: A Didactic Introductory Construction in Virgil’s Poetry 549
- Per exempla: The Forms and Uses of Example Markers in Latin 565
- Apte dicere. Epistemic Phrases and Facework in Cicero’s Oratorical Works 583
- ¿Cómo pedir humildemente? La perífrasis dignari + infinitivo 597
- The Sequence [subject + verb sum + aliquid/ nihil subject complement]: A Comparative Study while Analysing an Ovidian Textual Motif 615
- Translatio facta: Pomponius Porphyrio on the Comprehension and Production of Metaphors 641
-
Section 5: Conversation and Dialogue
- The Quotative inquit as a Device of Speech Segmentation in the Roman Novel 661
- (Story)telling in the Latin Novel and Epigram 679
- Continuations by Others 703
- Movenda iam sunt bella: Persuasion in Juno’s Prologue to Hercules Furens 721
- Pro di immortales! Invocations and Oaths as Interjections 739
- Semantic Diversity and Conversational Potential of faxo in the Language of Roman Comedy 757
-
Section 6: Epigraphy
- Fecit curavit: A Micro-Contextual Approach to Epigraphic Formulae and Textual Variation in Latin Inscriptions 775
- Divodurum Vulgare: Linguistic Change and Cultural Integration in the Vulgar Latin Inscriptions of Divodurum (Metz) 789
- Index 805
