Face Threats: A Pragmatic Analysis of Questions in Bulgarian Political TV Interviews

The paper examines types of questions journalists ask politicians in broadcast interviews from the perspective of pragmatic theory, and facework in particular. A small-scale study was conducted to address the research question of how journalists’ questioning techniques function as face-threatening a...

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Published in:Slavia Meridionalis Vol. 25
Main Author: Nelly Yakimova
Format: Journal Article
Language:Bulgarian
English
Published: Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences 14.11.2025
Subjects:
competence
face threat
identity face
moral integrity
political interview
positive face
ISSN:2392-2400
Online Access:Get full text
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Abstract The paper examines types of questions journalists ask politicians in broadcast interviews from the perspective of pragmatic theory, and facework in particular. A small-scale study was conducted to address the research question of how journalists’ questioning techniques function as face-threatening acts to ensure politicians take responsibility for what they say and do. A dataset of 36 examples of journalists’ questions was collected from three Bulgarian current affairs TV programs and analyzed in terms of utterance form, level of directness, implicatures, and types of face threat. It was found that journalists typically ask rapport-challenging questions and demand explanations from politicians for their actions. The questions primarily threaten politicians’ positive and identity face. The implicatures created convey criticism of the politicians’ professional abilities and their moral integrity.
AbstractList The paper examines types of questions journalists ask politicians in broadcast interviews from the perspective of pragmatic theory, and facework in particular. A small-scale study was conducted to address the research question of how journalists’ questioning techniques function as face-threatening acts to ensure politicians take responsibility for what they say and do. A dataset of 36 examples of journalists’ questions was collected from three Bulgarian current affairs TV programs and analyzed in terms of utterance form, level of directness, implicatures, and types of face threat. It was found that journalists typically ask rapport-challenging questions and demand explanations from politicians for their actions. The questions primarily threaten politicians’ positive and identity face. The implicatures created convey criticism of the politicians’ professional abilities and their moral integrity.
Author Nelly Yakimova
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Snippet The paper examines types of questions journalists ask politicians in broadcast interviews from the perspective of pragmatic theory, and facework in particular....
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SubjectTerms competence
face threat
identity face
moral integrity
political interview
positive face
Title Face Threats: A Pragmatic Analysis of Questions in Bulgarian Political TV Interviews
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Volume 25
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