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theses

In polite cultures, praise serves as valuable social currency, yet, some compliments can be counterproductive. My dissertation is dedicated to identifying and analyzing mixed messages in communication called “cryptosemes”, with the central focus on popular compliments erected on a problematic premise. A cryptosemic compliment is a message in communication that is routinely exchanged on the virtue of its good intentions, while closer, mindful scrutiny reveals other obscured dimensions of meaning that subvert the implied praise but go unperceived or ignored by all parties involved. Cryptosemic compliments are rooted in deeply internalized, reified notions of what is normal, natural and true and serve as a window into cultural stereotypes and double-standards operating under the veneer of praise. The problematic dimensions of meaning within a cryptosemic compliment lie not in the verbalized content but in the unspoken, “mythologized”, mindlessly taken-for-granted presuppositions underlying the words. Drawing on Goffman’s concept of “face-work” as well as Brown and Levinson’s framework on politeness, I argue that cryptosemic praise is a “face-saving” discourse strategy automatically deployed in reaction to “face threatening social themes” that arise in conversations that either touch upon “controversial” topics or involve socio-culturally diverse participants. Referencing data from my empirical study, I further probe the hierarchical (vertical and horizontal) relationships and the power dynamics involved in giving, receiving and making sense of cryptosemic praise. Finally, a look at the cognitive structural mechanics of cryptosemes helps shine light onto the neuro-cognitive complexities involved in public self-expression and communication. Relying on Wilson’s theory of the “adaptive unconscious”, I suggest that there exists a cognitive dissonance on the level of cultural value systems: that popular cryptosemic compliments are a manifestation of an intra-personal conflict between “old” and “new” cultural posits as well as a “communication bypass” between the conscious and unconscious information processing / meaning-making faculties of the mind. An interdisciplinary analysis of cryptosemic praise exposes the subtle but entrenched language of inequality as well as the collective silences surrounding the uncomfortable social topics buried within these seemingly innocuous, socially sanctioned expressions of courtesy.

ETD_5251

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Maria V. Malyk

doi:10.7282/T36W986B

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.