COMMUNICATIVE MITIGATION IN TERMS OF TRUTHFULNESS AND SINCERITY

Abstract

This article examines communicative mitigation from the perspective of truthfulness and sincerity in interpersonal communication. Mitigation is understood as a pragmatic strategy that reduces the categorical force of an utterance while preserving the speaker’s commitment to truth and maintaining harmonious social interaction. The study explores how speakers employ linguistic devices such as modal expressions, hedges, indirect speech acts, and epistemic markers to balance sincerity with politeness. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between mitigation and Grice’s Cooperative Principle, especially the Maxim of Quality, which requires speakers to provide truthful and reliable information. The analysis demonstrates that mitigation does not necessarily undermine truthfulness; rather, it often serves as a means of expressing uncertainty, limiting commitment, and presenting information in a socially acceptable manner