I don't know when brackets became a common symbol in the context of social networks. It can be complete or only half "(), but the function is the same.
After talking about business, I'm exhausted and have nothing, add a bracket, like a soundproof room, and gossip:
The boss said that he would finish the project next week.
Ok, look at the current schedule, we can finish it (boss, have you been sailing against the current lately? He stinks every day.
It's hard to refuse an unreasonable request. It's okay. Parentheses are like masks. If you hide behind, dare you say:
-Honey, I've been busy recently. I have a group meeting report, a final paper and my revised draft. Can you help me with my group homework first?
-Ah, it's really hard ... (I don't think so. You'd better tell the teacher. ...
I don't know if this joke is right, it's okay. Put a "big mistake" in brackets:
-Hey, look at my new hairstyle!
-Wow, it's beautiful! It's going to bend (all wet)
100 years ago, when Xun Geer first introduced parentheses in A Brief Introduction to Foreign Novels, he certainly didn't expect that a hundred years after WeChat gradually eroded the serious context and word selection criteria, contemporary people actually turned him into an expression pack, and at the same time he could play with parentheses, a punctuation mark that should have been abandoned by the fast pace.
Some people even joked that "we only dare to tell the truth in brackets" and "I really don't know how to chat without brackets".
Parentheses are the tone and expression on this side of the screen.
When we chat face to face in reality, we will receive all kinds of nonverbal communication information except spoken language, such as judging whether the scene is appropriate from the volume.
We will not talk loudly in the quiet library, nor will we discuss gossip in the conference room. Sometimes putting brackets on WeChat is an imitation of lowering the volume and whispering in real speech situations, which can show the inappropriateness of the situation and infer the emotional state of the speaker.
"(Just distracted ..)" The above picture simulates the whispering in class and expresses the embarrassment of the speaker's distraction in class.
In addition to "volume", there are actually many kinds of nonverbal information we transmit in real conversations, such as judging familiarity from the distance of the other party's standing, judging whether the topic is appropriate from the other party's expression and posture, judging whether the other party is nervous or relaxed from the rhythm of tone, and judging whether the other party is enthusiastic or hostile from the expression. ...
Behavior can convey a lot of information, including almost everyone's behavior except speech and syntax in interpersonal communication, and can provide information to show the emotional state when speaking and the true intention of what is said; Can adjust the interaction, if the interest expressed is strong, then the other party will know that we are interested in communication, so communication is much easier. This is the way of communication in reality, relying on both verbal content and subtle nonverbal clues to talk to each other, so that the whole communication process can proceed smoothly.
However, when we chat on WeChat, we can't see each other's faces, and we can't find so many nonverbal clues. We can only supplement some emotional information conveyed by facial expressions through expression packs to boost the chat progress.
But the expression pack is not as easy to understand as the real expression. Even a very common emoji, some people think that the expression on it is shy, while others think that it is frowning. When two people chat like this, it is inevitable that there will be misunderstandings.
Compared with picture emoticons, the meaning of text emoticons in brackets is clearer, which can effectively avoid misunderstanding without losing the cuteness of picture emoticons.
Parentheses are a fast-paced and efficient way of cooperation.
When writing a letter, we will write "Zhanxin 'an" first; Before the meeting begins, let's introduce and say hello first; Even if wechat borrows money, you must ask hello first. Why?
Originally, we were born to be self-interested and always wanted to spend the least effort to get the most benefit. In the dialogue, the most economical and practical way is to cooperate with each other, and both parties guarantee that the information conveyed in their own language is true, appropriate, relevant and clear-these are the four basic cooperative principles in language application, so that we can achieve the best communication effect with the least effort.
But in real life, when interacting with people, you can't cut to the chase and be straightforward as in the ideal situation. Otherwise, if we don't fight, we will be hanged on the Internet: "Don't chat with me for 800 years, just call and borrow money. Do you want to be such a friend? "
In order to "save face", the speaker sometimes needs to violate the principle of cooperation and put down the idea of maximizing his own interests, but try to reduce the "harm" to the listener and his own "interests". This is another important "politeness principle" in language pragmatics, which was first put forward by British pragmaticist Leach and includes the following contents:
Principle of propriety: reduce the expression of opinions harmful to others and benefit others as much as possible.
Generosity principle: benefit yourself as little as possible, and it doesn't matter if you suffer.
Praise principle: belittle others as little as possible and praise others more.
Modesty principle: praise yourself as little as possible and belittle yourself as much as possible.
Consistency principle: minimize differences with others and increase consistency with others.
* * * Emotional principle: reduce the emotional opposition between yourself and the other party.
Under the guidance of these politeness principles, even if we disagree with each other's point of view and even have legitimate reasons to refute each other, we rarely adopt the strategy of positive accusation, denial and rejection, but will express it indirectly and euphemistically; Even if the purpose of starting communication is business, you can't go straight to the point. Instead, we should be caring and attentive to each other first, so as to close the emotional distance-although the efficiency is low, the other person's mood will be better, so that the real communication can continue.
But communication is too fast now. "Slow Letters from Cars and Horses" only appears in the circle of friends at night, and the cadence and gushing style is not suitable for WeChat. Otherwise, how could such information be posted online? "Every communication task of Party A is full of nonsense, and my heart is so tired."
The parenthesis at the beginning of the dialogue saves the contradiction between the two:
"(Suddenly)" (Please don't reply in a hurry) "(Although it is late, I still ask)" This kind of bracket not only shows a little politeness, but also is not too abrupt; Short enough and fast enough not to slow down the efficiency of contemporary people.
However, in communication, we sometimes violate the "politeness principle" and start the "harming others" model:
Say that the other person is "not a person"? This doesn't look "decent" or "awesome". If in reality you point to a person and say "You are not a person at all" ... this is much more lethal than "What are you looking at".
But there are also "(not)" (not) "or even simpler" (x) ". With such brackets, we feel that such derogatory remarks are not really swearing. This kind of bracket comes from "mistake" and "big mistake", which was originally an anime term. Generally used in anime comments, it often appears in brackets at the end of the sentence, indicating that the author deliberately distorts the original idea or expresses bad personal thoughts, and it is wrong to remind readers with "mistakes".
In the WeChat conversation, a joke that doesn't conform to the "politeness principle" and looks rude, plus a "(not)", can express that "this rudeness is fake". The word "false impoliteness" was also put forward by Leech. In his view, in addition to politeness principle, there are "irony principle" and "joke principle". Satire is a false courtesy, that is, it is obviously offensive in a friendly way; Jokes are rude ways to show friendliness. For example, it is actually a false impolite to use "(not)" for "not a person at all". The real purpose of the speaker is to be true and polite when saying things that are obviously untrue and impolite. "Not a person at all" in the above picture actually expresses admiration for each other's abilities.
There are so many principles of pragmatics, from polite explanation to "impoliteness", which can cover almost everyone's communication; However, sometimes people deliberately avoid these principles. For example, deliberately violating the superficial "cooperative principle", the listener can understand the meaning through the superficial meaning of the speaker's words, thus expressing another meaning, which can produce humor.