Thanking Formulae in English -- Editorial page -- Title page -- LCC data -- Dedication page -- Table of contents -- List of tables -- List of figures -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Setting the scene: Theoretical background -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Linguistic research on thanking (formulae) -- 2.2.1 Defining 'thanking formula' -- 2.2.2 Analysis of formal characteristics of thanking formulae -- 2.2.3 Analysis of functional characteristics of thanking formulae -- 2.2.4 Analysis of pragmatic aspects of the usage of thanking formulae -- 2.2.5 Cultural variation in the use of thanking formulae -- 2.2.6 Linguistic research on thanking (formulae) - summary and outlook -- 2.3 Linguistic research on politeness -- 2.3.1 Defining politeness -- 2.3.2 Brown/Levinson's (1978/1987) politeness theory -- 2.3.3 Leech's (1983, 2007) politeness principle -- 2.3.4 Watts' (2003) distinction of polite and politic behaviour -- 2.3.5 Politeness as social indexing or discernment -- 2.3.6 Linguistic research on politeness - summary and outlook -- 2.4 Digression: The influence of the interlocutors' status on language use -- 2.5 Contrasting British and New Zealand English -- 2.5.1 Phonetic, morphological, lexical, orthographical and syntactic variation -- 2.5.2 Pragmatic variation -- 2.6 Radio talk -- 2.6.1 Development and characterisation of radio phone-ins -- 2.6.2 Participant roles -- 2.6.3 Conversational structure of phone-ins -- 2.6.4 Closing (radio) conversations with the help of thanking formulae -- 2.6.5 Multiple addressees -- 2.6.6 Radio talk - summary and outlook -- 2.7 Summary of the theoretical background and outlook on the present study -- 3. Methodology -- 3.1 Methods of data collection -- 3.1.1 Classic methods of data collection to investigate pragmatic phenomena -- 3.1.2 Using corpus data to investigate pragmatic phenomena.

3.1.3 Research design of the present study -- 3.2 Data -- 3.2.1 Corpora under investigation -- 3.2.2 Determining search terms -- 3.3 Aspects under investigation -- 3.3.1 Examining the form of thanking formulae -- 3.3.2 Determining the functions of thanking formulae -- 3.3.3 Operationalising models of politeness -- 3.3.4 Exploring the relative social status of speakers and addressees -- 3.4 Presentation of results and examples -- 3.5 Structure of the following empirical analyses -- 4. Focus on varieties: Thanking formulae in British and New Zealand English -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 The form of thanking formulae in British and New Zealand English -- 4.2.1 Overall frequencies -- 4.2.2 Common syntactic realisations -- 4.2.3 Naming a benefactor -- 4.2.4 Using intensifiers -- 4.2.5 Naming a reason -- 4.2.6 Positions of thanking formulae within conversations -- 4.2.7 Discussion: Formal realisations of thanking formulae in BrE and NZE -- 4.3 Functions of thanking formulae in BrE and NZE -- 4.3.1 Organising the ongoing discourse: Closing conversations by means of thanking formulae and fare -- 4.3.2 Serving the phatic communion -- 4.3.3 Responding to material goods and services -- 4.3.4 Responding to immaterial goods and interpersonal support -- 4.3.5 Thanking formulae used jokingly or ironically -- 4.3.6 Unclear cases -- 4.3.7 Discussion: Functions of thanking formulae in BrE and NZE -- 4.4 The politeness of thanking formulae in BrE and NZE -- 4.4.1 Applying concepts of Brown/Levinson's (1987) politeness theory -- 4.4.2 Applying concepts of Leech's (1983) politeness principle -- 4.4.3 Applying Watts' (2003) distinction of polite vs. politic behaviour -- 4.4.4 Discussion: The politeness of thanking formulae in BrE and NZE -- 4.5 Digression: The status of speakers relative to their addressees in BrE and NZE.

4.5.1 Speakers' status and its relation with formal and functional preferences -- 4.5.2 Outlook: The interlocutors' relationship in terms of cultural differences -- 4.6 Focus on varieties: Summary -- 5. Focus on genre: Thanking formulae in radio texts -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 The form of thanking formulae in radio texts -- 5.2.1 Overall frequencies -- 5.2.2 Common syntactic realisations -- 5.2.3 Naming a benefactor -- 5.2.4 Using intensifiers -- 5.2.5 Naming a reason -- 5.2.6 Positions of thanking formulae within conversations -- 5.2.7 Discussion: Formal realisations of thanking formulae in radio texts -- 5.3 Functions of thanking formulae in BrE and NZE -- 5.3.1 Organising the ongoing discourse: Closing conversations by means of thanking formulae and fare -- 5.3.2 Serving the phatic communion -- 5.3.3 Responding to material goods and services -- 5.3.4 Responding to immaterial goods and interpersonal support -- 5.3.5 Thanking formulae used jokingly or ironically -- 5.3.6 Unclear cases -- 5.3.7 Discussion: Functions of thanking formulae in radio texts -- 5.4 The politeness of thanking formulae in radio texts -- 5.4.1 Applying concepts of Brown/Levinson's (1987) politeness theory -- 5.4.2 Applying concepts of Leech's (1983) politeness principle -- 5.4.3 Applying Watts' (2003) distinction of polite vs. politic behaviour -- 5.4.4 Discussion: The politeness of thanking formulae in radio texts -- 5.5 Digression: The status of speakers relative to their addressees in radio texts -- 5.6 Focus on genre: Summary -- 6. Conclusion -- 6.1 Summary of the most important findings -- 6.1.1 Variational analysis -- 6.1.2 Genre analysis -- 6.2 Outlook: Suggestions for further research -- Bibliography -- Index.