TRA (S)CORTESIA E SALVATAGGIO DELLA FACCIA: 1 L’EVIDENZIALITÀ IN ARISTOFANE

The aim of this paper is to connect the theory of politeness with the analysis of the linguistic category of evidentiality, following an approach that, to our knowledge, has never been adopted in studies on Ancient Greek. We shall apply this approach to the analysis of the linguistic means used to express evidentiality in passages taken from two plays by Aristophanes, The Clouds and Lysistrata. It will be shown how the need for avoiding a face threatening act may be a key factor in the speaker’s choice of indirect or direct evidential strategies, in order to protect his/her pragmatic interests and to avoid conflictuality. In the light of this, we will provide an interpretation of evidentiality as a preventive face saving strategy within the context of dramatic dialogues.