ABSTRACT
As we saw in Chapter 1 (section 1.2), ‘rules of use’ are not universal. They vary from culture to culture, and from age to age. This chapter looks at some pragmatic differences between EModE and today. It starts where the previous chapter left off, considering the complex factors that govern the choice of thou versus you in EModE. Politeness is a pervading theme throughout most of this chapter, and a nal section looks at ‘pragmatic noise’ – the use of words and phrases that appear insignicant but can be very meaningful in conversational interactions.
