Phatic communion in Carroll's Alice's adventures in Wonderland

Abstract EN

People use language referentially to ask for information, such as when asking about directions (i.e., the referential function of language).

In other situations, they use it effectively to express feelings rather than to ask for information (i.e., the affective function of language) (Holmes 2012).

In the latter case, the speaker uses language to break silence and get rid of loneliness by initiating a conversation.

This kind of conversation is known stylistically as a situation of phatic communion.

This is the case with the conversations of Alice in Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where the girl is in a situation where she knows neither the place nor its inhabitants.

Relying on the stylistic theories associated with phatic communion, such as Leech's (1981) and Laver's (1972), this paper examines some of Alice's conversations and argues that Alice's purpose of striking up conversations is to gain good feelings and establish solidarity with others, which constitutes what is called phatic communion.