Programm 80. StuTS

Verbal threats may appear in a variety of contexts, such as ransom notes or courtroom proceedings, but also in non-forensic contexts such as everyday interactions or reality television (Muschalik 2018; Tompkinson 2023; Neumaier 2025; Pollmeier 2025). Although verbal threatening seems to constitute a prominent part of human communication, linguistic research on the form and function of verbal threats remains underrepresented within the greater paradigm of linguistic (im)politeness. This workshop aims to introduce participants to verbal threatening in English, particularly paying attention to the questions: what is a threat and which lexico-grammatical features are associated with verbal threats. We will first consider existing perspectives on these questions, focussing on central studies on the subject-matter (e.g. Fraser 1998; Gales 2010; Muschalik 2018; Neumaier 2025), and then move on to hands-on data work. Participants do not need any prior knowledge on linguistic (im)politeness or verbal threatening.