If-you and interpersonal meaning in women’s instructive texts (1700- 1899)

Abstract

This study investigates mitigation strategies in 18th- and 19th-century English instructive texts written by women, with a particular focus on conditional constructions such as If you… These structures, central to the attenuation of directives and recommendations, played a key role in shaping the pragmatic force of instructional discourse. By softening imperatives, they reflect contemporary norms of politeness and social hierarchy, providing insight into the ways female authors negotiated authority within their discursive constraints. The research is based on the COWITE18 (Alonso-Almeida et al. 2025a) and COWITE19 (Alonso-Almeida et al. 2025b) subcorpora, which were specifically compiled to analyze contemporary used of language as well as the rhetorical and pragmatic strategies employed in women’s instructive writing. Despite the significance of these constructions in instructional genres, little research has systematically examined their diachronic evolution, particularly from a sociolinguistic and discourse-analytical perspective. Additionally, the broader influence of historical transformations, including industrialization, rising literacy levels, and shifting gender roles, on the frequency and function of mitigation strategies remains largely uncharted. This study employs both quantitative and qualitative analyses to explore the frequency, distribution, and function of If you… constructions in women’s instructive texts. The findings reveal a strong reliance on explicit politeness markers in the 18th century (Leech, 2014; Mills, 2003), exemplified by expressions such as If you please, which emphasize relational politeness and social deference. Over time, however, a shift towards more pragmatic and direct constructions, such as If you want, emerges in the 19th century. This transition aligns with broader sociocultural shifts that encouraged a more functionally driven and accessible communicative style, suited to an expanding and increasingly literate audience. Beyond their pragmatic function in softening directives (Brown & Levinson, 1987; AlonsoAlmeida, 2015), If you… constructions serve as indicators of evolving discourse norms and changing social expectations regarding women’s textual authority. The comparison of 18thand 19th-century texts suggests that while earlier constructions foregrounded politeness and indirectness, later examples increasingly reflect a shift toward practicality and reader engagement. These patterns underscore how women’s instructive writing adapted to ongoing historical conditions, revealing an intricate balance between politeness, persuasion, and rhetorical adaptability in instructional discourse.