Why do we use indirect speech when we could as easily use direct speech to express our feelings? Indirect speech has a considerable practical importance; it figures in the design of computer language understanding not to mistake things but will easily be swerved if the meaning offends someone.
Indirect speech is useful for plausible deniability. An example is when someone tries to bribe a police officer, if they do it with an indirect speech, the plausible deniability will save them if the cop is an honest officer. If they use direct speech in this case, they can get in trouble by getting arrested if the cop is an honest cop.
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Second use is for non-legal situations, with no financial or legal payoffs and penalties but for relationship negotiations. An example of this is bribing the hostess at a restaurant to be seated with indirect speech. We can also think of the Politeness Theory which proposes that languages has two purposes: to convey a proposition and to negotiate and maintain a relationship. Also, indirect speech is used for language as a digital medium where people always behave as if they are playing to an audience. Indirect speech can be interpreted only in context. The evidence is the studies that have been done and how direct and indirect speech affects the way humans communicate and helps us understand each other without getting in trouble or being rejected or at least having minimal trouble and rejection.
Netflix and chill is a very good example of indirect speech in our generation. The literal and direct meaning would be to just watch Netflix and hang out but of course that is not the case when guys ask girls to "Netflix and Chill," although they can make it seem like it if the girl is actually there to just hang out.
There's a three-part theory of indirect speech that makes numerous empirical predictions about how people interpret indirectness in the speaker’s words. Indirect speech is very important in human social life. Humans employ incompatible, modes of cooperation and are extremely touchy about relationships and indirect speech helps daily in these relationships.
