中 文 提 要
一直以來，Grice的「合作原則」(Cooperative Principle) 及其對話準則(conversational maxims)主宰著語言使用的探討，此一理論被廣泛應用於溝通時資訊交換的相關研究，然而，在政治問與答的領域中，此一原則卻遭到了挑戰，其基本原因在於參與者之間缺乏共同的溝通目標，因為每位政治人物都期望透過辯論性節目提高自己的聲望及打擊對手的顏面，偏偏在「合作原則」中共同目標是不可或缺的，因此，在政治言談中，「問題規避」的現象並不令人陌生，甚至可以說政治人物必修的課題。
面對尷尬或具挑戰性的問題時，政治人物通常有多樣的因應策略來顧全自己的形象及顏面，在本論文中，我們發現八個慣用的回答策略，分別是：拒絕回答(declining to reply)、挑戰問題本身(challenging the question)、回答含糊(equivocal answers)、回答不完整(incomplete answers)、回應問題的假設前提(attending to presuppositions)、抽離問題重點(distancing)、轉移話題(topic transitions)、以及攻訐他人(aggression)，其中轉移話題是最普遍的策略。另外，本論文亦探討了問題規避的相關語言現象，諸如重複(repetition)、偽是/非(fake yes/no)、發言權的維護(floor maintenance)、國台語互換(code-switching)、前宣告詞(pre-announcements)、停頓(pauses)、及後續追蹤問題(follow-up questions)。
儘管問題規避的手法各自不同，結果卻是一樣的：聽眾知的權利被犧牲了，想得知的訊息也被隱藏了。針對此一現象，我們希望本研究有助於釐清政治問與答的煙墓彈，進而更加了解政治言談的特性，並擺脫政治人物的策略影響。

Abstract
During the past few decades, Grice's Cooperative Principle and its conversational maxims have dominated the debate on language use in various fields. It appears to become a general theory of information exchange in communication. When put in actual political question-answer exchanges, however, it encounters challenge. A basic explanation is the lack of a shared interactive goal which is central in the model, because in the debate-like programs, each participant endeavors to enhance his own face as well as to threaten his rival politician's image. There lacks a common purpose. Their orientation towards power and success leads to their strategic verbal behavior. The consideration of face enhancement or at least face maintenance, overweighs the concern of cooperation in interaction. Hence, it is not surprising that question evasion is common in political discourse.
When confronted by face-threatening questions, the respondent politicians have developed various strategies to exempt themselves from the predicament. In our data, eight evasion strategies are found: declining to reply, challenging the question, equivocal answers, incomplete answers, attending to presuppositions, distancing, topic transitions, and aggression, with 'topic transitions' showing a much higher frequency. Some related linguistic features helping, marking, or preventing question evasion --- repetition, fake yes/no, floor maintenance, code-switching, pre-announcements, pauses, follow-up questions --- are also briefly discussed and illustrated. Though the tactics may vary, the result is the same; that is, the speaker's interests are pursued regardless of the audience's right to know and the wanted information is suppressed.
Politicians often manipulate their language to influence the audience's perception of political reality. Aimed at this phenomenon, the study of political question evasion not only leads us to a better understanding of political language, but also helps us detect the truth of political events behind the strategic discourse.

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