Downgrade
Definition:
A downgrade is a move that weakens or mitigates a previous utterance in order to make it more acceptable.
Examples:
(English)
- Adding an offer of assistance to a request in order to make it more acceptable
- Suggesting ways a request could be easily accomplished in order to make it more acceptable
See Also:
Source:
164–165, 177
This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library. Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003.