PRAGMATIC FUNCTION OF THE PHRASE “DON’T DO EXPERIMENTS” IN BG-MAMMA FORUMS COMMUNICATION

e aim of the paper is to present the use of the cliché phrase “ne si pravi eksperimenti” (“don’t do experiments”) in the forums of the largest Bulgarian Internet platform bg-mamma. 83 uses are excerpted from different parts of the forum. The objectives of the research are to reveal the pragmatic force of the phrase, which is usually a reaction to an utterance mentioned in the previous parts of the forum discussion, as well as to present its thematic scope. It may be defined as a directive according to Searle classification. The negative form of the phrase and the use of the reflexive particle “si” influences its overall meaning. The hypothesis is that “ne si pravi eksperimenti” may be used as a prohibition or as a warning, and it may include different topics which the speaker finds dangerous. The thematic division of the uses is made with the help of #LancsBox. The results confirm the assumption that the phraseis more often used when the speaker wants to prevent someone to do something dangerous. It sounds as strong advice and usually is linked with the user’s health or with the health of their child. The phrase is also used when the topic of the conversation is the diet of the users and their child (children). The extreme change of the hairstyle, the risky behaviour, the spontaneous decisions are other themes which provoke some people to react and to express disagreement or anxiety