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    Language and Politeness

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    Sumaira Malik
    Brown and Levinson propose that politeness is a universal phenomenon that varies across cultures. They define politeness as strategies used to minimize conflict and maintain face. Face refers to one's public self-image and desire to be unimpeded. Politeness strategies can be off-record, negative politeness which shows deference, positive politeness to build rapport, or bald on-record orders. Factors like power, social distance, and size of imposition influence strategy choice. Leech later proposed maxims of tact, generosity, approbation, agreement, modesty and sympathy to maintain politeness.

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    Language and Politeness

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    Sumaira Malik
    436 views25 pages
    Brown and Levinson propose that politeness is a universal phenomenon that varies across cultures. They define politeness as strategies used to minimize conflict and maintain face. Face refers to one's public self-image and desire to be unimpeded. Politeness strategies can be off-record, negative politeness which shows deference, positive politeness to build rapport, or bald on-record orders. Factors like power, social distance, and size of imposition influence strategy choice. Leech later proposed maxims of tact, generosity, approbation, agreement, modesty and sympathy to maintain politeness.

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    Brown and Levinson propose that politeness is a universal phenomenon that varies across cultures. They define politeness as strategies used to minimize conflict and maintain face. Face refers to one's public self-image and desire to be unimpeded. Politeness strategies can be off-record, negative politeness which shows deference, positive politeness to build rapport, or bald on-record orders. Factors like power, social distance, and size of imposition influence strategy choice. Leech later proposed maxims of tact, generosity, approbation, agreement, modesty and sympathy to maintain politeness.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    436 views25 pages

    Language and Politeness

    Uploaded by

    Sumaira Malik
    Brown and Levinson propose that politeness is a universal phenomenon that varies across cultures. They define politeness as strategies used to minimize conflict and maintain face. Face refers to one's public self-image and desire to be unimpeded. Politeness strategies can be off-record, negative politeness which shows deference, positive politeness to build rapport, or bald on-record orders. Factors like power, social distance, and size of imposition influence strategy choice. Leech later proposed maxims of tact, generosity, approbation, agreement, modesty and sympathy to maintain politeness.

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    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 25

    language

    &
    POLITE
    NESS
    by sumaira malik
    What is politeness?

    According to Brown and Levsinson (1987), politeness is the way to


    convey the utterance as polite as possible which in this case is needed to
    minimize conflict with others

    Example

    In Asian culture, we use polite language when we speak to older people and
    for the same age people, we use casual language instead
    Linguistic politeness?

    • Can be defined as the ways in which language is employed in conversation to


    show consideration for the feelings and desires of one's speech partners, to create
    and uphold interpersonal relationships
    • To comply with the rules for what society or one's culture considers appropriate
    behavior
    • Brown and Levinson (1978) suggest that a need to be polite is common
    to all cultures.

    • Expression of concern for the feelings of others.


    • Being polite means expressing respect towards others

    • In a common sense: being polite- showing good manners and


    consideration for other people (e.g. open the door for a lady)

    • Choices that are made in language use


    • The linguistic expressions that give people space and show a
    friendly attitude to them
    Politeness varies from place to place

    • Leech, G. N. (2014) said that Honorification is very important in some


    societies like in Japan and Korea whereas English has limited
    opportunities for honorification. "Sir" and "Madam" are generally
    optional and infrequent. (page no 10)

    • Politeness varies place to place. Example: rude to show soles of your feet
    to someone in Arabic culture

    • We use euphemism in English to show that English has special respectful


    vocabulary
    Brown and Levinson 3 factors in choosing politeness strategies

    1: Power

    more polite to people who have great social power


    for getting favor
    2: Social Distance

    more polite to strangers and abrupt with friends

    3: Cost of imposition

    Asking for time is a minor imposition like What is a time?

    Asking for money is greater imposition to a friend


    Face and Politeness Theory by Brown and Levison

    • Formulated by Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson in 1978


    • Extended the idea of face given by Goffman's (1967) work on face

    Brown and Levinson (1978) have concluded that, in order to enter into social
    relationsips, all people must acknowledge the face of people.

    As a technical term, face means the public self-image of a person. It refers to


    that emotional and social sense of self that every one has and expects that
    everyone else to recognize.
    Face Wants

    People generally behave as if their expectations concerning public self-image, or


    their face wants, will be respected.

    Face wants are the desire to protect our positive face and negative face from
    threat or damage” – Meyerhoff, p.84)
    Positive face Negative face

    Is desire not to be imposed upon,


    Is desire to be liked, appreciated,
    intruded, or otherwise
    approved
    Negative face is need to be
    Positive face is the need to be
    independent
    connected
    Not to build solidarity
    To build solidarity
    Example: Example:

    Let's do it together. I know you are busy.


    Face Threatening Act
    A direct speech act can give the impression that yoh have a social power over
    the other person.

    Example: Give me that!

    Face Saving Act


    An indirect speech act in the form of question removes assumption of power.

    Example: Can you give me that?


    Politeness Strategies

    used by people to maintain a balance in protecting the positive and the


    negative faces of each other and acting appropriately in social interactions

    Four types of politeness strategies

    On-record Baldly
    Negative politeness

    Positive politeness

    Off-record strategy
    Off-record strategy Negative Positive On-record Baldly
    politeness politeness

    least direct and more direct more direct least polite and
    most polite very polite most direct

    Example: If you want to borrow your neighbor's vacuum cleaner, this is how you
    may ask:
    Off-record strategy

    "Our vacuum cleaner just broke down! The floors are very dusty!"

    • No mention of an act to be requested


    • Need is only hinted not mentioned
    • Left for hearer to infer the need
    Negative Politeness

    Could I, please ,borrow your vacuum cleaner for just an hour

    • Act is mentioned
    • Use of yes or no question
    • Use of please
    • minimizing the imposition by using the prepositional time prase "for just
    an hour"
    Positive politeness

    Jennie, dear, I need to borrow the vacuum cleaner right away"

    • Use of nick name “Jennie"


    • Use of term of endearment "dear"
    • Use of time expression "right away"
    • These three linguistic features show closeness of speaker to hearer
    On-record Baldly

    Get the vacuum cleaner!

    • Explicit mention of act


    • Use of direct order
    • Imperative syntactic structure
    One language tends to use negative politeness strategies while other uses positive
    or negative politeness strategies

    Negative politeness strategies

    Negative political strategies are intended to avoid giving offense by showing


    deference

    Indirect Questions, Hedges


    Minimize the Imposition
    Apologize
    Give Deference
    Example:

    If you are requesting drink in a bar you usually use strategies that attend to
    addressee's negative face wants e.g. Could I have a glass of red wine, please?
    German pays less attention to the server's negative face wants and he will say it
    with no "please" or "could".

    • cause social difficulties when learners try to transfer their native language
    strategies into language they are learning
    Politeness Principle || Leech's six maxims of politeness (1983)

    • Tact Maxim
    Deals with listener+ gives him respect
    Minimize cost to others
    Maximise benefits for others

    Ex: Could I interrupt you for a second?


    Would you mind answering the phone?
    Enjoy the dinner!
    • Generosity Maxim
    Maximise cost to self
    Minimise benefits for self

    Ex: You relax and let me do the dishes


    You can use my computer, if you want.
    • Approbation Maxim (flattery maxims)
    Minimise dispraises of others
    Maximise praises of others.

    Ex: What do you think about my hairstyle?


    It’s very beautiful, I like this when I saw it first time.
    What a tasty meal you cooked!
    • Agreement Maxim
    Maximise agreement of self and others
    Minimise disagreement between self and others
    Ex: English is difficult language to learn.
    True, but grammar is quite easy. (politeness) partial agreement

    It was an interesting match, wasn’t it? (rude dialogue)


    No it was very boring.
    • Modesty Maxim
    Maximise dispraise of self
    Minimise praise of self

    Polite: How clever of you!


    Impolite: How stupid of you!

    Your new coat is beautiful.


    It has been brought by my brother.
    • Sympathy Maxim
    Maximise sympathy with others
    Minimise antipathy with others
    Ex: I’m sorry to hear about your father.

    Polite: I’m terribly sorry to hear that your dog died.


    Impolite: I’m terribly pleased to hear that your dog died.
    References

    Fuller, J. M., & Wardhaugh, R. (2020). An introduction to sociolinguistics.

    Meyerhoff, M. (2018). Introducing sociolinguistics. Routledge.

    Leech, G. N. (2014). The pragmatics of politeness. Oxford Studies in


    Sociolinguis.

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