4. TOPIC: POLITENESS STRATEGIES

Politeness

Politeness refers to socially appropriate behaviour that helps people manage interpersonal relationships and avoid offence.

Why is politeness culture-specific?

Because different cultures have different expectations about familiarity, formality, age, gender, hierarchy, and appropriate behaviour.

Example of culture-specific politeness

In some Chinese or Indonesian contexts, questions like "Have you eaten?" may function as polite greetings, while Anglo-European speakers may find them intrusive.

Cultural schema

A culturally shared unit of knowledge that guides how people interpret situations and behave appropriately

How do cultural schemas affect communication?

They shape how people perform speech acts, express emotions, conceptualise relationships, and judge politeness.

What happens when cultural schemas are unfamiliar?

Misunderstandings, discomfort, or negative judgements may occur.

Maxim-based model of politeness

A model that explains politeness through conversational rules or maxims that guide appropriate interaction.

Lakoff's view of politeness

Politeness is the avoidance of offence and a device for reducing friction in personal interaction.

Lakoff's two rules of pragmatic competence

Be clear and be polite.

Lakoff: Don't impose

A politeness rule that reduces pressure on the hearer, for example by apologising before making a request.

Lakoff: Give options

A politeness rule that allows the hearer freedom to accept or refuse.

Lakoff: Make the hearer feel good

A politeness rule that creates solidarity and positive interpersonal relations.

Leech's Politeness Principle

A principle explaining why speakers choose certain forms in order to maintain social harmony.

Grice vs. Leech

Grice focuses on how information is conveyed; Leech focuses more on interpersonal relations and why speakers phrase things politely.

Tact maxim

Minimise cost to the hearer and maximise benefit to the hearer.

Generosity maxim

Minimise benefit to yourself and maximise benefit to the hearer.

Approbation maxim

Minimise criticism of the hearer and maximise praise of the hearer.

Modesty maxim

Minimise self-praise and maximise self-deprecation.

Agreement maxim

Minimise disagreement and maximise agreement between speaker and hearer.

Sympathy maxim

Minimise antipathy and maximise sympathy between speaker and hearer.

Face

A person's public self-image that they want to maintain and protect in interaction.

Positive face

The desire to be liked, approved of, appreciated, and accepted by others.

Negative face

The desire for freedom of action and freedom from imposition.

Face-threatening act / FTA

A speech act that may damage the positive or negative face of the speaker or the hearer

FTA threatening the hearer's negative face

An act that restricts the hearer's freedom, such as ordering or requesting.

FTA threatening the hearer's positive face

An act that challenges the hearer's self-image, such as criticism or disagreement.

FTA threatening the speaker's negative face

An act that limits the speaker's freedom, such as accepting an offer or promise.

FTA threatening the speaker's positive face

An act that may damage the speaker's self-image, such as apologising or admitting fault.

Social distance

The degree of familiarity or closeness between speaker and hearer.

Power in politeness theory

The relative authority or social power of one participant over another.

Rank of imposition

The seriousness or burden of a request or speech act in a given cultural context.

Positive politeness

A strategy that appeals to the hearer's positive face, often by showing friendliness, approval, solidarity, or shared identity.

Negative politeness

A strategy that appeals to the hearer's negative face, often through indirectness, restraint, apology, or formality.

Off-record strategy

An indirect strategy in which the speaker avoids direct imposition, for example by hinting.

Criticism of Brown and Levinson's face theory

It has been criticised for being too universalising, too individualistic, too focused on FTAs, and not equally applicable across cultures.