Linguistic Politeness

When Is It Rude To Be Rude? - Politeness Across Cultures and Subcultures - 언제 무례하여 무례해지는가?

by Thorold (Thor) May

This document contains both an original English version and a Korean translation

This paper deals with politeness phenomena which are general to all human societies, but draws many examples from... more This paper deals with politeness phenomena which are general to all human societies, but draws many examples from Korea as understood by the writer (who is Australian). The emphasis in this analysis is on the problem of decoding politeness. It is noted that even within a culture, politeness signals can be manipulated, and that interlocutors calibrate their meaning according to knowledge of individual personalities. In Korean society, the requirement for formal politeness signals is very strong, both in body language and in fixed linguistic markers (such as verb endings). However, the pragmatic meaning of these signals is calibrated in ways that are difficult for foreigners to decode. The paper also considers the dilemma of that minority of Koreans who attempt to interact within the linguistic and social codes of English. It is noted that these attempts often go astray, both because the speaker misunderstands English politeness coding conventions and because listeners in English, almost by definition, come from radically different cultural backgrounds to the Korean.

Politeness as a feature: so important and so rare.

by Greville G. Corbett

Published: Linguistik online 51,1/2012. Available at: http://linguistik-online.org/51_12/corbett.html
This is a section from the book Features, in press with Cambridge University Press

Politeness has a major place in many languages, and is remarkably pervasive in some. Yet we rarely find respect as a... more Politeness has a major place in many languages, and is remarkably pervasive in some. Yet we rarely find respect as a morphosyntactic feature, alongside gender, person, number and case. I document this imbalance, and then ask why this is what we find.

La fausse hiérarchisation entre information nouvelle et information ancienne à l'épreuve des modèles théoriques de la politesse

by Rudy Loock

2010. Lexis, numéro spécial 2, Theoretical Approaches to Linguistic (Im)politeness : 95-110.

The aim of this article is to study how the ways in which new information is conveyed to a hearer can represent an act... more The aim of this article is to study how the ways in which new information is conveyed to a hearer can represent an act of impoliteness and how this face-theatening act or FTA (Brown & Levinson [1978, 1987]) can be softened by the use of hierarchizing structures, in particular appositive relative clauses, or by the use of softeners such as you know or as you know. We also tackle questions relating to whether the act of politeness itself must be conveyed and whether (im)politeness can be seen as a continuum. Using attested spoken examples illustrating such strategies, the ultimate aim of this article is to confront the data with the theoretical models and conceptual tools that the literature on the subject has to offer.

Keywords: appositive relative clauses – apposition – politeness – informational status – relevance – softener

Power and politeness: a study of social interaction in business meetings with multicultural participation

by Mabelle Victoria

Victoria, M. (2009). Power and politeness: a study of social interaction in business meetings with multicultural participation. ESP across cultures, 40, 129 - 140.

In today’s increasingly global economy, members of the same work team do not necessarily work in the same country or... more In today’s increasingly global economy, members of the same work team do not necessarily work in the same country or on the same continent. They speak different mother tongues and belong to different cultural backgrounds. Yet they are faced with the task of collaboratively working as a unified team in order to achieve
the company’s goals.

Drawing upon naturalistic data from meetings of a multinational corporation in Zurich and Amsterdam, this study aims to expand current understanding of workplace communication by exploring how two chairpersons and meeting participants use linguistic resources to contest and negotiate power relations without
severely straining the corporate ties that bind them. Selected excerpts from the corpus illustrate the dynamic quality of power which can be emphasized or downplayed with the use of linguistic politeness. Polite language, as the data suggest, is
not an add-on or a cushioning device to pave the way for the smoother application of power; in workplace interaction, it is a pre-condition within which power can be exercised.
High-ranking chairpersons may have the power to control the content, structure and direction of the meeting but they are constrained by the very same institutional authority from which they draw power. Lower-ranking group members can and do contest power but only do so without tearing at the walls that make the team a unified whole. Indeed, since it is what happens after the meeting that is the bottom line for most companies, it seems in the best interest of leaders and members to co-operate for the sake of the common goal, and consequently for the
very survival of their organization.

Slurs

by Adam Croom

Croom, A. M. (2011). Slurs. Language Sciences, 33, 343-358.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0388000110000975

According to ScienceDirect this article is #6 of Language Science's Top 25 Hottest Articles of the Year for 2011.
http://top25.sciencedirect.com/journal/03880001?utm_source=ESJ001&utm_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&bid=7SX6E5F:DD7B63F

Slurs possess interesting linguistic properties and so have recently attracted the attention of linguists and... more Slurs possess interesting linguistic properties and so have recently attracted the attention of linguists and philosophers of language. For instance the racial slur "nigger" is explosively derogatory, enough so that just hearing it mentioned can leave one feeling as if they have been made complicit in a morally atrocious act. (Jennifer Hornsby has suggested that slurs might count as “hate speech” and so raise questions “about the compatibility of the regulation of [hate] speech with principles of free speech” (2001, p. 129). Indeed, the very taboo nature of these words makes discussion of them typically prohibited or frowned upon. Although it is true that the utterance of slurs is illegitimate and derogatory in most contexts, sufficient evidence suggests that slurs are not always or exclusively used to derogate. In fact, slurs are frequently picked up and appropriated by the very in-group members that the slur was originally intended to target. This might be done, for instance, as a means for like speakers to strengthen in-group solidarity. So an investigation into the meaning and use of slurs can give us crucial insight into how words can be used with such derogatory impact, and how they can be turned around and appropriated as vehicles of rapport in certain contexts among in-group speakers. In this essay I will argue that slurs are best characterized as being of a mixed descriptive/expressive type. Next, I will review the most influential accounts of slurs offered thus far, explain their shortcomings, then provide a new analysis of slurs and explain in what ways it is superior to others. Finally, I suggest that a family-resemblance conception of category membership can help us achieve a clearer understanding of the various ways in which slurs, for better or worse, are actually put to use in natural language discourse.

Politeness In Computer-Mediated Discourse of a Virtual Team

by Erika Darics

This is a draft version of my paper. The final one is here:

Darics, E. (2010). Politeness in computer-mediated discourse of a virtual team.
In: Journal of Politeness Research. Language, Behaviour, Culture. Volume 6, Issue 1, Pages 129–150.

Drawing on the newest findings of politeness research, this paper proposes an interactionally grounded approach to... more Drawing on the newest findings of politeness research, this paper proposes an interactionally grounded approach to computer-mediated discourse (CMD). Through the analysis of naturally occurring text-based synchronous interactions of a virtual team the paper illustrates that the interactional politeness approach can account for linguistic phenomena not yet fully explored in computer-mediated discourse analysis. Strategies used for compensating for the lack of audio-visual information in computer-mediated communication, strategies to compensate for the technological constraints of the medium, and strategies to aid interaction management are examined from an interactional politeness viewpoint and compared to the previous findings of CMD analysis. The conclusion of this preliminary research suggests that the endeavour to communicate along the lines of politeness norms in a work-based virtual environment contradicts some of the previous findings of CMD research (unconventional orthography, capitalization, economizing), and that other areas (such as emoticons, backchannel signals and turn-taking strategies) need to be revisited and re-examined from an interactional perspective to fully understand how language functions in this merely text-based environment.

Relational work in synchronous text-based CMC of virtual teams

by Erika Darics

This is the draft version of my book chapter. The details of the final version are below:

Darics, E. (2010). Relational work in synchronous text-based CMC of virtual teams.
In: Handbook of Research on Discourse Behavior and Digital Communication: Language Structures and Social Interaction, Rotimi Taiwo (Ed.), 830-851.

Based on close examinations of instant message (IM) interactions, this chapter argues that an inter- actional... more Based on close examinations of instant message (IM) interactions, this chapter argues that an inter- actional sociolinguistic approach to computer-mediated language use could provide explanations for phenomena that previously could not be accounted for in computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA). Drawing on the theoretical framework of relational work (Locher, 2006), the analysis focuses on non-task oriented talk and its function in forming and establishing communication norms in the team, as well as micro-level phenomena, such as hesitation, backchannel signals and emoticons. The conclusions of this preliminary research suggest that the linguistic strategies used for substituting audio-visual signals are strategically used in discursive functions and have an important role in relational work.

Power and Politeness: Social interaction in Philippine Higher Education Classrooms

by Mabelle Victoria

Victoria, M. (2009). Power and Politeness: Social interaction in Philippine Higher Education Classrooms. Philippine Journal of Linguistics, 40, 17-32.

Drawing upon naturalistic data from Philippine higher education classrooms, this article examines how talk is used by... more Drawing upon naturalistic data from Philippine higher education classrooms, this article examines how talk is used by three Filipino professors to negotiate unequal power relationships and minimize status distinctions between themselves and the students. It uses Brown & Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory to unpack how they deploy linguistic resources to soften the exercise of power, create solidarity and mitigate potentially face-threatening acts such as correcting students’ errors and giving orders.
Data suggest that the professors do not use their institutionally vested power with a blunt force. They employ a mixture of linguistic strategies to subvert the distancing effects of the teacher-student power differential. They emphasise asymmetry to ensure that the objectives of the lesson are met; at the same time they show consideration for the protection and preservation of their students’ public self image. This article discusses the complex interface between power and politeness within the context of higher education discourse.

Politeness in Belgium: Face, distance and sincerity in service-exchange rituals

by Jean Pierre van Noppen

A, ettō, hai - Kaiwabunseki no Shiten kara mita ‘Ki wo tsukau’ Hanashikata [Ah, Uhm, Yea - The ‘considerate way to speak’ seen from a conversation analytical perspective]

by Paul Cibulka

Jahresblätter für japanische und deutsche Forschung in Japan 5:43-54

http://jdforum.jimdo.com/%E6%97%A5%E7%8B%AC%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E8%AB%96%E9%9B%86/%E6%97%A5%E7%8B%AC%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E8%AB%96%E9%9B%86-%E7%9B%AE%E6%AC%A1/

Netiqueta, Cortesía, Estrategia y Sabiduría

by José Angel García Landa

Netiquette, Politeness, Strategy and Wisdom
   
This paper provides a pragmatic framework for the... more Netiquette, Politeness, Strategy and Wisdom
   
This paper provides a pragmatic framework for the analysis of argumentation and written interaction in computer-mediated communication (e.g. in forums or blogs). Grice's maxims are supplemented with a theory of linguistic politeness derived from Leech, which is in turn subordinated to a strategic theory of interaction and finally to a theory of aims and action, as defined in ideology and philosophy. Netiquette, politeness, strategy and wisdom are therefore structurally subordinated to each other in the overall theory of human action which includes computer-mediated communication.

Keywords: Netiquette, Politeness, Strategy, Wisdom, Action, Communication, Interaction, Pragmatics, CMC, Grice, Leech, Goffman, Forums, Blogs, Conversation, Rationality, Aims

Wybrane kategorie analizy dyskursu w badaniu tożsamości peryferyjnej

by Tomasz Zarycki

Opublikowano w: A. Horolets (red.), Analiza dyskursu w socjologii i dla socjologii. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, 2008. s. 253-266. [Selected categories of discourse analysis in the study of peripheral identities]

The paper deals with two theories located in the field of discourse analysis: the theory of linguistic politeness and... more The paper deals with two theories located in the field of discourse analysis: the theory of linguistic politeness and the code switching theory as well as their mutual relationships. Using mostly examples of the contemporary Polish political discourse, the author shows how both theories can be applied to the analysis of the political discourse in peripheral countries. Inscription of these theories into to the frames of the centre-periphery model is also used as example of possible dialogue between the fields of discourse analysis and sociology. Discourse analysis often points out to important mechanism of social processes and provides interesting tools for their analysis. Sociology which often neglected these mechanism can however be very helpful in bringing them into a larger context which often proves to be indispensable element for building a full and adequate interpretation of complex discoursive acts

The Language of Politeness in Ancient Hebrew Letters

by Benjamin Thomas

Hebrew Studies 50 2009

Politeness Strategies in Biblical Hebrew and West African Languages

by Andy Warren-Rothlin

L’ascolto nel counselling amicale

by Ilaria Riccioni

Co-authored with Andrzej Zuczkowski. Published in Mizzau M., Lugli L. (Eds.), L’ascolto, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2010: 83-116

The Informal Counselling Sequences as Dialogic Gestalt

by Ilaria Riccioni

Published in Gestalt Theory , 30, 3, 2008: 241-249

Verbal Sparring and Apologetic Points: Politeness in Gendered Argumentation Contexts

by Sylvia Burrow

Informal Logic 30 (3) 2010

This essay argues that ideals of cooperation or adversariality in argumentation are not equally attainable for women.... more This essay argues that ideals of cooperation or adversariality in argumentation are not equally attainable for women. Women in argumentation contexts face oppresssive limitations undermining argument success because their authority is undermined by gendered norms of politeness. Women endorsing or, alternatively, transgressing feminine norms of politeness typically defend their authority in argumentation contexts. And yet, defending authority renders it less legitimate. My argument focuses on women in philosophy but bears the implication that other masculine discourse contexts present similar double binds that urge social and political change.

Communicating likelihood and managing face: Can we say it is probable when we know it to be certain

by Gaelle Villejoubert

Bonnefon, J. F., & Villejoubert, G. (2005). Communicating Likelihood and managing face: Can we say it is probable when we know it to be certain? In B. G. Bara, L. Barsalou, & M. Bucciarelli (Eds.), Proceedings of the 27th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 316-321). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, NJ: Mahwah.

Different functions can be performed by probability phrases such as: ‘it is probable/possible/likely that x.’ Mainly,... more Different functions can be performed by probability phrases such as: ‘it is probable/possible/likely that x.’ Mainly, speakers may communicate a vague judgment about the likelihood of event x, or they may wish the recipient to focus on reasons for the occurrence of event x. We argue that there is another communicative func- tion which has yet to be documented, namely, the face- management function. Such function consists in miti- gating threat to the addressee when x is a criticism or an imposition. Data show that the phrases ‘possibly’ and ‘probably’ are indeed understood differently (have different membership functions) depending on whether they modify neutral or face-threatening contents. We consider the potential misunderstandings and judgmen- tal mistakes that may arise from ambiguity about which function of verbal uncertainty is being performed.

Powerless speech? Witness Strategies in the Hutton Inquiry

by Charlotte Taylor

Draft only, final version published in Gotti, M. & Flowerdew, J. (eds.), Studies in Specialized Discourse. Peter Lang.

Witness discourse has often been associated with powerless speech (O’Barr / Atkins 1980), which was considered to be... more Witness discourse has often been associated with powerless speech (O’Barr / Atkins 1980), which was considered to be influenced by relatively low social status and lack of previous courtroom experience. The Hutton Inquiry offered a rare opportunity to examine the discourse of witnesses who possessed a high social status, and were familiar with restricted question and answer formats. The data analysed in this chapter reveals that while the presence of what O’Barr and Atkins (1980) term powerless speech corresponds to a lack of institutional power, these same features may also be a means of negotiating and exerting interactional power. The negative politeness features which tend to characterise the discourse of witness talk are here not only used to mitigate unavoidable face threatening acts but to be aggressive in an acceptable way.

Negative Politeness Forms and Impoliteness Functions in Institutional Discourse: A Corpus-assisted Approach

by Charlotte Taylor

Draft only, final version published in Davies, B, M. Haugh & A. Merrison. 2011. Situated Politeness. Continuum.

This chapter uses corpus-assisted discourse studies to examine the variety of functions which negative politeness... more This chapter uses corpus-assisted discourse studies to examine the variety of functions which negative politeness forms fulfil in institutional discourse, and in particular it aims to add to the increasing literature which demonstrates that negative politeness features are clearly not limited to mitigation of the effect of an unavoidable face-threatening act (FTA) on the addressee. I would argue that in certain contexts some ‘polite’ phraseologies have become so conventionalized that, like Hacker, most competent English speakers would be primed to treat them as discourse markers indicating that a (possibly avoidable) face threat is about to follow. Within the discourse types studied here, polite phraseologies, while superficially expressing distance and deference, are seen to perform a variety of overlapping functions including: showing awareness of the discourse norms, allowing the participant to be ‘consciously aggressive in an acceptable way’ (Locher, 2004: 90), demonstrating that the participant can ‘handle it’ (Mullany, 2002), marking sections of the interaction for attention of the beneficiaries, and, finally, functioning as an integral part of the impolite move in the case of mock politeness. A secondary aim of this chapter is to explore the contribution that corpus linguistics can make to im/politeness studies.