Theory of politeness
1Delimiting the concept of politeness
1.1Politeness as a real-world goal: We are not interested in behaviour so we cannot explain politeness interpreted as a genuine desire to be pleasant to others or as the underlying motivation for an individual's linguistic behaviour.
1.2Deference is connected with politeness but is a distinct phenomenon; it is the opposite of familiarity. It is an obligatory choice among variants reflecting the speaker's sense of place or role in a given situation according to social conventions (sociolinguistics).
1.2.1French tu/vous, German du/Sie, Russian ты/вы, Hungarian te/ön/maga/kegyed/kiskegyed, English thou/you
1.2.2English Sir/Madam, Doctor, Professor
1.2.3English Richard/Dick, Catherine/Kate
1.3Register: varieties of language; compulsory in a social situation (stylistics)
foreign
scientific archaic
written
COMMONmedium
spoken
technical dialectal
slang vulgar
1.4Politeness as a surface level phenomenon
Ex. Which is more polite? The wife says to her husband:
Will you be kind enough to tell me what time it is?
What time is it?
2Politeness as a pragmatic phenomenon
2.1Politeness is interpreted as a strategy or series of strategies employed by a speaker to achieve a variety of goals, such as promoting or maintaining harmonious relations.
2.2GeoffreyLeech considers politeness as crucial in explaining why people are often so indirect in conveying what they mean and as rescuing the Cooperative Principle in the sense that politeness can satisfactorily explain exceptions to and apparent deviations from the CP.Leech introduces two concepts:
2.3Ambivalence
2.3.1By employing an utterance which is ambivalent (i. e. one which has more than one potential pragmatic/illocutionary force) it is possible to convey messages which the hearer is liable to find disagreeable without causing undue offence.
Ex. (i) Notice in the Junior Common Room, QueensCollege, Cambridge:
These newspapers are for all the students, not the privileged few who arrive first.
Ex. (ii) Notice at a very expensive restaurant:
If you want to enjoy the full flavour of your food and drink, you will, naturally, not smoke during this meal. Moreover, if you did smoke, you would also be impairing the enjoyment of other guests.
2.4Politeness Principle: Leech introduces this principle which runs as follows, 'Minimise the expression of impolite beliefs; maximise the expression of polite beliefs.' He adjoins maxims to the PP.
2.4.1The Tact Maxim: 'Minimise the expression of beliefs which imply cost to other; maximise the expression of beliefs which imply benefit to other.' So-called minimisers are conventionally used:
Exx.
Hang on a second!
I have got a bit of a problem.
2.4.2The Generosity Maxim states: 'Minimise the expression of benefit to self; maximise the expression of cost to self.'
Exx.
You must come and have dinner with us. vs We will come and have dinner with you.
Basil's wife is in hospital: You just lie there with your feet up and I'll go and carry you up another hundredweight of lime creams …
2.4.3The Approbation Maxim states: 'Minimise the expression of beliefs which express dispraise of other; maximise the expression of beliefs which express approval of other.'
2.4.4The Modesty Maxim states: 'Minimise the expression of praise of self; maximise the expression of dispraise of self.'
Exx.
After serving some cakes or sweets, my wife almost always says, 'Oh, it is not so delicious as it was last occasion.'
Having drunk the coffee made by A:
B: This coffee is very good.
A: Not bad, is it?
2.4.5The Agreement Maxim runs as follows: 'Minimise the expression of disagreement between self and other; maximise the expression of agreement between self and other.'
Exx. ???
2.4.6The Pollyanna Principle: Look on the bright side of life!
Exx.
Good luck!
This is the famous 'Curate's Egg' joke, first published in the humorous magazine, Punch, in 1895. A young curate is having breakfast with his Bishop. Bishop to curate:
'I'm afraid you have got a bad egg.'
'Oh no, my Lord, I assure you! Parts of it are excellent!'
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