Politeness Theory discusses the concepts of linguistic politeness and face. Politeness involves being tactful toward others through language choices. Face refers to one's public self-image and the need to maintain positive social standing. People have both negative face, the need for independence and freedom from imposition, and positive face, the need for social acceptance and belonging to a group. Utterances can threaten or save face. Face-threatening acts risk negative evaluation, while face-saving acts avoid potential threats to one's public self-image. Politeness aims to balance both types of face wants through strategic language use.

1. Politeness Theory
Pragmatics LSLA 414
Dr.Nada Alshehri

3. Politeness is
• It is a polite social behavior or etiquette
within a culture. Being polite means being
generous, modest, and tactful toward others.
• Linguistic politeness means the way people
choose to speak and how the hearers react
to their speech.

4. Politeness & Interaction
• Our speaking & communication are
determined by our social relationships.
• Therefore, a linguistic interaction is
necessarily a social interaction.

6. Tea

7. face
• A concept related to “politeness” is “face”, which is invlolved in every
speech act.

8. What is Face?
• In pragmatics, your “face” is your public self-image.
• “face” can also be defined as “a person’s desire to
maintain their prestige and positive standing in society
as well as the prestige and positive standing of others.”
• Politeness is “showing awareness and consideration of
another person’s face”

9. Negative face
and positive
face

10. • Attention:
• “Negaitve” here does not mean “bad”
• It is simply the opposite of “positive”
• (O±)

12. Negative & Positive Face
People have two faces:
1. Negative face: the need to be
independent, to have freedom of
action, and not to be imposed on
by others.
2. Positive face: is the need to be
accepted, even liked, by others, to
be treated as a member of the
same group, and to know that his
or her wants are shared by
others.

13. • We have both:
• 1) negative face
• 2) positive face

14. • Negative face is the “need to be
independent and free from
imposition”

15. • A positive face is “the need to be connected, to
belong, to be a member of the group” (Yule, 135)

16. Examples of
positive gace
• Let’s do this together,
• I have the same problems, so…
• We are saling in the same boat, why
don’t we collaborate on.….

17. Face Wants

18. Face Wants: A person’s expectations that their
public self-image will be respected.
• If a speaker says something that represents a threat to
another individual’s expectations, regarding self-image,
it’s described as a face- threatening act.
• When someone says an utterance that avoids a
potential threat to a person’s face, it’s called face-
saving act.

20. EXAMPLE
• A: “I’m going to tell him to stop that awful noise right
• now!!” (Face-threatening act)
• B: “Perhaps you could just ask him if he’s going to stop because it’s
getting late and we need to sleep…” (Face- saving act)

21. Using face-saving act to emphasize a
person negative face
• Examples:
• I’m sorry to bother you, but … ( as opposed to: do this job)
• I know you are busy, but …. (as opposed to: we need to meet now)

22. Using face-saving act to emphasize a person
positive face
• Using face-saving act to emphasize a person positive face will draw
attention to a common goal and show solidarity
• Examples:
• I’m sorry to bother you, but … ( as opposed to: let’s do this job)
• I know you are busy, but …. (as opposed to: we all need to meet now)

23. More examples on face
acts:
face–saving
and
face threatening 

24. Face-threatening act
• Give me that paper!
• Leave this room!
• Get off this chair!
• Silent!

25. face-saving act
• Could you please give me that paper?
• Could you please leave this room?
• This is my chair, could you please allow me to sit?

26. Activity: Face-threatening act or face-saving act?
• Silent!
• I’m trying to listen, could you please shut your mouth?

27. Face threatening

28. Face-threatening act or face-saving act?
• I’m trying to listen, could you please be quiet?

29. face-saving

30. Activity
Identify the type of face acts. (face threatening act or face-saving act)
• Give me that.
• Could you please raise your voice.
• If you leave this home, do not come again.
• Can you give me that.
• Do not do this.
• Please do not leave.

31. Answers
• face threatening act
• face-saving act
• face threatening act
• face saving act
• face threatening act
• face saving act

32. Remember
•Being polite & nice to other people.
•In pragmatics, your face is your public self-
image.