The document discusses politeness from both an average person's perspective of showing good manners, and from a sociolinguist's perspective of how people choose to speak and how listeners react. It notes that ideas of politeness vary between cultures. Specifically, telling a woman she gained weight can be a compliment in some cultures but rude in others. The document also examines Brown and Levinson's concept of face and how politeness is used to avoid threatening someone's positive or negative face through face threatening acts. Various linguistic politeness strategies are presented.

2.  To the average person:
 Being polite means showing good
manners and thinking about other
people’s feelings
 For the sociolinguist:
 The way that people choose to speak
and how their listeners react to what they
say

3.  Ideas of politeness vary between
cultures
 What is polite in one culture is not
necessarily polite in another

5.  Saying to a woman “You’ve gained
weight.”
 Compliment in Africa and Arab
cultures
• Means that you’re looking healthy.
 Very rude in America, Europe and
most of Asia
 Better to say the opposite “Have you
lost weight?”

6. 1. Get me a Coke.
2. Get me a Coke, Andy!
3. You’ll be a pal and get us a Coke won’t you Andy?
4. Could you possibly get me a Coke from the machine
please, Andy?
5. If you’re going to the machine, could you possibly get
me a Coke while you’re there?
6. If you’re going to the machine, would you possibly be
so kind as to get me a Coke while you’re there
please?
7. I’m really sorry to ask, but if you’re going to the
machine, I’d be ever so grateful if you would possibly
be so kind as to get me a Coke while you’re there
please.

7.  A person’s self-image
 Other people’s image of a person
 In Japanese: 体面 or 面子

8.  Positive face
 Self
 Want to be liked
and respected
 Desire for approval
from others
 Negative face
 Others
 Desire to act freely

9.  Politeness is used when your face is
threatened
 When you might lose other’s respect
 When you can’t act freely
 Called face threatening acts (FTA)

10.  Request: Asking for money
 “Could I borrow 5,000?”
 Compliment: Man complimenting a
woman
 “You’re really beautiful.”
 Expressing thanks
 “Thank you for your help.”

11.  Taboo topic
 “How old are you?”
 Apology
 “I’m sorry for being late.”

12.  Social distance
 Friends have more flexibility than strangers
 Social status
 Equals have more flexibility than unequals
 Nature of the threat
 Some threats may be bigger

13.  Politeness is a way to show awareness of
another person’s face
 Face-saving act: saying something that
lessens the possible threat to another’s
face

14.  Shut the door!
 Does not leave the hearer with any choice
 Makes the speaker sound more powerful

15.  Please: “Shut the door please.”
 Hedges: “If it isn’t too much trouble, shut
the door.”
 Questions: “Could you pass the salt?”
 Provisional language: Using if, would,
can, etc.
 Make refusing easier

16.  In general terms, politeness is being nice
to other people.
 More formally, politeness is concern for
someone’s face.
 Negative face: be able to act freely
 Positive face: be liked and admired
 Interaction with people can threaten
people’s face
 People avoid face threatening acts with
polite strategies