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Discuss how politeness varies across cultures. Illustrate your discussion with
examples. You can choose a range of examples from different parts of the
world OR pick one cultural context as a case study.

The development of multiculturalism and globalisation has led to the

need to adapt people to each new situation that arises. One of the issues that
has to alter is to be polite, since, in every place, and in every situation, a
different attitude is required. Actually, as Fraser & Nolan (1981, p. 96) stated
“No sentence is inherently polite or impolite. We often take certain expressions
to be impolite, but it is not the expressions themselves but the conditions under
which they are used that determine the judgement of politeness”. However, this
does not change the fact that in each country, and even within the same
country, there are differences of opinion on this issue. To show these
differences, we will focus on Spain, where what is impolite in most parts of the
world will be common and valued, especially in a colloquial environment.

To begin with, in Spain there is not even a word that refers to polite
properly speaking, but there are expressions or words that are used instead,
such as “cortesía, courtesy, educación, good behaviour, buenos modales, good
manners, formalidad, correct behaviour, simpatía, friendliness, and qualities
like fino, refined” (Hickey, 2005, p. 317). Furthermore, according to Victoria
Escandell (1998, p. 46), three “types” of politeness could be considered,
namely “civil/social correctness, kindness/friendliness and tact/diplomacy”.
Spain would be included in the second group. Something that also needs to be
mentioned is that there are two types of ‘politeness strategies’. As Meier (1995,
p. 346) explains, they “function to reduce the imposition or threat to an
addressee's face upon the enactment of an inherently face-threatening act (e.g.
a command, an interruption) …positive strategies are described as expressions
of solidarity, intimacy, informality, and familiarity” and within the positive
politeness would include Spain.

As it mentioned above, Spain being part of the positive politeness, it is

worth highlighting one of the attitudes that most characterises and
differentiates Spaniards from what is considered polite in other cultures is
interruption, which according to Cestero (1994, p. 91) is “an action to impede
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the beginning, continuation or conclusion of a message”. This is relevant

because as Hernández Flores (1999, p. 39) points out, in colloquial Spanish
conversations, “interruption is appreciated because it shows engagement with
the conversation”. Therefore, and contradicting a large number of countries,
interrupting in Spain is considered a positive act.

Focusing on the way you address other people, unlike in other places
where it may be a requirement to formally address adults or more authoritative
people, in Spain this will influence that, but there will be other factors
including “the interactants’ age, their social status, personal relationships,
physical surroundings and even the weather and time of day (sunshine or night-
time probably favouring informality)” (Hickey, 2005, p. 319). For example, as
Hickey (2005, p. 319) mentions, in a context where a young person formally
addresses an adult, the latter could speak informally to the young person, as
there is no need to reciprocate.

Another thing that is very characteristic of Spaniards is flattery, when

they meet someone or with chance encounters. However, it also brings not-so-
good things and that is lateness, a defect that stands out among the Spanish
population, and that is to arrive late for dinner to the plans they would have
made, something that, as Hickey (2005, p. 320) points out, people tolerate
others arriving “much longer after the agreed time than would be acceptable in
negative-politeness societies.” In addition, due to trust sometimes or habit,
tardiness may not even be accompanied by an apology. In fact, as Hickey
(2005, p. 320) again remarks, small accidents such as a push and shove or even
favours to strangers in the street are rarely accompanied by a sorry or a please.

This last section is one of the points that Hickey (2005, pp. 323-329)
focuses on most when he checks the reactions of English and Spanish young
people to situations in which someone receives a gift. Most of the results show
that Spaniards are divided between people who would be grateful and show
gratitude for gifts and those who would take it for granted that it is something
normal and would not be grateful because it is something unimportant,
unnecessary or typical. In addition, Spaniards also add to this study that
gratitude is implicit, so it would not be necessary to mention it with thanks.
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However, the English would always be grateful, although not effusively, as one
of the cases is very grateful and takes it as something excessively exaggerated.
Therefore, even if in some messages the Spaniards leave an implicit thank you,
many people might not understand it and, therefore, consider it rude. In fact,
and although Spaniards themselves understand it, Escandell Vidal (1998, p. 48)
herself mentions it, which is that “‘if I do you a favour, I would probably
expect that you expressed gratitude!”. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that it is
a controversial topic, as several authors mention that giving thanks is used
when “someone obtains a benefit from the actions of another person” (Norrick,
1978), but what if it is not considered a benefit, should it be thanked? If you
follow these definitions to the letter, you shouldn't, but you would be an
impolite person.

Another form of education that may vary with other places is the format
they use when addressing other people. There are indirect forms, which are
often considered more correct, and more direct forms that could be
misinterpreted. However, as Iglesias (2001, p. 274) states “the imperative in
Spanish is not inherently impolite… It is possible that…the direct formulation
of requests is considered to be a positive feature in an interaction”. This is
exactly what happens in Spain, and, in addition to the fact that direct forms are
somewhat more common, they also sound friendlier if they are accompanied
by a compensator. For example, as Hickey (2005, p. 321) mentions when using
man in the following sentence “‘Shut up, man’ (Cállate, hombre)” man shows
sympathy, thus softening the imperative message. Another way of expressing
oneself that could be misinterpreted is when invitations or offers are made. In
Spanish, it is common to address others using an imperative, which others
might understand as an order. However, the person who says it does not intend
to force anyone, but it is a common way of expressing it.

Something similar happens with greetings, as may be known, in Spain

it is common to greet each other with kisses and hugs, but also with shaking
hands if it is something more formal. This can be a problem because in each
place or culture you greet in a different way, especially when you meet
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someone, and there are people who might feel offended or feel an excess of
contact if they are not used to it.

Another fairly common and potentially controversial point is the use of

words or expressions to accuse, curse or reprimand. In contrast to what Leech
(1983, p. 105) sets out “politeness is out of the question, because conflictive
illocutions are, by their very nature, designed to cause offense”, Spaniards very
often use curses to express themselves and contradict the opinions of others, as
exemplified by Hickey (2005, p. 322) “You're stupid (Eres tonto)” or “You're
mad (Estás loco)”, which could sound offensive, but is not used with the
intention of expressing the literal meaning of the word and will most
commonly be seen in colloquial situations.

In conclusion, there are many situations that can lead to confusion,

whether between people from the same country, the same culture and
education or between people from totally different parts of the world whose
customs may not coincide at all. Spain, in particular, it is a country where there
is a lot of talk, and quite a few expressions and actions that are used in
everyday life would be impolite elsewhere. In addition, thanking and
apologising should be normalised, even among people you trust. What is
certain, however, is that regardless of the place or culture, you have to know in
what context you are using each conduct, and think of others before behaving
in one way or another.
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References

Cestero Mancera, A. M. (1994). Intercambio de turnos de habla en la

conversación en lengua española. Revista Española de Lingüística 24(1), 77-
99.

Escandell Vidal, M. V. (1998). Politeness: A relevant issue for relevance theory.

Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses 11, 45–57.
Fraser, B., & Nolen, W. (1981). The association of deference with linguistic
form. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 1981(27).
https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.1981.27.93
Hernández Flores, N. (1999) Politeness ideology in Spanish colloquial
conversations: The case of advice. Journal of Pragmatics 9(1), 37-49
Hickey, L., & Stewart, M. (Eds.). (2005). Politeness in Europe. Multilingual
Matters.

Iglesias Recuero, S. (2001). Los estudios de la cortesía en el mundo hispánico.

Estado de la cuestión. Oralia 4, 245-398.

Leech, G. N. (1983). Principles of Pragmatics. London: Longman.

Meier, A. J. (1995). Defining politeness: Universality in appropriateness.

Language sciences, 17(4), 345-356.

Norrick, N. R. (1978). Expressive illocutionary acts. Journal of Pragmatics

2(3), 277-291