POLITENESS

PRESENTED BY

DIYAN INTAN PRATIWI | RUDOLFUS KEVIN NDAWAN |

SIFA FAUZIAH | SITI ROHMAH AULIA
Definition of Politeness
Politeness is defined as behavior that does not harm or threaten the
self-image of others or oneself.

According to Yule (1996: 60), politeness is a fixed concept in the

shape of social behavior or etiquette in a particular society.

According to Brown and Levinson (1978), the need to be polite is

universal in all cultures. In a general sense, being polite means having
good manners and showing consideration for others.
 FACE
Politeness theory works on the
assumption that we have two
different types of 'face': Positive
face and Negative face.

Goffman (1955) defines face as

"The positive public image [we]
seek to establish in social
interactions."
 Positive face is an E.g: “You always wear
individual's desire to such lovely clothes!
be liked and I'd love to borrow
appreciated by something one day."
others.
2 types of
face Negative face is an
individual's desire to
E.g: "I know it's a real
pain, and I hope you
protect their personal don't mind, but could
rights, such as their you please print these
freedom of speech and off for me?"
action.
 Face-Threatening Act
According to Brown and Levinson, face-threatening acts may threaten
either the speaker's or the listener's face (either positive or negative).

Face-threatening acts can be verbal (using words or language),

paraverbal (conveyed in the characteristics of speech such as tone or
inflexion), or non-verbal (facial expressions or body language).
 Acts that threaten the listener's
positive face and self-image include

Positive face-
expressions of disapproval,
accusations, criticism, and
disagreements. For example
threatening acts mentioning taboo or emotional
topics, interruptions, and
damaging to expressions of violent emotions.

the listener E.g: "You ate all my cheese, didn't

you?!"
 Acts that threaten the speaker's
positive face and self-image include
Positive face- apologies (an acceptance of being
wrong), confessions, and a loss of
threatening acts emotional control.

damaging to E.g: "I'm all over the place right now

and haven't done any housework in
the speaker weeks!"
 Acts that threaten the listener's
negative face and restrict their

Negative face-
personal freedoms include
utterances that pressurise the
listener into doing something in the
threatening acts future, such as giving an order,
making a request, giving a reminder,
damaging to or making a threat.

the listener E.g: "If you don't apologize, I won't

speak to you again."
 Acts that threaten the speaker's
negative face and impede on their

Negative face- personal freedoms include speech

acts they feel obliged to perform,

threatening acts such as apologies, excuses,

acceptance of compliments or

damaging to gratitude.

the speaker E.g: "Thanks, I like your outfit too."

 According to Brown and Levinson, there are

four main strategies we can use to limit the
threat to the listener's face when face-
threatening acts are inevitable. We usually

Politeness use these strategies to avoid embarrassing

someone or making them feel uncomfortable.

Strategies
Brown and Levinson propose four politeness
strategies: Bald on-record, Positive
politeness, Negative politeness, and Off-
record (indirect).
 Bald on-record
We usually use this strategy when there is a sense of urgency if we know
the listener well, or if there is a low risk of threat to the listener's face.
When we use this strategy, we get straight to the point and do not use
any additional language to help soften our message.

E.g: "Watch out!" - Sense of urgency.

"Your headlights are on!" - In the interest of the listener.
 Positive politeness
Positive politeness strategies aim to reduce the threat to the listener's positive
face. Positive politeness strategies include: finding common ground; juxtaposing
criticism with compliments; telling jokes; and using statements of friendship (think
about nicknames, slang or insider jokes that only you and your friends use).

E.g: "Hey mate, can I borrow a fiver?" - Using friendly language.

"I love your shoes, and your hair looks great. I'm not sure about that top,
though...”- Juxtaposing a criticism with compliments.
 Negative politeness
Negative politeness strategies are aimed at the listener's negative face and are
meant to avoid any imposition on the listener. We use negative politeness
strategies when we presume that our speech will impose on the listener in some
way and wish to avoid feelings of awkwardness or embarrassment.

E.g: "Could you print this off for me? It's only a few pages and won't take long! " -
Minimizing the imposition.
"I'm so sorry, but could you help me?" - Being apologetic.
 Off record (indirect)
This strategy involves some serious indirectness; the speaker typically avoids
saying the potentially face-threatening act altogether. Instead, the speakers'
intentions are implied, and it is up to the listener to interpret them.

E.g: Speaker: "Is there a free chair over there?"

Listener: "Yes, here you go." (They give the speaker a chair).

Speaker: "I have a headache."

Listener “Oh dear. Here, take some of my painkillers."