THEORY OF

POLITENESS
BLENDEA EMILIA
CIOCAN DENISA
MARCU MIRUNA
DEFINITION
The Politeness theory is a theory that
appeared within the framework of
pragmatic approach in linguistics. According
to this theory the interlocutors use
particular strategies in order to achieve
successful communication. These strategies
enable to create maximally comfortable
environment for communication.
 POLITENESS
Politeness is a topic on which people have very different opinions
(and "people," in this case, includes linguistic scholars and
researchers).
According to one view, politeness is a superficial and dispensable
adornment of human language, rather like icing on a cake.
 POLITENESS
Many children learning their native language soon discover the
importance of saying things like please and thank you, which are
insisted on by their parents in the process of social-ization—
becoming "paid-up" members of human society.
This reminds us that politeness is a social phenomenonand yet a
social phenomenon largely manifested through the use of language.
 EXAMPLES
1 2 3
-Hi, Denise,
-Excuse me, -May I have
may you show
teacher, may you your attention,
me where the
help me with the please?
class is?
homework?
 Negative and positive
politeness
"Brown and Levinson (1978/1987) distinguish between
positive and negative politeness. Both types of politeness
involve maintaining--or redressing threats to--positive
and negative face.
 FACE
-Face is "the positive social value a person effectively claims for
himself by the line others assume he has taken during a
particular contact. (Goffman, 1955, p.213)
-Face means the "public self-image of a person. It refers to the
emotional and social sense of self that one has and expects
everyone else to recognize" (Yule, 1996, p. 60).
 Positive face
-Brown and Levinson defined positive face as an individual's
desire to be liked, admired, ratified, and related to
positively.
eg: “You always wear such lovely clothes! I'd love to borrow
something one day."
 Negative face
-The concept of negative face is a little trickier to
grasp.
-Brown and Levinson define negative face as an
individual's desire not to have their basic rights and
freedoms impeded by others.
eg: "I know it's a real pain, and I hope you don't mind,
but could you please print these off for me?"
 The four strategies of
politeness
Positive politeness strategies are intended to avoid
giving offense by highlighting friendliness. These
strategies include juxtaposing criticism with compliments,
establishing common ground, and using jokes, nicknames,
honorifics, tag questions, special discourse markers
(please), and in-group jargon and slang.
 Examples
eg: ”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.
"Oh, you played this word wrong. Don't worry, I spell things
wrong all the time! " - Finding common ground.
 -Negative political strategies are intended to avoid
giving offense by showing deference. These strategies
include questioning, hedging, and presenting
disagreements as opinions.
eg:"I don't suppose you know where the toilets are, do
you? " - Being indirect and hedging.

“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.

 The Bald on Record
The Bald on-record strategy does not attempt to limit
the threat to the listener's face. 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
 Examples
-"Watch out!" - Sense of urgency.

-"Your headlights are on!" - In the interest of the listener.

-"Eat up!" - This command would likely be face-threatening

if the speaker and listener did not know each other.
However, if the speaker and listener know each other well,
this would be deemed acceptable.
 Off-record(indirect)
Brown and Levinson's final politeness strategy is the off-record or indirect
strategy. 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. In this situation, the speaker can get credit for not imposing
on the listener, and the listener is given a chance to present themselves as
helpful or generous. However, this strategy relies heavily on pragmatics to
convey the intended meaning.
 Examples
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."

THANK
YOU