Politeness

Starter – How might Politeness be connected to

English Language and Literature?

Learning Objective – to
explore Brown and
Levinson’s politeness theory.
 We can think of politeness in general terms. In the study of
linguistic politeness, the most relevant concept is ‘face’.

Your ‘face’ in pragmatics, is

your public self image.

This is the emotional and

social sense of self that
everyone has and expects
Politeness can be defined as
everyone else to recognise.
showing awareness of and
consideration for another
person’s face.
If you say something that represents a threat to another person’s
self-image, this is called a face-threatening act.

For example:

If you use a direct speech act to get someone to do something ‘give

me that paper’ – you are behaving as if you have more social power
than the other person.

If you don’t actually have the social power (you’re not a police
officer/prison warden) … then you are performing a face threatening
act.

An indirect speech act in the form associated with a

question: ‘can you pass me that paper please?’ removes
the assumed social power. This makes your request less
threatening to the other person’s face.
 Negative and Positive Face

We both have a ‘negative face’ and a ‘positive face’.

What might these be?

Negative Face – is the need to be independent and free

from imposition.

How might A face-saving act that emphasises a

you achieve person’s negative fact will show concern
this if you’re about imposition:
asking a
question?
‘I’m sorry to bother you …’
‘I know you’re busy but …’
 Positive Face is the need to be
Now we know
negative face
connected, to belong, to be a member
… what is of the group.
positive face?

How might
you achieve
this?
A face-saving act that emphasises a person’s
positive face will show solidarity and draw
attention to a common goal:

‘Let’s do this together …’

 Each of Brown and Levinson’s politeness
strategies has its opposite impoliteness
strategy.

Positive Impoliteness – Used to damage positive face wants:

-) Ignore/snub the other

-) Deny any common ground with other participants
-) Be disinterested/unconcerned/unsympathetic
-) Select a sensitive topic
-) Use obscure/secretive language
-) Seek disagreement Task: Working with a partner, can you
-) Use taboo words identify any examples of these in what we
-) Call the other names have read so far.

Think about: Who is using them and WHY?

What effect are they trying to create on
the audience?
Negative Impoliteness – Used to damage negative face
wants:

-) Frighten
-) Scorn
-) Condescend
-) Ridicule
-) Invade the other’s space literally or metaphorically.

Task: Working with a partner, can you

identify any examples of these in what we
have read so far.

Think about: Who is using them and WHY?

What effect are they trying to create on
the audience?
From last lesson … what
have we learnt about:

Putnam
Proctor
Task: Working with a partner, complete a similar
activity on what we learn about Reverend Hale.

Do we learn any more information about Salem

society too?

Reverend Hale