Putting your Best Face Forward: Politeness Theory at Work Yvonne Anderson Spring PD April 30 th, 2009

Acknowledgements... Alan Aldrich, University of South Dakota “Face it! Reference Work and Politeness Theory Go Hand in Hand”

What is politeness? “provides a verbal way to relieve interpersonal tension arising from communicative intentions that conflict with social needs and statuses” (Eelen, 2001, p. 5).

Politeness Theory Brown & Levinson’s (1987) Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage Sociolinguistic theory

Politeness Theory “useful as a model of how to communicate strategically” (Goldsmith, 2007, p. 232). Focuses on avoiding conflict All about “face”

Face Our public self-image or identity Is not static Is vulnerable

Negative & Positive Face Negative (Autonomy) Face: ◦ Wants to be unimpeded ◦ Wants to act without interference Positive (Solidarity) Face: ◦ Wants to be appreciated ◦ Wants to make connections

Which face is this? Face #1 Face #2

Face Threatening Acts! (FTAs) Tend to be the requests or demands we make of others Can avoid FTAs, but then nothing gets done

FTAs Negative (Autonomy) Face-threats: ◦ orders, advice, reminders, promises, compliments Positive (Solidarity) Face-threats: ◦ disapproval, criticism, feeling not cared about, disagreements

Face-Wants Appealing to Negative (Autonomy) Face: ◦ language of deference  emphasizing distance, formality Appealing to Positive (Solidarity) Face: ◦ language of solidarity  common ground, caring, sympathy

FTA Options... Don’t do it! Just do it! Positive (solidarity) politeness strategies Negative (autonomy) politeness strategies “Off the record” politeness strategies

How to choose? Function of: ◦ Power relationship (P) ◦ Social distance (D) ◦ Perceived risk of the demand (R)

Face it … We all feel better when our “face” is being respected Satisfaction  closely tied to a good interpersonal transaction Why we aren’t just “efficient” Just for fun...

Resources Brown, P., & Levinson, S.C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. New York: Cambridge University. Eelen, G. (2001). A critique of politeness theories. Manchester: St. Jerome Pub. Goldsmith, D. (2007). Brown and Levinson's politeness theory. In B.B. Whaley & W. Samter (Eds.), Explaining communication : contemporary theories and exemplars (pp ). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.