Discourse as action Politeness theory

Transcription

1 Discourse as action Politeness theory Lesson March 2017 Indirectness in language Example: the speaker wants the hearer to close the door. a) Close the door. b) Would you close the door? c) Would you be so kind as to close the door? d) There s a draught. In speech act theory (see L05) this is called gradation of speech acts, from direct to indirect (a > d). According to the maxims of the cooperative principle, (a) is perfectly sufficient. However, language is often used more indirectly. Why?

2 Politeness A main reason for using indirect language is politeness. Grice himself suggested that be polite could also be a maxim. Robin Lakoff (1975) formulated the politeness principle, which includes three maxims: 1. Don t impose. 2. Give options. 3. Make the receiver feel good. The politeness principle explains why we tend to use language indirectly instead of directly. Face How does politeness work in discourse? The study of politeness relies on the concept of face, introduced by social psychologist Erving Goffman (1956). Face is the image that a person projects in his/her social contacts with others. + Positive face is the need to be appreciated/accepted by others. Negative face is the need not to be disturbed, or interfered with, by others.

3 Face threatening acts (FTAs) According to Goffman, participants in conversations are striving for stability in their relationships with others, which involves maintaining one s face and respecting the other person s face (cf. the saying to lose face ). Some speech acts, like refusing a request, can form a threat to the other s positive or negative face. These are called face threatening acts (FTAs). Politeness consists of face work techniques aimed to prevent or repair the damage caused by FTAs. Solidarity politeness Just as there are two types of face, there are two types of politeness. Face work that is aimed at positive face (the need to be appreciated/accepted) is called solidarity politeness. Example: a manager has to turn down a job applicant who does not fit the education requirements. a) We do not understand why you bothered to apply. b) We have some doubts concerning your prior education. The manager will likely prefer (b) over (a) in order to mitigate the damage to the applicant s positive face.

4 Respect politeness On the other hand, face work that deals with negative face (the need not to be disturbed or interfered with) is called respect politeness. Example: asking for directions. a) Hey you, where s the nearest pharmacy? b) Sorry to bother you, could you please tell me where I can find a pharmacy nearby? You will probably prefer (b) over (a) in order to reduce the damage to the other person s negative face. Which kind of politeness? Activity: recognise which kind of politeness is at work in the following examples. How is it achieved linguistically? A: Thank you for your excellent presentation. I would like to reconsider some of your conclusions, if I may. The speaker is striving not to threaten the listener s positive face, that is, his/her need to be appreciated. So, this is an instance of solidarity politeness. It is achieved by a direct speech act of thanking (expressive) followed by an indirect speech act (commissive).

5 Which kind of politeness? Activity: recognise which kind of politeness is at work in the following examples. How is it achieved linguistically? A: I don t understand politeness theory at all! B: Don t worry, you re not the only one. A is striving to protect B s positive face, particularly his/her need for social inclusion. So, this is an instance of solidarity politeness. It is achieved by a direct speech act of reassuring (directive) followed by another direct speech act (representative). Which kind of politeness? Activity: recognise which kind of politeness is at work in the following examples. How is it achieved linguistically? A: If I could just steal a minute of your time, I d like to hear what you think about my proposal. The speaker is striving to protect the hearer s negative face, i.e. his/her need not to be disturbed. So, this is an instance of respect politeness. It is achieved by an indirect speech act of request (directive).

6 Which kind of politeness? Activity: recognise which kind of politeness is at work in the following examples. How is it achieved linguistically? A: I know you re tired, but the deadline is tomorrow. The speaker is striving to protect the hearer s negative face by reducing the imposition on him/her. So, this is an instance of respect politeness. It is achieved by a direct speech act (representative) followed by an indirect speech act of request for action (directive). Which kind of politeness? Activity: recognise which kind of politeness is at work in the following examples. How is it achieved linguistically? A: So, what do you think of my new dress? B: Well, it s risqué, that s for sure. B is striving not to threaten A s positive face, that is, his/her need to feel accepted and appreciated. So, this is an instance of solidarity politeness. It is achieve by flouting the maxim of quantity (implicature: B does not like A s dress).

7 Which kind of politeness? Activity: how would you explain the misunderstanding in the following dialogue? A: Are you going to do anything with those old chairs? B: No, you can have them. A: Oh no, that s not what I meant. The misunderstanding arises from the fact that B interprets A s question as an indirect request (i.e. can I have those chairs?), that is, as a case of respect politeness. Actually, A is only interested to know what B intends to do with the chairs. No politeness is involved. Impoliteness Impoliteness occurs when a face threatening act is committed with no effort by the speaker to save the listener s (positive or negative) face.

8 Politeness theory Brown and Levinson (1978) developed a theory of the relationship between the intensity of face threatening acts (FTA) and the linguistic manifestations of politeness. The intensity of a FTA is expressed by its weight (W): W FTA = R + D + P. R is the rate of imposition (of that act in that specific culture) D is the social distance between the speaker and the hearer P is the power that the hearer has over the speaker Politeness theory W FTA = R + D + P low Rate of imposition (R) high Borrowing a pen Borrowing a car low Social distance (D) high Addressee is friend Addressee is a stranger low Power (P) high Addressee is speaker s subordinate Addressee is speaker s boss

9 Politeness theory Activity: in which situation is the weight of the FTA greater? Does it depend on R, D or P? 1. Making some critical comments to (a) your friend s presentation; (b) your professor s presentation. W is greater in (b) because of higher D and P 2. Asking a friend to (a) lie to somebody; (b) keep a secret. W is greater in (a) because of R 3. Requesting a favour from (a) a stranger you just met on the street; (b) your neighbour. W is greater in (a) because of D Gradations of politeness Brown and Levinson have identified five main strategies of performing a face threatening act: Taken from Renkema (2004) Introduction to discourse studies, p. 26.

10 Gradations of politeness How do these strategies work? Imagine you need to ask 100 from somebody. You can do that in various ways: Strategy 1: you do the FTA, on record (explicitly), and without any redressive action, that is, baldly. Example: Hey, lend me 100! Strategy 2: you do the FTA, on record (explicitly), with redressive action, choosing positive/solidarity politeness. Example: Hey my friend, could you lend me 100? Gradations of politeness Strategy 3: you do the FTA, on record (explicitly), with redressive action, choosing negative/respect politeness. Example: Sorry I have to ask, but could you lend me 100? Strategy 4: you do the FTA but off record (implicitly). Example: Oh no, I m out of cash! What can I do now? Strategy 5: the risk of asking is too great and you don t want to create an imposition on the listener, so you choose not to perform the FTA.

11 Gradations of politeness Brown and Levinson argue that the degree of politeness tends to be proportional to the weight of the FTA. The higher the weight, the more polite the strategy. Weight of FTA = R+D+P Str. 1 Str. 2 Str. 3 Str. 4 Str. 5 Degree of politeness Gradations of politeness Activity: rank these utterances from more polite to less polite. Indicate which of the 5 strategies has been used. a) Buddy can I use your computer to check my ? b) I wish there was a way to check my right now c) Let me check my on your computer. d) Sorry to bother you, will you be so kind to let me use your computer to check my ? From more to less polite: (b), (d), (a), (c). Strategies: (b) 4. off record; (d) 3. negative politeness; (a) 2. positive politeness; (c) 1. on record, baldly.

12 Gradations of politeness Activity: transform the utterance according to the required strategy of politeness. John: May I use your car? Baldly (no redressive action) John: Lend me your car. Respect politeness John: Sorry to bother you, could I borrow your car please? Solidarity politeness John: Hey my friend, can I use your car for a while? Off record John: If only there was a way to get there on time... Gradations of politeness Activity: read the following dialogue focusing on A s attempts to request a beer from B. Which strategies of politeness does A use?

13 Gradations of politeness Activity: read the following dialogue focusing on A s attempts to request a beer from B. Which strategies of politeness does A use? A: It s so hot today, isn t it? (4. off record) B: You bet. A: I m getting thirsty, you know. (4. off record) B: Everybody gets thirsty when it s so hot. A: Would you mind getting me a beer? (3. negative polit.) B: Why don t you get it yourself? [continues ] Gradations of politeness A: Come on, buddy, would you please hand me a beer? I d really appreciate that! (2. positive polit.) B: Listen, I m not your slave, okay? A: Alright, sorry! I thought we could share a beer together like in the old times, you know. (4. off record) B: Oh, that s so sweet of you No. A: Please. (3. negative politeness) B: I said no. A: Bring me the damn beer, now! (1. on record, baldly) B: There s no beer left, buddy. Why you keep asking for it? (B laughs)