Politeness in Speech

Research Paper # 100847

Communication > Interpersonal
Communication > Language and Speech
Language

This paper explores linguistic politeness and how it determines patterns of language use.

3,263 words () | 5 sources | APA | 2005 France

Paper Summary:

The paper reveals the linguistic definition of politeness and shows how politeness is an integral part of speech. The paper discusses how the use of politeness is determined by three main sociological factors: distance, power and cultural rate of impositions. Finally, the paper demonstrates how language is transformed by politeness in practice.

From the Paper:

"Everyone knows what politeness is. From our very childhood, we are constantly told phrases such as "be polite" and we are faced with the issue of addressing people in a decent way, using either their nicknames, first names or their titles plus last names, etc. and in some foreign languages distinguishing between the formal second person personal pronoun and the familiar one (e.g. tu/vous in French). When our neighbour tells us "beautiful day, isn't it?" it would never occur to us to reply "no, in fact I totally disagree with you. Haven't you seen these clouds? It is undoubtedly going to rain". Why if it is true? It is simply because it is a basic matter of politeness that we are also used to calling good manners. In fact, politeness is really part of our everyday life and speech."

Sample of Sources Used:

Brown P. and Levinson S.C. (1987) Politeness, Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. UCD Main Library, GEN 401.9/ BRO.
Brown P. and Levinson S.C. (1978) "Universals in Language Usage: Politeness Phenomena". In Esther N. Goody (ed.), Questions and Politeness, 56-290. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. UCD Main Library, GEN 302.14/GOO.
Holmes J. (1995) Women, Men and Politeness. New-York: Longman Publishing. UCD Main Library, GEN 306.44/HOL.
Stockwell P. (2002) Sociolinguistics, A Resource Book for Students. London: Routledge. UCD Main Library, GEN 401.9/STO.
Watts R.J. et al. (eds.) (1992) Politeness in Language: Studies in its History, Theory, and Practice. Berlin-New-York: Mouton de Gruyter. UCD Main Library, GEN 415/WAT.