Politeness theory

Politeness theory is the theory that accounts for the redressing of the affronts to face posed by face-threatening acts to addressees. First formulated in 1978 by Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson, politeness theory has since expanded academia’s perception of politeness. Politeness is the expression of the speakers’ intention to mitigate face threats carried by certain face threatening acts toward another (Mills, 2003, p. 6). Another definition is "a battery of social skills whose goal is to ensure everyone feels affirmed in a social interaction". Being polite therefore consists of attempting to save face for another.

Positive and Negative Face
Face is the public self image that every adult tries to project. In their 1987 book, Brown and Levinson defined positive face two ways: as "the want of every member that his wants be desirable to at least some others", or alternately, "the positive consistent self-image or 'personality' (crucially including the desire that this self-image be appreciated and approved of) claimed by interactants". Negative face was defined as "the want of every 'competent adult member' that his actions be unimpeded by others", or "the basic claim to territories, personal preserves, rights to non-distraction--i.e. the freedom of action and freedom from imposition". Ten years later, Brown characterized positive face by desires to be liked, admired, ratified, and related to positively, noting that one would threaten positive face by ignoring someone. At the same time, she characterized negative face by the desire not to be imposed upon, noting that negative face could be impinged upon by imposing on someone. Positive Face refers to one's self-esteem, while negative face refers to one's freedom to act. The two aspects of face are the basic wants in any social interaction, and so during any social interaction, cooperation is needed amongst the participants to maintain each others' faces.

Face-Threatening Acts
According to Brown and Levinson, positive and negative face exist universally in human culture. In social interactions, face-threatening acts (FTAs) are at times inevitable based on the terms of the conversation. A face threatening act is an act that inherently damages the face of the addressee or the speaker by acting in opposition to the wants and desires of the other. Most of these acts are verbal, however, they can also be conveyed in the characteristics of speech (such as tone, inflection, etc.) or in non-verbal forms of communication. At minimum, there must be at least one of the face threatening acts associated with an utterance. It is also possible to have multiple acts working within a single utterance.

Negative Face Threatening Acts
Negative face is threatened when an individual does not avoid or intend to avoid the obstruction of their interlocutor's freedom of action. It can cause damage to either the speaker or the hearer, and makes one of the interlocutors submit their will to the other. Freedom of choice and action are impeded when negative face is threatened.

Damage to the Hearer

 * An act that affirms or denies a future act of the hearer creates pressure on the hearer to either perform or not perform the act.
 * Examples: orders, requests, suggestions, advice, remindings, threats, or warnings.
 * An act that expresses the speaker’s sentiments of the hearer or the hearer’s belongings.
 * Examples: compliments, expressions of envy or admiration, or expressions of strong negative emotion toward the hearer (e.g. hatred, anger, lust).
 * An act that expresses some positive future act of the speaker toward the hearer. In doing so, pressure has been put on the hearer to accept or reject the act and possibly incur a debt.
 * Examples: offers, and promises.

Damage to the Speaker

 * An act that shows that the speaker is succumbing to the power of the hearer.
 * Expressing thanks
 * Accepting a thank you or apology
 * Excuses
 * Acceptance of offers
 * A response to the hearer’s violation of social etiquette
 * The speaker commits himself to something he or she does not want to do

Positive Face Threatening Acts
Positive face is threatened when the speaker or hearer does not care about their interactor’s feelings, wants, or does not want what the other wants. Positive face threatening acts can also cause damage to the speaker or the hearer. When an individual is forced to be separated from others so that their well being is treated less importantly, positive face is threatened.

Damage to the Hearer

 * An act that expresses the speaker’s negative assessment of the hearer’s positive face or an element of his/her positive face. The speaker can display this disapproval in two ways. The first approach is for the speaker to directly or indirectly indicate that he dislikes some aspect of the hearer’s possessions, desires, or personal attributes. The second approach is for the speaker to express disapproval by stating or implying that the hearer is wrong, irrational, or misguided.
 * Examples: expressions of disapproval (e.g. insults, accusations, complaints), contradictions, disagreements, or challenges.
 * An act that expresses the speaker’s indifference toward the addressee’s positive face.
 * The addressee might be embarrassed for or fear the speaker.
 * Examples: excessively emotional expressions.
 * The speaker indicates that he doesn’t have the same values or fears as the hearer
 * Examples: disrespect, mention of topics which are inappropriate in general or in the context.
 * The speaker indicates that he is willing to disregard the emotional well being of the hearer.
 * Examples: belittling or boasting.
 * The speaker increases the possibility that a face-threatening act will occur. This situation is created when a topic is brought up by the speaker that is a sensitive societal subject.
 * Examples: topics that relate to politics, race, religion.
 * The speaker indicates that he is indifferent to the positive face wants of the hearer. This is most often expressed in obvious non-cooperative behavior.
 * Examples: interrupting, non-sequiturs.
 * The speaker misidentifies the hearer in an offensive or embarrassing way. This may occur either accidentally or intentionally. Generally, this refers to the misuse of address terms in relation to status, gender, or age.
 * Example: Addressing a young woman as "ma’am" instead of "miss."

Damage to the Speaker

 * An act that shows that the speaker is in some sense wrong, and unable to control himself.
 * Apologies: In this act, speaker is damaging his own face by admitting that he regrets one of his previous acts.
 * Acceptance of a compliment
 * Inability to control one’s physical self
 * Inability to control one’s emotional self
 * Self-humiliation
 * Confessions

Politeness Strategies
Politeness strategies are used to formulate messages in order to save the hearer’s face when face-threatening acts are inevitable or desired. Brown and Levinson outline four main types of politeness strategies: bald on-record, negative politeness, positive politeness, and off-record (indirect).

Bald On-record
Bald on-record strategies usually do not attempt to minimize the threat to the hearer’s face, although there are ways that bald on-record politeness can be used in trying to minimze FTAs implicitly. Often using such a strategy will shock or embarrass the addressee, and so this strategy is most often utilized in situations where the speaker has a close relationship with the audience, such as family or close friends. Brown and Levinson outline various cases in which one might use the bald on-record strategy, including:
 * Instances in which threat minimizing does not occur
 * Great urgency or desperation
 * Watch out!
 * Speaking as if great efficiency is necessary
 * Hear me out:...
 * Task-oriented
 * Pass me the hammer.
 * Little or no desire to maintain someone's face
 * Don't forget to clean the blinds!
 * Doing the FTA is in the interest of the hearer
 * Your headlights are on!
 * Instances in which the threat is minimized implicitly
 * Welcomes
 * Come in.
 * Offers
 * Leave it, I'll clean up later.
 * Eat!

Positive Politeness
Positive politeness strategies seek to minimize the threat to the hearer’s positive face. They are used to make the hearer feel good about himself, his interests or possessions, and are most usually used in situations where the audience knows each other fairly well. In addition to hedging and attempts to avoid conflict, some strategies of positive politeness include statements of friendship, solidarity, compliments, and the following examples from Brown and Levinson:
 * Attend to H’s interests, needs, wants
 * You look sad. Can I do anything?


 * Use solidarity in-group identity markers
 * Heh, mate, can you lend me a dollar?


 * Be optimistic
 * I’ll just come along, if you don’t mind.


 * Include both speaker (S) and hearer (H) in activity
 * If we help each other, I guess, we’ll both sink or swim in this course.


 * Offer or promise
 * If you wash the dishes, I’ll vacuum the floor.


 * Exaggerate interest in H and his interests
 * That’s a nice haircut you got; where did you get it?


 * Avoid Disagreement
 * Yes, it’s rather long; not short certainly.


 * Joke
 * Wow, that’s a whopper!

Negative Politeness
Negative politeness strategies are oriented towards the hearer’s negative face and emphasize avoidance of imposition on the hearer. These strategies presume that the speaker will be imposing on the listener and there is a higher potential for awkwardness or embarrassment than in bald on record strategies and positive politeness strategies. Negative face is the desire to remain autonomous so the speaker is more apt to include an out for the listener, through distancing styles like apologies. Examples from Brown and Levinson include:
 * Be indirect
 * Would you know where Oxford Street is?


 * Use hedges or questions
 * Perhaps, he might have taken it, maybe.
 * Could you please pass the rice?


 * Be pessimistic
 * You couldn’t find your way to lending me a thousand dollars, could you?


 * Minimize the imposition
 * It’s not too much out of your way, just a couple of blocks.


 * Use obviating structures, like nominalizations, passives, or statements of general rules
 * I hope offense will not be taken.
 * Visitors sign the ledger.
 * Spitting will not be tolerated.


 * Apologize
 * I’m sorry; it’s a lot to ask, but can you lend me a thousand dollars?


 * Use plural pronouns
 * We regret to inform you.

Favor seeking, or a speaker asking the hearer for a favor, is a common example of negative politeness strategies in use. Held observes three main stages in favor-seeking: the preparatory phase, the focal phase, and the final phase: An example that is given by McCarthy and Carter is the following dialogue from the Australian television soap opera, "Neighbours":
 * 1) The preparatory phase is when the favor-seeking is preceded by elaborate precautions against loss of face to both sides. It often involves signals of openings and markers to be used to clarify the situation (e.g. ‘You see,’ or ‘so,’). The request is often softened, made less direct, and imposing (e.g. past continuous ‘I was wondering’; informal tag ‘What d’you reckon?). The speaker must also reduce his own self-importance in the matter and exaggerate the hearer’s (down-scaling compliments).
 * 2) The focal stage is subdivided into elements such as asker’s reasons or constraints (e.g. ‘I’ve tried everywhere but can’t get one’), the other’s face (e.g. ‘You’re the only person I can turn to’), and more.
 * 3) The third stage is the final stage which consists of anticipatory thanks, promises, and compliments (e.g. ‘I knew you would say yes. You’re an angel.’).
 * Clarrie: So I said to him, forget your books for one night, throw a party next weekend.
 * Helen: A party at number 30! What will Dorothy say about that?
 * Clarrie: Well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her. Of course, I'll be keeping my eye on things, and (SIGNAL OF OPENING) that brings me to my next problem. (EXPLAIN PROBLEM) You see, these young people, they don't want an old codger like me poking my nose in, so I'll make myself scarce, but I still need to be closer to hand, you see. So, (ASK FAVOR) I was wondering, would it be all right if I came over here on the night? What d'you reckon?
 * Helen: Oh, Clarrie, I...
 * Clarrie: Oh (MINIMIZATION) I'd be no bother. (REINFORCE EXPLANATION) It'd mean a heck of a lot to those kids.
 * Helen: All right.
 * Clarrie: (THANK WITH BOOST) I knew you'd say yes. You're an angel, Helen.
 * Helen: Ha! (laughs)

All of this is done in attempt to avoid a great deal of imposition on the hearer and is concerned with proceeding towards a goal in the smoothest way and with sensitivity to one’s interlocutors. An English (‘Excuse me, sir, could you please close the window’) is associated with the avoidance or downplaying of an imposition; the more we feel we might be imposing, the more deferential we might be. It is clearly a strategy for negative politeness and the redressing of a threat to negative face, through things like favor-seeking.

Off-record (indirect)
The final politeness strategy outlined by Brown and Levinson is the indirect strategy; This strategy uses indirect language and removes the speaker from the potential to be imposing. For example, a speaker using the indirect strategy might merely say “wow, it’s getting cold in here” insinuating that it would be nice if the listener would get up and turn up the thermostat without directly asking the listener to do so.

Choice of Strategy
Paul Grice argues that all conversationalists are rational beings who are primarily interested in the efficient conveying of messages. Brown and Levinson use this argument in their politeness theory by saying that rational agents will choose the same politeness strategy as any other would under the same circumstances to try to mitigate face. They show the available range of verbal politeness strategies to redress loss of face. FTAs have the ability to mutually threaten face, therefore rational agents seek to avoid FTAs or will try to use certain strategies to minimize the threat.

Speaker (S) will weigh: In most cooperative circumstances where 3. is greater than 2., S will want to minimize the FTA.
 * 1) the want to communicate the content of the FTA in question
 * 2) the want to be efficient or urgent
 * 3) the want to maintain H's face to any degree

The greater potential for loss of face requires greater redressive action. If the potential for loss of face is too great, the speaker may make the decision to abandon the FTA completely and say nothing.

The number next to each strategy corresponds to the danger-level of the particular FTA. The more dangerous the particular FTA is, the more S will tend to use a higher numbered strategy.


 * 1) No redressive action
 * Bald On-Record- leaves no way for H to minimize the FTA
 * 1) Positive Redressive action
 * S satisfies a wide range of H’s desires not necessarily related to the FTA
 * Shows interest in H
 * Claims common ground with H
 * Seeks agreement
 * Gives sympathy
 * 1) Negative Redressive action
 * S satisfies H’s desires to be unimpeded—the want that is directly challenged by the FTA
 * Be conventionally indirect
 * Minimize imposition on H
 * Beg forgiveness
 * Give deference
 * This implies that the matter is important enough for S to disturb H
 * 1) Off-Record
 * S has the opportunity to evade responsibility by claiming that H’s interpretation of the utterance as a FTA is wrong
 * 1) Don't do the FTA

Payoffs Associated with each Strategy
In deciding which strategy to use, the speaker runs through the individual payoffs of each strategy.


 * Bald on record
 * enlists public pressure
 * S gets credit for honesty, outspokenness which avoids the danger of seeming manipulative
 * S avoids danger of being misunderstood


 * Positive Politeness
 * minimizes threatening aspect by assuring that S considers to be of the same kind with H
 * criticism may lose much of its sting if done in a way that asserts mutual friendship
 * when S includes himself equally as a participant in the request or offer, it may lessen the potential for FTA debt
 * “Let’s get on with dinner” to a husband in front of the TV


 * Negative Politeness
 * Helps avoid future debt by keeping social distance and not getting too familiar with the addressee
 * pays respect or deference by assuming that you may be intruding on the hearer in return for the FTA
 * "I don't mean to bother you, but can I ask a quick question?"


 * Off record
 * get credit for being tactful, non-coercive
 * avoid responsibility for the potentially face-damaging interpretation
 * give the addressee an opportunity to seem to care for S because it tests H's feelings towards S
 * If S wants H to close the window, he may say "It's cold in here." If H answers Ill go close the window then he is responding to this potentially threatening act by giving a “gift” to the original speaker and therefore S avoids the potential threat of ordering H around and H gets credit for being generous or cooperative


 * Don’t Do the FTA
 * S avoids offending H at all
 * S also fails to achieve his desired communication
 * no overt examples exist

Sociological Variables
Take into consideration three sociological factors when deciding whether and how to use the various strategies in real life situations

Depends on three factors:
 * 1) Social distance between parties (symmetric relation)
 * Distinguish kin or friend from a stranger with whom you may be of the same social status, but who is still separated by social distance
 * Different FTAs are used depending on the social distance between interlocutors
 * Example: We may use less elaborate positive strategies or we may choose to use positive rather than negative politeness when speaking with family
 * 1) Power relations between parties (asymmetric relation)
 * we are inclined to speak to our social equals differently than those whose status is higher or lower than our own in a given situation
 * Example: If a professor is working in her office and people are being very loud and disruptive in the next room, she will go over there and tell them to be quiet but the way she does it will differ depending on who it is
 * If they are students she will use the bald on-record strategy to make sure there is no confusion in what she is asking
 * Example: “Stop talking so loud!”
 * If they are colleagues she will claim common ground with them using the positive politeness strategy or frame an indirect request for them to stop talking
 * Example: “I’m working on a lecture and it’s really hard to concentrate with all this noise.”
 * If they are really high status directors of the department she may end up saying nothing at all or apologize for interrupting them
 * Example: No FTA
 * 1) The absolute ranking of the threat of the FTA
 * Some impositions are greater than others. Highly imposing acts like requests demand more redress to mitigate their increased threat level.