ipl-logo

Politeness Theory

1021 Words5 Pages

This research paper demonstrates a very important theory in the pragmatics field, that is proposed by Penelope Brown and Stephen C.Levinson, which is the Politeness theory. It is based on the notion of 'face' by Goffman (1967). This paper applies the theory to two plays, which are The Misanthrope by Moliere and The Harlequin /Al-Bhlwan/ by Yusuf Idris. In both plays, the authors point out the hypocrisy in the society they each belong to, through the main characters. The researcher explains the theory through the qualitative method to understand the human behavior in the plays and reasons that govern such behavior. The aims of this research is to be able to identify between the different types of face and the politeness strategies, and to be …show more content…

Review of literature The study of Politeness began to appear in the mid-1970s. Brown and Levinson's Politeness theory was influenced by Goffman's theory of face. The goal is to demonstrate language behavior through human interaction (Cheshire, 1991, p.25). Brown and Levinson (1978) wrote an article about how speakers work to "save face" through politeness to hearers (Gleason & Bernstein, 1993, p.286). In Politeness: Some Universal in Language Use, by Brown and Levinson, Grice's theory " The Cooperative Principle" was extended, by showing that people use politeness to modify their human behavior (Pinker, 2007, p.380). 1.4. Theoretical Framework 1.4.1. Definition of the theory of politeness. As Watts (2003) mentioned that "Politeness is not something we are born with, but something we have to learn and be socialized into" (p.9). Each linguist defined politeness in a different way, Cobley (2010) said that politeness is a way of showing consideration and social position in language. Politeness includes words show respect such as 'please'. He indicated that "the phenomenon has been the object of the considerable scrutiny in …show more content…

Brown and Levinson (1987) define 'face' as "the public self-image that every member wants to claim for himself/herself"(p.311). While Goffman define 'face' as "positive social value that a person claims for himself" (Pinker, 2007, p.380). In general, people help each other in maintaining face through interaction, because they depend on each other. Furthermore, the content of face differs in different cultures because of the difference of personalities (pp.311-12), Brown and Levinson assume that "the mutual knowledge of members' public self-image or face, and the social necessity to orient oneself to it in interaction, are universal"

Show More
Related

  • Barbara Ehrenreich The Civility Glut Analysis

    756 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Transition of Civility In today’s commercial age, many of us have experienced awkwardness in the conversations with service workers. In “The Civility Glut”, Barbara Ehrenreich addresses the issue of excessive formality and politeness within day to day communications in America. She begins with examples of the so called “civility glut” in the popular media and her personal life, then gives background information explaining why this is happening. Her transition in rhetorical approach from comedic narrative to thoughtful definition has played an important role in directing reader’s attention and opinion.

    Read More

  • Barbara Ehrenreich Rhetorical Analysis

    249 Words  | 1 Pages

    Barbara Ehrenreich describes to us what she believes today’s world thinks about the definition of civility. Her purpose is to argue about the misconception of civility. She believes that “competitive gratitude” is not what having etiquette is about and that it is absolutely absurd to be forced into fake politeness. Ehrenreich uses satire and irony to clearly differentiate between civility and unnecessary flattery. In her second sentence, Ehrenreich uses the oxymoron “heck-no” and “with all due respect” together to mock the critics that claim that America needs a little more civility.

    Read More

  • Michael Argyle's Theory Of Interpersonal Communication

    296 Words  | 2 Pages

    This theory was made by Michael Argyle (1925- 2002), who was a social psychologist. In the late 1960s he studied social skills, body language, non-verbal communication and interpersonal behaviour. In this study, he found that non-verbal signals can be much more important and useful than verbal communication when trying to trigger peoples’ attitudes and feelings. His research showed and found that the stronger the relationship between the people communicating so with close friends for example the much better eye contact. However, when the relationship is not very strong so when speaking to a stranger people don’t have very good eye contact and they tend to look away when talking.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis 5.07

    347 Words  | 2 Pages

    Give your personal comment on the article as a conclusion of your article review. Reading, understanding, and applying facial expression are very interested. This article brings the reader to know about a guy who is really expert in facial expression. We can know how he works when he was a Sheriff in Los Angles Country and his experiences in patrol which always meet with the criminal issues there. And by reading it, I realized that it is important to learn how to read people’s thought just by looking at them to prevent ourselves from doing anything rashly and

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Paul Ford's How To Be Polite

    1107 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Paul Ford’s “How to Be Polite” he argues that politeness is essential to success and self-development, thus creating opportunities that would otherwise not exist. He’s right being polite creates opportunities, but there are times where being unpolite can do the same. I think that being rude can also bring success and new opportunities depending on the situation. Many jobs are in demand for professional, stern, leaders, and by being polite one’s kindness may be taken as a weakness, which can hinder things from getting done effectively. My thesis is important because it’s essential to have a balance between being both polite and unpolite to prevent being taken for granted but to also prevent you from burning your bridges with others.

    Read More

  • Outline And Assess The Dramaturgical Approach Of Eviving Goffman

    1449 Words  | 6 Pages

    5) Outline and assess the dramaturgical approach of Erving Goffman. In your answer you should consider how Goffman’s ideas could be applied to an everyday situation of your choice. This essay will examine Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical approach to everyday living, including the social roles we play and social behaviours that we convey. A number of Goffman’s concepts will be discussed such as front and back stage, dramatic realisation and impression management with each idea applying to the everyday situation of interacting with friends over lunch.

    Read More

  • The Minister's Black Veil Symbolism

    1158 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many people believe that the face provides information about a person's life and

    Read More

  • Importance Of Polite Speech

    716 Words  | 3 Pages

    Commonly when approaching a peer, teacher, or a stranger, the first phrase to be said is often a form of polite speech. Polite speech can be categorized by the use of phrases that show regards for others. With some people backing the sense that what is said is portrayed as literal speech, most of it is said for the sake of sounding welcoming and responsible. Having polite speech implemented into people’s day to day lives serves the function of creating a well developed impression of a person.

    Read More

  • Deadly Theatre In Peter Brook's The Empty Space

    1117 Words  | 5 Pages

    “The Empty Space”, a book written by the director Peter Brook outlines his four theories of theatre each that evokes a different meaning, Deadly, Holy, Rough and Immediate. In his opinion, Deadly Theatre is the most common type of theatre, which fails to modernize, instruct or even entertain. This style concentrates on the act of imitation by mimicking successes from the past and relying on old schemes instead of exploring the deeper meaning from the text (Brook, Peter). However, Shylock, a character from the Merchant of Venice a play written by Shakespeare, has had various interpretations from actors through out time, causing tendentious reactions from its audience. This thought fueled my inquisitiveness to investigate the importance on how

    Read More

  • Black Mirror: Critical Analysis

    1743 Words  | 7 Pages

    Usually, society views those who have a score of four and higher to be successful and adored by many. Therefore, an individual with a low score can cause society to view them negatively. As Lacie strives to maintain a positive impression on others, she depicts a performer of her own theatrical performance. By using a Symbolic Interactionist perspective, Nosedive is explained through Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis which includes the aspects of front stage, back stage, and embarrassment. Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis depicts life in the form of a theatrical performance where everyday life represents a stage and each individual is a performer (Brym et al.

    Read More

  • Reader-Response Criticism In Death Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller

    810 Words  | 4 Pages

    Introduction When reading a play, it is fundamental to pay attention to details within the play for a script envisioned in more than one way. Moreover, discovering those critical items found in the play is important in helping one criticize the play correctly since; a critic is able to see the quality and mistakes found in the play. Likewise, the critic is also able to see valuable and critical things missed by the reader since as critics they looked at different functions within the play. With that said, this paper is going to explore two critical approaches seen in “Death of a Salesman” a play written by Arthur Miller (1915 – 2005). Those critical approaches are Reader-Response Criticism and Psychological (psychoanalytic) criticism.

    Read More

  • Civility In Communication

    967 Words  | 4 Pages

    Civility and Incivility Communication Behavior analyze Defensive and Nondefense Behavior In the workplace, workers communicate with each other’s in different way because of their characteristics and personal problem in life affect behavior in communication. The most common communication I will be comparing and contrast between civility and incivility. Also, this affect the message comes from defensive and nondefense communication. It affects in working environment, the feeling or emotions by proving a real life examples behavior approach in scenarios.

    Read More

  • Erving Goffman's Theory Of Face To Face

    1811 Words  | 8 Pages

    Moreover, the definition of face has been widely debated. I intend to discuss the most salient issues related to the concept of face as it applies to the study of politeness. Goffman’s version of Face Goffman (1967:5) defined face as being: The positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken during a particular contact.

    Read More

  • Reflective Essay On Communication

    1093 Words  | 5 Pages

    , this showcases the great importance of understanding this topic in order to have a clear communication process, since these can distort the meaning of the message. Although non-verbal expressions are present in every culture, their individual meanings and relevance are going to change from one to another, this is why it is important to not only recognize the overall value of this topic, but to study the different patterns of nonverbal communication from different cultures as well. Since we are studying to become international negotiators we have to be prepared to work in a multicultural environment, since it is very likely we will be working with people from other parts of the world. Understanding how others communicate and how we do it too and not to take everything at face value is primordial for us, since this will help us to minimize

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Comedy And Comedy

    1824 Words  | 8 Pages

    “Life is a mixing of all kind of things: comedy and tragedy going together” (Alejandro Jodorowsky). Comedy and tragedy have been two popular forms of entertainment for people throughout the ages. From Greek performances to contemporary plays, the art of theatre is well and thriving. While the styles of playwrights and the way theatre is experienced changes through time, the messages these plays gaves have more or less stayed the same. Drama can, for the most part, be classified as either tragedy or comedy.

    Read More

More about Politeness Theory

Open Document