英语语言学论文(礼貌原则的分析)

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课程名称现代语言学概论

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A Linguistic Analysis on the Politeness Principle

Abstract: Politeness is a rule and a language between people and people, and it is also the most important communication tool for human beings. And in it is loaded the profound national cultural connotation. Since mankind headed into the era of civilization, polite language has been highly valued in each culture, community and group. On one hand, polite language is an indication of being elegant and civilized, and on the other hand, it is helpful to establish and maintain a good relationship between people. As an observable phenomenon, politeness is something superficial and is recognized as a norm in all societies.

People in every culture are trying to be polite when communicating. Furthermore, politeness is culture-specific to some extent and a reflection of specific cultural values in the language.Misunderstandings or even breakdown may occur if the cultural differences of politeness are neglected in cross-cultural communication. So people should be aware of in communication between different cultural groups.

Key words: Politeness; the most important; communication; tool; different cultures

I. Introduction

Various politeness theories have been proposed. However, the Politeness Principle proposed by Geoffrey Leech (1983) has been considered the most reasonable and influential theory so far. Leech proposed the Politeness Principle which is formulated in a general way from two aspects: 1) to minimize the expression of impolite beliefs;2) to maximize the expression of polite beliefs. And it’s so vital for our interpersonal communication that we can’t ignore it.

II. Analysis on Politeness Principle

2.1 The definition of politeness

It is known that being polite is a means to achieve good interpersonal relationships. In most general terms, people act politely in order to show the wish to start a friendly relation with someone,“or to maintain it if it is already existing, or to mend it if it is being threatened for some reason. Politeness can also be regarded as a restraint, some kind of social norm imposed by the conventions of the community of which we are members”(何兆熊,1995:2-3).

Theorists have dug in every way to discover the ways to be polite. But there have always been exceptions in the standards put by them and cultural difference has been a main source of most of these exceptions. So the actual manifestations of politeness, the ways to express politeness, and the standards of judgment are different in different languages and different cultures.

2.2 The maxims of the politeness principle

2.2.1 The instruction of the maxims

(1) Tact maxim (in directives/ impositives and commissves)

A. minimize cost to other

B. maximize benefit to other

(2) Generosity maxim (in directives and commissives)

A. minimize benefit to self

B. maximize cost to self

(3) Approbation maxim (in expressives and representatives/assertives)

A. minimize dispraise of other

B. maximize praise of other

(4) Modesty maxim (in expressives and representatives)

A. minimize praise of self

B. maximize dispraise of self

(5) Agreement maxim (in representatives)

A. minimize disagreement between self and other

B. maximize agreement between self and other

(6) Sympathy maxim (in representatives)

A. minimize antipathy between self and other

B. maximize sympathy between self and other

2.2.2 The relationship between the maxims

It is clear that each maxim is accompanied by a sub-maxim, which is of less importance. These support the idea that negative politeness (avoidance of discord) is more important than positive politeness (seeking concord). In fact, Tact maxim and Generosity form a pair, just like two sides of a coin. Tact maxim states how one treats others and Generosity maxim states how one treats himself. On one hand, sometimes the illocution is such that the Tact maxim alone is relevant. In yet other cases, the Generosity maxim appears to apply without the Tact maxim: for example, Could I have more X? (Leech,1983: 131-151).

And he also thinks that the Generosity is less powerful than the Tact maxim, but more polite. Then he points out in Japanese society, and more particularly among Japanese women, the Modesty Maxim is more powerful than it is as a rule in English-speaking societies, where it would be customarily more polite to accept a compliment “gracious” (e.g. by thanking the speaker for it) rather than to go on denying it, but English-speakers would be inclined to find some compromise between violating the Modesty Maxim and violating the Agreement Maxim.

Finally, he makes a conclusion that there is an obvious trade-off between different maxims of the Politeness Principle. In this way, a maxim of politeness may overdue the Maxim of Quality.

2.3 Characteristics

A. Gradations

Gradations of politeness can be demonstrated in various linguistic expressions. In fact, all the grades form a continuum. Generally, the grade of politeness is in direct proportion to the degree of the indirectness of such expressions. The grades of politeness are also manifested and measured by employing the cost and benefit scale (e.g. I was wondering if you could possibly be so kind as to lend me your dictionary for just a few minutes?).

B. Conflicts

Since there are so many maxims and sub-maxims that play roles in deciding the Politeness Principle, it is only natural to expect them to conflict one’s to follow the principle.

C. Appropriateness

The feature of appropriateness means that one should follow the Politeness Principle by using linguistic expressions according to the demands of context.

2.4 Conversation

Then here comes questions, how to open and close a conversation and how to turn taking. Well, Adrian argues that there are many ways of beginning a conversation or other talk-exchange. One is to start out with no preliminaries whatsoever: “Something’s wrong with the fax machine.” Another is to preface our remarks with an opening, like “Hey,” “Excuse me,”“Say,’…”“You know,”“Know what?”But probably the most common opening in casual conversation is the greeting. As for closing a conversation, the end of normal conversation consists of a pre-closing sequence, where the participants more or less to close, followed by a closing section, where they actually do close. For example, 1.Well, it’s been nice talking t you… 2.Say hello to Joan for me… (Pre-closing); 1.See you. 2. Goodbye. Bye-bye (Closing). And for turning taking, he says that the person who starts speaking after the greetings are over in fact initiates the substance of the conversation by taking the next turn. And one influential analysis has proposed that turn taking is controlled by three principles: 1) The speaker “selects”the next speaker. 2) The first to talk becomes the speaker. 3) The speaker continues his or her own remarks.

Well, all the behaviors should obey the Politeness Principles, thus creating a friendly talking atmosphere.

2.5 Communication

John J.Gumperz points out that although not all communication is linguistic, language is by far the most powerful and versatile medium of communication; all known human groups possess language. Unlike other sign systems, the verbal system can be made to refer to a variety of objects and concepts. At the same time, verbal interaction is a social process in which utterances are selected in accordance with socially recognized norms and expectation.

Then in Benjamin Bailey’s essay, he figures out that the communication of respect is a fundamental dimension of everyday, face-to-face interaction. Strategies for paying respect include acts of “involvement politeness”and acts of “restraint politeness”.

Involvement politeness includes those behaviors which express approval of the self or “personality” of the other. It includes acts which express solidarity between integrators – e.g. compliments, friendly jokes, agreements, and demonstrations of personal interest, offers, and the use of in-group identity markers. Restraint politeness includes actions which mark the interactor’s unwillingness to impose on others, or which lessen potential imposition.

And in my point of view, we can not only use a language as a communication tool, but we can also use gestures or body languages to communicate with others, especially when you are not fluent in the language or can’t speak it. We all know that body language is as equal important as spoken language.

However, I can’t ignore the fact that there truly exist some differences between different cultures. For example, when someone thinks highly of your clothes, he says: “Your dress looks nice on you.”The Chinese people may say “Not at all”

“Where? Where?” But it may sound strange to the native speakers, and the native speaker may respond like that “Thank you!” In terms of body languages, they are not exactly the same. For example, when people from the western countries greet each other by embracing and kissing on the face, but in China, people usually shake hands, and both the two motions are conveying friendliness.

III. Conclusion

As we all know, being polite is so vital in our communication that we can’t ignore it. To conclude, politeness is a characteristic of culture to some extent. What one needs to do is to explore the specific values of the cultures concerned. That is to say, when we are communicating with people from different cultures, it is best to consult what is appropriate in their culture and act accordingly, so as to avoid misunderstandings and pragmatic failure.

IV. Bibliography

[1]Akmajian,Adrian&Demers,Richard & Farmer, Ann & Hanish, Robert. Linguistics: an Introduction to Language and Communication [M].Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press & the MIT Press, 2008.389-391

[2] Bailey, Benjamin. Communication of Respect in Interethnic Service Encounters [A]. Linguistic Anthropology [C]. Ed. Alessandro Duranti. Wiley-Blackwell, Second Edition, 114-123

[3]Gumperz, J John. The Speech Community [A].Linguistic Anthropology[C]. Ed. Alessandro Duranti. Wiley-Blackwell, Second Edition,63

[4] Leech, G., in Principles of Pragmatics [M] London: Longman, 1983. 131-151

[5]陈佑林，何举纯. 普通语言学概论[M].华中师范大学出版社,2010. 121-129

[6]何兆熊.Study of Politeness in Chinese and English Cultures[J]. 上海外国语大学学报，1995，(5):2-3