MODULE 2 Meaning and discourse in EnglishCOOPERATION, POLITENESS AND FACE

Lecture 14

Cooperation and politeness

Cooperative principles (Grice)Cooperation and speaker supportPolitenessPositive and negative faceAnalysing cooperation

A:Will you condemn the violence on the picket lines?

B:I condemn the police and the National Coal BoardThis is an uncooperative response because it is not relevant

A:Im tired

B:Theres the Leonardo HotelThis is a cooperative response. We assume that it is relevant and that B is telling the truth

A:When was your first sexual experience

B:What wonderful weather were having?Bs response is not relevant so we assume that B does not want to cooperate

Grices maxims1. Quantity - make your contribution as informative as required2. Quality -be true; do not say what you believe to be false3. Relation - be relevant4. Manner - avoid obscurity of expression, ambiguity; be brief, orderly

A:Could you pass the salt please?

B:Could you give me 100 please?As request doesnt need mitigationBs request is inappropriate because it is more imposing and needs more mitigation

Its very windy here. Im very sorry but I wonder if you could move over a bit? Could you move over please? Can we move please? Please move Move!The more polite you are, the more you risk losing the message

Oh, sorry. I heard voices and I wondered who it was.

Please could you stop talking Im trying to work

Hey, Ive got an exam to study for. Is there somewhere else you could talk?

Shut up, will you?

The level of politeness used in an utterance depends on the role of the person you are talking to and the power relations that exist between speaker and hearer

This food is delicious

If you have cooked the meal, which is the most appropriate response?

- yes, it is - Im afraid its a bit overcooked - Im glad you like it

Why do we respond in this way?

Catch-22 situation

If you do not agree with them you are threatening their positive face

Speaker supportSpeakers usually work together to help and reassure each other. This is called speaker support. It is important to recognise the techniques used in a conversation for speaker support (e.g. for showing agreement, for checking understanding

PolitenessSometimes a speakers role gives them the authority to challenge others. Presenting a challenge to someone is difficult but there are various politeness techniques which help us to do it (see summary)

Types of politeness

A speaker can also imply respect for the hearers value system and membership of the same group

POSITIVE POLITENESSShow interest in hearerClaim common ground with hearerSeek agreementGive sympathyNEGATIVE POLITENESSBe conventionally indirectMinimise imposition on hearerAsk for forgivenessGive deference

The concept of face (Brown and Levinson)B and L (looking at politeness in different cultures) suggest that we must acknowledge the face of other people if we want to enter into social relationships with them.

Talk may be a face-threatening act which may damage negative face and positive face

Positive face = wanting to be liked and approved ofPositive face is I have a value system that I do not want challenged

Disagreeing with another person threatens their positive face

If you want not to threaten positive face you should show interest and seek agreement

Thanking another person does not threaten another persons positive face

Negative facedont tell me what to do. I want to be freeNegative face is I do not like to be imposed on

Telling someone what to do threatens their negative face

Being politeThe more politeness we use in our speech, the more indirect we are.

The advantage of using politeness terms is that there is no threat to face. The disadvantage is that a polite message might be so indirect that it doesnt come across (its very windy here)

Lakoffs maxims of politenessDont impose

Give options

Make the hearer feel good

Analysing cooperationFeatures of interaction

Markers of politeness

Markers of respect

Vague language

Features of interactionQuestions (open, closed, tag, + options)CommandsInterruptionsOverlapsPausesTopic management

Grices maxims (are they followed?)Discourse markers (see previous lessonsMarkers of politeness and respect

Markers of politenessSpecific words (please, thanks)Hedges (if its not too much trouble)Hidden commands (could you pass the salt please)Provisional language (if would, can) to show negotiation is possibleQualifiers, modifiers (quite, a bit)

Markers of respectInclusive pronouns - we, usSimilar vocabulary, dialect, colloquial languagePseudo-agreement - (Would you like to come to my house? Well, Id love to another time) This avoids saying no or disagreeing with a speaker