Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage

by Penelope Brown, Stephen C. Levinson, John J. Gumperz (Foreword by)

Overview

This study is about the principles for constructing polite speeches. The core of it first appeared in Questions and Politeness, edited by Esther N. Goody (now out of print). It is here reissued with a fresh introduction that surveys the considerable literature in linguistics, psychology and the social sciences that the original extended essay stimulated, and suggests distinct directions for research. The authors describe and account for some remarkable parallelisms in the linguistic construction of utterances with which people express themselves in different languages and cultures. A motive for these parallels is isolated and a universal model is constructed outlining the abstract principles underlying polite usages. This is based on the detailed study of three unrelated languages and cultures: the Tamil of South India, the TΔl spoken by Mayan Indians in Chiapas, Mexico, and the English of the USA and England. This volume will be of special interest to students in linguistic pragmatics, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, anthropology, and the sociology and social psychology of interaction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521313551
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/27/1987
Series:	Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics , #4
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	358
Product dimensions:	5.39(w) x 8.39(h) x 0.71(d)

Table of Contents

Symbols and abbreviations; Foreword John J. Gumperz; Introduction to the reissue; Notes; 1. Introduction; 2. Summarized argument; 3. The argument: intuitive bases and derivative definitions; 4. On the nature of the model; 5. Realizations of politeness strategies in language; 6. Derivative hypotheses; 7. Sociological implications; 8. Implications for language studies; 9. Conclusions; Notes; References; Author index; Subject index.

Editorial Reviews

It has continued to inspire empirical work as 'the' source on politeness and, more generally, as an important exemplar in the study of the relationship between language and society. In addition, the broad scope of their treatment of these concerns has created a work in which many, if not most, of the assumptions guiding the contemporary study of language use are to found." Douglas G. Glick, Semiotica (1996)

From the Publisher