Politeness

Politeness theory is concerned with how people establish and maintain social
cohesion, for example, by using various verbal and nonverbal strategies or
avoiding talk that may potentially cause conflict and social disharmony (Brown
and Levinson 1987). Politeness, as used in language, is inextricably linked to
what linguistics philosophers refer to as FACE (see NEGATIVE FACE, POSITIVE
FACE).
Leech (1983) conceives of a Politeness Principle, similar to Grices (1975)
COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE. This Principle has maxims of tact, generosity,
approbation, modesty, agreement and sympathy.
Politeness is also closely linked to POWER and power relations. So in an
interaction we would often expect less powerful people to use more polite forms
of
language, although people at extreme ends of a social scale may not attend
to a societys politeness norms. Politeness criteria can vary between cultures
or regions. For example, in Sengwato, a dialect of Setswana, a language
spoken in Botswana, the use of the second person pronoun wena (you) in the
singular form is considered impolite if used by a young person to address
an older person. The polite form is the plural lona (you). However, in the
Southern parts of the country, where other dialects of the language are
spoken, it is acceptable to address an older person using the singular form.