SCIENCE AND INNOVATION IN THE
EDUCATION SYSTEM
International scientific-online conference
96
POLITENESS IN POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CONTEXTS
Qaypova Bibiruza Kalbaevna
A trainee teacher at Nukus SPI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14184498
Abstract:
The aim of the work is studying the linguistic and cultural
characteristics of politeness and giving a deeper understanding of the cultural
values and behavior patterns of people. Also highlights linguacultural
characteristics of expressing politeness and it allows us to better understand the
differences and similarities between cultures in any languages.
Key words:
politeness, positive politeness, negative politeness, communicating,
interactions.
Politeness refers to a set of social behaviors and language forms that people
use to show respect, avoid conflict, and maintain positive relationships with
others. It helps smooth social interactions by allowing individuals to express
themselves in ways that minimize potential offense or discomfort at the same
time politeness as a social phenomenon is of great importance in intercultural
communication. Politeness as a characteristic of communicative behavior has
repeatedly become the object of scientific study by linguists, however, there are a
number of aspects associated with the category of politeness that deserve more
detailed consideration. In particular, a sufficiently complete definition of the
concept of “politeness” has not yet been formulated and a whole layer of
vocabulary that reflects different types and tools of polite human behavior has not
been described.
When we look through its meaning the most successful description of the
word politely (and its synonyms gallantly, politely, kindly) is offered by
T.V. Krylova: “Politely” – demonstrating in the form established by etiquette
a respectful and benevolent attitude towards another person and pleasure from
communicating with him. According to this interpretation, polite behavior
consists in demonstrating a certain attitude towards a person established by
etiquette
– “respectful” and “benevolent”, as well as pleasure from communicating
with this person.” According to the explanatory dictionary of D.V. Dmitriev,
politeness is the quality of a polite person, a set of good manners, the ability to
behave in society [4; 624]. Each language and culture has its own unique ways of
expressing politeness, which depend on the cultural and historical characteristics
of the people.
These social interactions can be diversified and are not restricted to
politeness in the common meaning of the word. The purpose of politeness often
SCIENCE AND INNOVATION IN THE
EDUCATION SYSTEM
International scientific-online conference
97
revolves around maintaining “face” a term used to describe a person’s social
identity or self-esteem. According to sociolinguists Penelope Brown and Stephen
Levinson, politeness helps individuals manage “face-threatening acts” (actions or
language that could damage someone's social standing). In the broadest sense,
they can be separated into two types: positive and negative politeness, as defined
by Patricia Brown and Stephen Levinson, who expanded on Erving Hoffman’s
theories about the “social face”. Brown and Levinson suggests the theory of
politeness by considering the concepts of positive and negative face as key
components of politeness [1].
Positive face is associated with the desire to be accepted and recognized,
while negative face reflects the desire for independence and respect for personal
boundaries. When the asker uses terms that are similar to those in the following
question (A), they are able to attract the other person to a joint goal and friendship
as well. This is the consequence of the technique of positive politeness. As an
example, we may analyze the following dialogue:
A. How about letting him see her gift?
B. Hello, friend, he'd be glad if she'd let him see her gift.
These expressions, in fact, indicate an elevated risk to the speaker who is
subjected to a rejection and can be led by a number of individuals who want to
understand you when you speak, similar to the kind that is displayed in the
following, which is designed to establish the necessary common on the basis of
this strategy.
- Hello. How’s it going?
- Ok, if I sit there? We should be interested in the same crazy things. You
take a lot of remarks as well, huh? Say, do me a big favor and let me take one of
your pencils.
Nevertheless, mainly in nearly all the contexts of English speaking, the action
of face saving is usually done by means of a strategy of negative politeness. The
usual shape utilized is a question that includes a modal verb like the following (A):
A. Could you lend me a pencil?
B. I am sorry to bother you, but can I ask you for a pencil or something?
C. I know you're busy, but might I ask you if-me-if you happen to have an
additional pencil that I can, you know –eh- borrow?
Utilizing this strategy leads to structures including apology expressions for
imposing the kind seen in (B). Further complex negative politeness action may
from time to time be listened to in extensive chat, frequently with uncertainties,
the same as in (B) [3]. Negative politeness is usually articulated by questions
SCIENCE AND INNOVATION IN THE
EDUCATION SYSTEM
International scientific-online conference
98
which even request agreement to pose, for instance, might we ask? as seen in (C).
Superficially, questions like these provide a chance for another to reply in
negative manner to the question without embracing the same effect of refusal of
replying with negativity to a bald straight on record imperative [2; 4-5].
Politeness is strongly dependent on the structure of hierarchical relations in
society as well as the social distance that exists between the speaker and other
people. Also, politeness is associated with the linguistic expression of solidarity,
the inclusion of the interlocutor and other individuals who are in the same group
as the speaker, whereas negative politeness is associated with the self-restraint
of the speakers, the desire to avoid conflicts or disagreements. These social
relations can be diverse and are far from being limited to politeness in the
colloquial sense of the word.
References:
1.
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C., (1987). Politeness some universals in language
use. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
2.
Manurung, Wilberth et al., (2015), Politeness In Conversation Between
Tourist And Guide In Medan, febrika23@yahoo.co.id
3.
Yule, George, (1996), Pragmatics, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4.
Новый объяснительный словарь синонимов русского языка / ред. Ю.
Д. Апресян. М.: Языки славянской культуры, 2003. Вып. 3. 624 с
