VINA DARISSURAYYA

ISTIQOMAH KHOIRUL ILMI

CITRA PUTRI UTAMI
NAJIB KHUMAIDILLAH
JUNNILALITA AISYAH
MIFTAKHUL ULUM

Politeness

A
linguistic
interacti
on

Social
Interacti
on

Politeness
Face: public self-image of a person.

Politeness:
The means employed to
show awareness of another
persons face

Concept of Politeness
Politeness as a real-world goal
Deference
Register
Politeness as a surface level phenomenon
Politeness as an illocutionary phenomenon

Politeness as a real-world goal

Genuine desire to be pleasant to others or as the motivation for an
individuals linguistic behavior.
1.

Deference

2.

Register

Deference
Where you can find it?

The respect we show to other

people by virtue of their
higher status, greater age,
etc.

Grammar

- Choice of address forms

(tu, vois)
- Japanese copula ( -da
-desu degozaimasu)

What politeness in pragmatics actually covers?

The speaker and his
wife have driven a long
way and are both very
hungry. However, the
wife keeps refusing to
stop at the diners they
pass,
because
she
thinks the look downmarket

What was the matter with

the Elite Diner, milady?

Register
Halliday (1878: 32):
The language we speak or write varies according to the type of situation.
Formality>> the choice of formal lexis and form of address.
Example: the use of degozaimasu in Japanese

Politeness as an utterance level of

phenomenon
Establishing hierarchy of politeness through lexical contents.

Issu
es

Pragmatics/sociolinguistics

Speech act in context: no

necessary connection
between the linguistic
form and perceived
politeness of a speech act.

1. You choose
2. Will you be kind enough to tell me what
time it is?
3. I wonder if I might respectfully request
you to stop picking your nose.

Politeness as a pragmatic
phenomenon
A strategy (strategies) employed by a speaker to achieve variety of goals e.g.
Promoting or maintaining harmonious relationship. (Brown and Levinson 1987)

Politeness
examplelained in Term
of Principles and
Maxims

Leechs maxim
Leech (1980) sees politeness as crucial in examplelaining Why people are
often so indirect in conveying what they mean and Rescuing the Cooperative
Principles in the sense that politeness can satisfactorily examplelain
exception to and apparent deviation from cooperative principles

Grice's Maxim (Cooperative

Principle)
Maxim of quality
Maxim of Quantity
Maxim of Relation
Maxim of Manner

Leechs Theory
Leechs
Concept

Ambivale
nce

Pragmatic
Principles

Ambivalence
Ambivalence means that one which has more then one potential Pragmatic
force.
It is possible to convey message which the hearer is liable to fid disagreeable
without causing undue offence
The pragmatic force in each case is ambivalence, It is left to the reader to
decide:
1.

what the precise force of the message is

2. Whether or not it applies to them

.Ambivalence, then, occurs when the speaker does not make clear precisely
which of a range of related illocutionary values is intended,

Example
Is that your phone?

By using an ambivalent utterance instead of making a direct request, the

speaker reduces the risk of a confrontation or of receiving an embarrassing
refusal, since the hearer is at liberty either to respond to the straight
question by saying: Yes, it is, or, alternatively, to interpret the utterance as a
request and to comply.

Example
If you want to enjoy the full flavor o f your food and drink you
will, naturally, not smoke during this meal. Moreover, if you
did smoke you would also be impairing the enjoyment of
other guests.

This is an ambivalent statement.

It is a sign for the guest to decide for them self whether they are
being asked or ordered

Ambivalent
The ambivalence let the hearer to interpret the force and also how to react,
although ambivalence is rather different from other forms of indirectness. It is
the speaker's illocutionary force is unclear but the illocutionary goal is
perfectly clear.

At Restaurant customer to waiter:

We ordered some juice

meaning : reminder or complaint.

Pragmatics Principles (PP)

Leech introduce the statement
Minimize (all things being equal) the exampleression o f
impolite beliefs; Maximize (all things being equal) the
exampleression of polite beliefs.

Pragmatics Principles
Leechs
Maxim
Tact
Maxim

Generosit
y Maxim

Approbati
on Maxim

Modesty
Maxim

Agreemen
t Maxim

Sympathy
Maxim

1. Tact Maxim
Minimize the exampleression of beliefs which imply
cost to other; maximize the exampleression of beliefs
which imply benefit to other
We can use minimizer to reduce the implied cost to hearer.
Just pop upstairs and
Hang on a second
Ive got a bit of problem

Tact Maxim
We also should minimizing the exampleression of cost to others
1. This is a draft of chapter 4. Please read it and
comment on

This sound more polite

2. This is a draft of Chapter 4,
3. Please could you look at this draft?

Tact Maxim
A second aspect of the Tact maxim is that of mitigating the effect of a request
by offering optionality.
Allowing options (or giving the appearance of allowing options) is absolutely
central to Western notions of politeness.
A third component of the Tact maxim is the cost/benefit scale: if something is
perceived as being to the hearer's benefit,

Wont you sit down?

2. The Generosity Maxim

'Minimize the exampleression of cost to other;
maximize the exampleression of benefit to other.'

The Generosity Maxim

You

must come and dinner with us.

the proposition that we w ill come and have dinner with you requires
(generally speaking) to be exampleressed indirectly.
Generosity maxim is centered to self, while the tact maxim is to other.

The Generosity Maxim

some cultures attach much more importance to the
Generosity maxim than do others but remember that
we are only dealing with the importance attached to
the linguistic exampleression of generosity there
is no suggestion that members of one culture really
are more generous than members o f another.

Basil's wife is in hospital:

You just lie there with your feet up and I'll go and carry
you up another hundredweight of lime creams ...
Sounds Sarcastic, this is not generosity maxim

Approbation Maxim
'Minimize the exampleression of beliefs which
exampleress dispraise of other; maximize the
exampleression of beliefs which exampleress
approval of other.'

Approbation Maxim
The operation of this maxim is fairly obvious: all things being equal we prefer
to praise others and if we cannot do so, to sidestep the issue, to give some
sort of minimal response (Well ...) or to remain silent.

I enjoyed your lecture

while if you did not enjoy it, you would either keep quiet about it or convey
the fact more indirectly.

Example
A: The performance was great!
B: Yes, wasnt it!
Giving a good comment about the performance. He talks the pleasant thing
about other. This exampleression is a congratulation utterance that
maximizes praise of other.

What is

MODESTY MAXIM?

Minimize the exampleression of praise of self,

maximize the exampleression of dispraise of self.
Example:
Please accept this small gift as prize of your
achievement.
I will celebrate this award with my crews and the
casts because they have made all of these possible.

The Modesty Maxim and Approbation Maxim

Both the approbation maxim and the modesty maxim concern to the degree
of good or bad evaluation of other or self that is uttered by the speaker.
The approbation maxim involves minimizing dispraise and maximizing praise
to speaker/hearer. While the modesty maxim involves minimizing praise and
maximizing dispraise of self.

Example:
A and B were visiting a foreign country. In there, a decent coffee was an uncertain
commodity. So, A tried to buy a good supply of ground coffee and the gadget for
percolating it. A makes a first exampleeriment of using it. Then A serves the coffee to B.
A: This isnt bad is it?
B: The coffee? It is very good.
A few hours later, A makes some more.
A: This coffee is very good.
B: Not bad, is it?

What is

IMMODEST UTTERANCE?

Immodest utterance is the utterance produced which violates the modesty maxim.

Example:
When a famous writer, named Winterson, who has written populer novels was being
asked to nominate the most favorite book of the year, she nominated her own.

What is

AGREEMENT MAXIM?

Minimize the exampleressions of disagreement between self and other;

maximize the exampleression of agreement between self and other.
One of the common pattern is by using Yes, but..
Example:
A: English is a difficult language to learn.
B: Yes, but the grammar is quite easy.
From the example, B actually does not agree that all part of English language
difficult to learn. He does not exampleress his disagreement strongly to be
more polite. The polite answer will influence the effect of the hearer. In this
case, Bs answer minimize his disagreement using partial agreement, Yes,
but.

The Pollyanna Principle

The pollyanna principle is the least generalizable of Leechs maxims.

1. Reducing the size of imposition

A minimal degree of indirectness

2. Replacing an unpleasant term

(relexicalization)
body-snatcher into resurrectionist

3. Can be found in interpersonal pragmatics

The exampleression of Good luck! that has different use
with Bad luck!

Applying Maxims in Social

Context
Applying the rules of politeness in a conversation takes account of the
relationship between speaker and hearer and of the nature of interaction
they are involved.
Maxim is not a rule of behaviour, but it can be seen as a norm.

Problems with the Leechs

Approach
1. It would be possible to produce a new maxim.
2. The theories should examplelain crosscultural differences in the
perception of politeness and the use of politeness strategy.
3. Leechs Maxims were seen as a series of social-psychological
constraints influencing the choices made within the pragmatic
parameters.
4. There are different factors influencing linguistic behaviour.

Politeness Strategies

Bald on Record
cases of nonminimization of
the face threat

BALD
ON
RECO
RD

Cases of
FTA
oriented
bald-onrecord
usage

Used when S wants to do FTA with maximum

efficiency more than he wants to satisfy Hs
face

Cases of non-minimization of the

face threat
1.

Great urgency or
desperation. example: help
me!, Watch out!

Metaphorical urgency for

emphasis important
maximum efficiency.
example: Listen, Ive got
an idea

Where maximum efficiency

is very important, and this is
mutually known to both Sand
H, no face redress necessary

Imperative in formulaic
entreaties. example:
(excuse, pardon, forgive)
me!

Metaphorical entreaties.
example: dont forget us!
Send me a postcard

Cont .
2.
a) Ss want to satisfy Hs face is small. When S is more powerful than H
example: bring me wine, Jeeves.
b) S wants to be rude, doesnt care about maintaining face. example:
Cry. Get Angry.

Cont.
3.
Doing FTA is primarily Hs interest. S does care about H. no redress required.
example:
a)

careful! Hes a dangerous man

b)

Your slip is showing!

)Comforting advice (no redress needed). example: dont be sad.

)Granting permission requested by H. example: yes, you may go

Cases of FTA oriented bald-onrecord usage

3 pre-emptive invitations related to the Hs face of anxiety:
a)

Welcoming (post-greeting)

b)

Farewells

c)

Offers
example: Come on, dont hesitate. Im not busy.

Often contain bald-onrecord commands.

example: come, go, etc.

Cont
Bald-on-record imperatives seem to be addressed to Hs reluctance to
transgress on Ss positive face.
example:
a)

dont worry about me

b)

Dont let me keep you

Positive Politeness
Oriented toward the positive face of H
Sphere of redress is widened to the appreciation of
alters wants in general or to the exampleression of
similarity between egos and alters wants
For the same reason, positive-politeness techniques
are, usable not only for FTA redress, but in general as a
kind of social accelerator, where S, in using them,
indicates that he wants to 'come closer' to H.

Positive Politeness Mechanisms

Claim
common
ground
Convey that H
and S are
cooperators
Fulfill Hs
wants

Convey X is admirable, interesting

Claim in-group membership with H
Claim common

Indicate S knows Hs want sand is taking them into account

Claim reflexivity
Claim reciprocity

Strategy 1
Notice, attend to H (his interests, wants, needs, goals)
- make sure Hs FTA is not embarrassed by joke, teasing
or including S as part of the act
example: we ate too many beans tonight, didnt we?
- S should take a notice of Hs condition aspects (any
noticeable mark to make H would want S to notice/ approve of it)
example: what a beautiful vase this is! Where did it come from?

Strategy 2
Exaggerate (interest, approval, sympathy with H)
Done via exaggerated intonation, stress
example:
-What a fantastic garden you have!
-How absolutely marvellous!

Strategy 3
Intensify interest to H
making good story:
-Vivid present
-Pulls H into the middle of events being discussed
example: I come down the stairs, and what do you think I see? a huge mess
all over the place, the phones off the hook and clothes are scattered around

Strategy 4
Use in-group identity marker
Address form:
-The use of second person plural pronoun of address as an honorific form to
singular respected or distant alters.
-Using diminutives and endearments (adding ie to addressees name).
-generic names and terms of address like Mac, mat, buddy, pal, honey, dear,
duckie, luv, babe, Mom, blondie, brother, sister, cutie, sweetheart
example:
a.

come here, (mate, pals, fellas)!

b.

Help me with this bag here, will you blondie?

Cont.
Use of in-group language or dialect
-The use od code switching (in-group terminology)
Example:
1st call: come here, Johny
2nd call: Johny Henry Smith, you come here right away.

Cont
Use of Jargon or Slang
-Referring to an object with slang term.
example: using brand names in requesting
- Got any winstons?
- I came to borrow some Allinsons if youve got any.

Cont.
Contraction and ellipsis
-Context should be built to get mutual understanding.
example:
A.

how about a drink?

B.

Mind if I smoke?

Strategy 5
Seek Agreement
Safe topics
S to stress his agreement with H and therefore to satisfy H's desire
to be 'right.
example: talking about weather, bureaucracy, etc

Repetition

repeating part or all on what the preceding speaker has said, in

a conversation
example:
A: John has flied to London this weekend!
B: to London!

Strategy 6
Avoid Disagreement
Token Agreement
the desire to agree or appear to agree with H leads also to mechanisms for
pretending to agree, instances of 'token' agreement.
example:
1)A:You hate your Mom and Dad;
B: Oh, sometimes.
2)A: So is this permanent?
B: Yeh, it's 'permanent' - permanent until I get married again.

Cont
Pseudo- agreement
then (conclusory marker)
example: Ill meet you in front of the theatere just before 8.0. then
So (same with then)
example: So when you are coming to see us?
Cooperative Agreement Associations
example: Ill be seeing you then

Cont.
White Lies
where S, when' confronted with the necessity to state an opinion, wants to
lie ('Yes I do like your new hat!') rather than damage H's positive face
example: response to a request to borrow radio:
Oh I cant. The batteries are dead,

Cont.
Hedging opinions
S may choose to be vague about his own opinions, so as not to be seen to
disagree. Using sort of, kind of, in a way.
example:
a.

I really sort of (think/ hope/ wonder)

b.

It is really beautiful, in a way.

c.

I kind of want florin to win the race. Since Ive bet on him

Strategy 7
Presuppose/ raise/ assert common ground
Gossip, small talk
The value of S's spending time and effort on being with H, as a mark of
friendship or interest in him, gives rise to the strategy of redressing an FTA by
talking for a while about unrelated topics.

Cont.
Point of view operations (deictic centrings):
Personal- centre switch: S speaks as if H were S & (Hs and Ss knowledge were equal)
example: I just am sad then, arent I
Time switch: the use of vivid present (past-present tense).
example: John says he really loves your roses.

Place switch: the use of proximal rather than distal to convey increased involvement or empathy.
example: (this, that) was a lovely party
Avoidance of adjustment of reports to Hs point of view: minimal adjustment in point of view
when reporting related to the stress common ground shared with H

Cont.
Presupposition manipulations: S presupposes something when he presumes that it is
mutually taken for granted
Presuppose knowledge of Hs wants and attitudes: negative questions which
presume 'yes' as an answer. example: wouldnt you like to drink?
Presuppose Hs values are the same as Ss value: The use of scalar predicates such
as 'tall
Presuppose familiarity in S-H relationship: The use of familiar address forms like
honey or darling presupposes (in some analyses, at any rate) that the addressee is
'familiar.
Presuppose Hs knowledge: The use of any term presupposes (in some senses) that
the referents are known to the addressee. example: Well I was watching High life
last night and .

Strategy 8
Joke
Mutual shared background knowledge and values.
To stress shared background or shared values.
example: OK if I tackle those cookies now?
Joke exampleloitation may be used to redefine the size of FTA

Strategy 9
Assert to presuppose Ss knowledge of and concern for Hs wants
to assert or imply knowledge of H's wants and willingness to fit one's own
wants in with them
example:

Look, I know you want the car back by 5.0, so should(n't).I

go to town now? (request)
I know you can't bear parties, but this one will really be
good do come! (request/offer)
I know you love roses but the florist didn't have any more,
so I brought you geraniums instead. (offer+ apology)

Strategy 10
Offer, Promise
To redress the FTA potential S may claim that whatever wants, S wants for
him and will help to obtain for demonstrating good intentions in satisfying Hs
face.

Strategy 11
be optimistic
the cooperative strategy, is for S to assume that H wants S's wants for S (or
for S and H) and will help him to obtain them.
example:
Wait a minute, you haven't brushed your hair! (as husband goes out of the
door)
I've come to borrow a cup of flour

Strategy 12
Include both S and H in the activity
By using an inclusive 'we' form, when S really means 'you' or 'me', he can call
upon the cooperative assumptions and thereby redress FTAs.
example:

Let's have a cookie, then. (i.e. me)

Let's get on with dinner, eh? (i.e. you)
Let's stop for a bite. (i.e. I want a bite, so let's stop)
Give us a break. (i.e. me)

Strategy 13
Give (or ask for) reasons
give reasons as to why he wants what he wants.
In other words, giving reasons is a way of implying 'I can help you' or 'you
can help me', and, assuming cooperation, away of showing what help is
needed
example:
Why not lend me your cottage for th~ weekend?
Why don't we go to the seashore!

Strategy 14
Assume or Assert of Reciprocity
giving evidence of reciprocal rights or obligations obtaining between S and H.

'I'll do X for you if you do Y for me', or

'I did X for you last week, so you do Y for me this week'
(or vice versa)

Strategy 15
Give gifts to H (goods, sympathy, understanding, cooperation)
S may satisfy H's positive-face want (that S want H's wants, to some degree)
by actually satisfying some of H's wants.
Can be done via acting of gift-giving (like, admiration, caring about,
understanding, listening to, etc.)

Negative Politeness
Negative politeness is a redressive action addressed to the addressees
negative face: his want to have his freedom of action unhindered and his
attention unimpeded.

Strategy 1: Be indirect

the use of phrases and sentences that have

contextually unambiguous meanings which are
different from their literal meanings.
Examples:
- Would you know where Oxford Street is?
- Can you shut the door?

Strategy 2: Question, hedges

derives from the want not to presume and
coerce H.

the want not to

Examples:
- I rather think its hopeless.
- Perhaps, he might have taken it, maybe.
- I wander if (you know whether) John went out.
- Do me a favor, will you?

Strategy 3: Be pessimistic
This

strategy gives redress to Hs negative face by

examplelicitly exampleressing doubt that the conditions for the
appropriateness of Ss speech act obtain.
Examples:
- Could you do X?
- You couldnt find your way to lending me a thousand dollars,
could you?
- In Tzeltal: tal me kilat hwayuk
Ive come (if I may) to see you for what might be a night.

Strategy 4: Minimize the

imposition (Rx)
One way of defusing the FTA is to indicate that Rx, the
intrinsic seriousness of the imposition, is not in itself great.
Examples:
- Just a second. (c.i. a few minutes)
- Come again tomorrow and Ill have it

fixed. (few days)

- I just ask you if you could lend me a single

paper.

sheet of

Strategy 5: Give difference

Where S raises H
him positive face
Two realization of
difference

Examples:

Where S humbles
and abases himself

- in the Urdu of Delhi Muslims the respectful way of inviting someone to

your house is to say something that glosses as
Please bring your ennobling presence to the hut of this dustlike person
sometime.

Cont

Difference phenomena represent perhaps the most conspicuous intrusions of social

factors into language structure, in the form of honorifics.

Honorific axes
The speakeraddressee axis

The relation of speaker to hearer (addressee

honorific)

The speaker-referent The relation of speaker to things or

persons referred to (referent honorific)
axis
The speakerbystander axis

The relation of speaker (or hearer) to

bystanders or overhearers (bystander
honorific)

The speakersetting axis

The relation of speaker and situation

Strategy 6: Apologize

by apologizing for doing FTA, the speaker can indicate his

reluctance to impinge on Hs negative face and thereby
partially redress that impingement.

There are (at least) four ways to communicate

regret or reluctance to do an FTA

Strategy 7: Impersonalized S
and H

one way of indicating that S doesnt want to impinge on H

is to phrase the FTA as if the agent were other than S, or at
least possibly not S or not S alone, and the addressee were
other than H, or only inclusive of H.
this results in a variety of ways in a voiding the I and
you

Cont

Performatives: it may be such a basic desire that it helps to examplelain the very
general loss of overt reference to the subject and indirect object of the highest
performative verbs.
Examples:
- I tell you that it is so. It is so.
- I ask you to do this for me Do this for me.

Cont..

Imperatives: In the direct exampleression of one of the most

intrinsically face- threatening speech acts-commandingmost languages omit the you of the subject of the
complement of the performative.
Example:
- Take that out is better than You take that out.

Cont
Impersonal verbs: in many languages, agent deletion is
allowed not only in imperatives but also in other verb forms
that encode acts which are intrinsically FTAs.
Examples:
- in Tamil: (onkalukku) veeNTi irukku
(to you) it is obligatory to
- it looks (to me) like

Cont
Passive and circumstantial voices: the passive coupled with rule of agent deletion is
perhaps the means par excellence in English of avoiding reference to persons
involved in FTAs.
Examples:
- I would be appreciate if
it would be appreciated if
- I exampleect..
it is exampleected

Cont
Replacement of the pronouns I and you by indefinites: many languages have
some standardized impersonal versions of pronouns which may serve FTA purposes
to good effect.
Examples:
- One shouldnt do things like that.
Rather than: you shouldnt do things like that.
- I can guess who finished the cookies.
Rather than: you finished the cookies.

Cont
Pluralization of the you and I pronouns: the you (plural) pronoun when used to
refer to single addressee, is understood as indicating deference (P) or distance (D).
There are two motives for the phenomenon:
you (plural) provides a conventional out for the hearer.
In kindship-based society in particular, but in all societies where a persons social status is
fundamentally linked to membership in a group, to treat person as representatives of a
group rather than as relatively powerless individuals would be to refer to their social
standing and the backing that they derive from their groups.

Cont
Address terms as you avoidance: you is considered as an address form in a hail or
attention-getting phrase:
Excuse me,

- Hey

sir.
miss.
you.
(you/Mac/Mate/Mister)

Cont
Reference terms as I avoidance: in English of kings, his majesty might say:
His majesty is not amused.
And in the English of presidents, Nixon does say (New York Times 1973: 87):
But the president should not become involved in any part of this case.

Cont
Point-of-view distancing: the use of point-of-view operations to distance S from H or
from the particular FTA.
one way of mechanism is by change the tense to provide distancing in time.
Example:
I have been wondering whether you could do me a favor.
I was wondering whether you could do me a

favor.

Strategy 8: State the FTA as

a general rule
A way of communicating that S doesnt want to impinge but is merely forced to by
circumstances, is to state the FTA as an instance of some general social rule,
regulation, or obligation.
Examples:
-(a) Passangers will please refrain from flushing

toilets on the train.

(b) You will please refrain from flushing toilets on the train.
-(a) International regulations require that the fuselage be sprayed with DDT.
(b) I am going to spray you with DDT to follow international

regulations.

Strategy 9: nominalize
By nominalizing the subject, the sentence gets more formal.
Examples:
(a)You performed well on the examinations and we were favourably
impressed.
(b)Your performing well on the examinations impressed us
favourably.
(c) Your good performance on the examinations impressed us
favourably.

Strategy 10: Go on record as

incurring a debt, or as not
indebting H
S can redress an FTA by examplelicitly claiming his
indebtedness to H, or by disclaiming any indebtedness of H,
by means of exampleressions like:
for request:
(a) Id be eternally grateful if you would
for offer:
(b) I could easily do it for you.

Off record
A communicative act is done off record if it is done in such a way that it is not
possible to attribute only one clear communicative intention to the act.
To construct an off record utterance one says something that is either more
general (contains less information)or actually different from what one means
(intends to be understood).

Strategy 1: Give hints

If S says something that is not examplelicitly relevant, he
invites the H to search for an interpretation of the possible
relevance.
Two ways of giving hints:
- By violating the maxim of relevance
example: its cold here. (shut the windows)
- By asserting/questioning the conditions for A (as indirect request)
example: that window isnt open.

Strategy 2: Give association clues

S violating maxim of relevance by mentioning something

assosiated with the act required of H.
Example: My house isnt very far away(intervening
material)there is a path that leads to my house (please
come visit me).

Strategy 3: Presuppose
An utterance can be almost wholly relevant in context, and
yet violate the relevance maxim just at the level of its
presuppositions.
Example:
I washed the car again today.

Strategy 4: Understate
Here, the addressee can be invited to make inferences by
the Ss violation of the quantity maxim.
Example:
A: How do you like Josephines new haircut?
B: Its (pretty nice/ok/all right) I dont particularly like it

Strategy 5: Overstate
If S says more than is necessary thus violating the Quantity
Maxim in another way, he may also convey implicature. He
can do this by exaggerating.
Example:
-There were million people in the Co-op tonight.
-I tried to call a hundred times, but there was never any
answer.

Strategy 6: Use tautologies

By uttering tautology, S encourages H to look for an
informative interpretation of the non-informative utterance.
Example:
-War is war
-Boys will be boys
Or in Tamil
kuTukkamaaTTeennaa, kuTukkamaaTTeen
if I wont give it, I wont (I meant it!)

Strategy 7: Use contradictions

By stating two things that contradicts each other, S makes
it appear that he cannot be telling the truth.
Example:
A: Are you upset about that?
B: Well, (yes and no/I am and I am not)
To convey a critism
Example: one might say of a drunken friend to a telephone
caller:
well, John is here and he isnt here.

Off Record

Strategy 8: Be ironic
Saying the opposite of what he means.
John's a real genius. (after John has just done twenty stupid things
in a row)
Lovely neighbourhood, eh? (in a slum)
Beautiful weather, isn't it! (to postman drenched in rainstorm)
English ironies they may be marked by similar hedges: real, regular, just,
exactly, for example, or by exaggerated stress.

Strategy 9: Use metaphors

Metaphors are a further category of Quality violations. The use of metaphor is
perhaps usually on record, but there is a possibility that exactly which of the
connotations of the metaphor S intends may be off record.
Example:
Harry is a real Fish
It means ( He drinks, swims, is slimy, is cold-blooded like a fish)
Like irony, metaphors may be marked with hedging particles (real, regular,
sort of, as it were) that make their metaphorical status examplelicit.

Strategy 10: Use rhetorical

questions
To ask a question with no intention of obtaining an answer is to break a
sincerity condition on questions - namely, that Speaker wants Hearer to
provide him with the indicated information.
How many times do I have to tell you ... ? (c.i. Too many)
What can I say? ( c.i. Nothing, it's so bad)

Strategy I I: Be ambiguous
Purposeful ambiguity may be achieved through metaphor, since it is not
always clear exactly which of the connotations of a metaphor are intended to
be invoked.
John's a pretty cookie
It could be either a compliment or an insult, depending on which of the
connotations of sharp or smooth are latched on to.

Strategy 12: Be vague

Speaker go off record with an FTA by being vague about who the object of
the FTA is, or what the offence
Looks like someone may have had too much to drink (vague
understatement)
Perhaps someone did something naughty

Strategy 13: Over-generalize

Rule instantiation may leave the object of the FT A vaguely off record. Hearer
has the choice of deciding whether the general rule applies to him. Similarly
for the use of proverbs, although their implicatures may be conventionalized
to the extent of being on record:
The lawn has got to be mown.
If that door is shut completely, it sticks.
Mature people sometimes help do the dishes.

Strategy 14: Displace H

Speaker may go off record as to who the target for his FTA is, or he may
pretend to address the FTA to someone whom it wouldn't threaten, and hope
that the real target will see that the FT A is aimed at him.

Strategy 15: Be incomplete, use

ellipsis
This is as much a violation of the Quantity Maxim as of the Manner Maxim.
Elliptical utterances are legitimated by various conversational contexts - in
answers to question. By leaving an FTA half undone, S can leave the
implicature 'hanging in the air', just as with rhetorical questions:
Well, if one leaves one's tea on the wobbly table ...
Well, I didn't see you ...
This is in fact one of the most favored strategies for requests and other FTAs,
especially to one's superiors.s,

Strategies for doing FTAs

Three wants that will be considered
a)

The want to communicate the content

b)

The want to be efficient/urgent

c)

The want to maintain Hs face

1.

Off record (indirectly)

Uses indirect language and removes the speaker from the

potential to be imposing.
Linguistics realization of off record strategies:
)

All kinds of hints

Irony and metaphor

Rhetorical question

2. Without redressive action, baldly

Doing it in the most direct, clear, unambiguous, and

concise way possible.
Circumstances:

Urgency or efficiency

Danger to Hs face is very small (it is in Hs interest and dont require

great sacrifice)

S is superior in power to H

3. With redressive action, positive politeness

Redressive : action that gives face to the adressee, that is, that attempt
to counteract the potential face damage of the FTA.
Positive politeness : seek to minimize the threat to the hearers positive
face. Involvement and showing S wants what H wants, treating H as member
of group friend, someone you know and like.
Such as :
You look sad, can I do anything?
Heh, mate, can you lend me a dollar?

4. With redressive action, negative politeness

Negative politeness : oriented towards the hearers

negative face and emphasize avoidance of imposition
on the hearer.
Characteristics:
Self effacement, formality, and restraint
Such as:
(Apologies) Im sorry, its a lot of task, but can you lend me Rp. 10.000?
(Indirect question) can you pass that salt?

5. Dont do the FTA

Speaker avoids offending Hearer at all, speaker also falls

to achieve his desired communication

Factors influencing the choice of

strategies
Particular strategies intrinsically afford certain payoffs or advantages, and
the relevant circumstances are those in which one of these payoffs would be
more advantageous than any other.
any rational agent will tend to choose the same genus of strategy under
the same condition.

The Payoff: Priori Consideration

The advantages by going on record
Get credit for honesty
Get credit for outspokenness
Avoid the danger of being misunderstood
The advantages by going off record
Get credit for being tactful, non coercive
Run less risk of act
He can give the addressee an opportunity to be seen to care for S

On record, positives politeness

Can minimize the FTA of an act
On record, negative politeness
Pay respect to the addressee
Can avoid incurring a future debt
Maintain social distance
Give a real out to the addressee
Dont do FTA
Avoids offending H at all

The circumstances: Sociological variables

The assessment of the seriousness of an FTA involves D, P, and R.

D = Distance
P = Power
R = Rank

Distance
Distance is the value that measures the social distance between S and H
The assessment of D will usually be measures of social distance based on
stable social attributes.
-D
positive politeness

+D
negative politeness

Power
Power is a measure of power that H has over S
There are two sources of P; Material and Metaphysical
control.
-P

positive politeness

+P

negative politeness

Rank
Rank is a value that measures the degree to which the FTA x is rated an
imposition in that culture.
It is also includes whether actors have specific right or obligation to perform
the act, whether they have specific reasons for not performing them.
-W
positive politeness

+W
negative politeness

Discussion

Thank you