Miriam A. Locher

Politeness Theory and Relational Work

Abstract In this paper we briefly revisit politeness research influenced by Brown and Levinsons (1987) politeness theory. We argue that this research tradition does not deal with politeness but with the mitigation of face-threatening acts (FTAs) in general. In our understanding, politeness cannot just be equated with FTA-mitigation because politeness is a discursive concept. This means that what is polite (or impolite) should not be predicted by analysts. Instead, researchers should focus on the discursive struggle in which interactants engage. This reduces politeness to a much smaller part of facework than was assumed until the present, and it allows for interpretations that consider behavior to be merely appropriate and neither polite nor impolite. We propose that relational work, the “work” individuals invest in negotiating relationships with others, which includes impolite as well as polite or merely appropriate behavior, is a useful concept to help investigate the discursive struggle over politeness. We demonstrate this in close readings of five examples from naturally occurring interactions.

Power and politeness in action : disagreements in oral communication

This study investigates the interface of power and politeness in the realization of disagreements in naturalistic language data. Power and politeness are important phenomena in face-to-face interaction. Disagreement is an arena in which these two key concepts are likely to be observed together. Both disagreement and the exercise of power entail a conflict. At the same time, conflict will often be softened by the display of politeness. The material for analysis comes from three different contexts: (1) a sociable argument in an informal, supportive, and interactive family setting; (2) a business meeting among colleagues at a research institution; and (3) examples from public discourse collected during the US Election in 2000.

Impoliteness in language : studies on its interplay with power in theory and practice

The volume addresses the enormous imbalance that exists between academic interest in politeness phenomena when compared to impoliteness phenomena. Researchers working with Brown and Levinsons ([1978] 1987) seminal work on politeness rarely focused explicitly on impoliteness. As a result, only one aspect of facework/relational work has been studied in detail. Next to this research desideratum, politeness research is on the move again, with alternative conceptions of politeness to those of Brown and Levinson being further developed. In this volume researchers present, discuss and explore the concept of linguistic impoliteness, the crucial differences and interconnectedness between lay understandings of impoliteness and the academic concept within a theory of facework/relational work, as well as the exercise of power that is involved when impoliteness occurs. The authors offer solid discussions of the theoretical issues involved and draw on data from political interaction, interaction with legally constituted authorities, workplace interaction in the factory and the office, code-switching and Internet practices. The collection offers inspiration for research on impoliteness in many different research fields, such as (critical) discourse analysis, conversation analysis, pragmatics and stylistics, as well as linguistic approaches to studies in conflict and conflict resolution.

Advice online : advice-giving in an American internet health column

Advice Online presents a comprehensive study of advice-giving in one particular American Internet advice column, referred to as ‘Lucy Answers’. The discursive practice investigated is part of a professional and educational health program managed by an American university. The study provides insights into the linguistic realization of both asking for and giving advice in a written form and thus adds to the literature on advice columns as a specific text genre, on advice in health care contexts, and on Internet communication. The book offers a comprehensive literature review of advice in health encounters and other contexts, and uses this knowledge as a basis for comparison. Advice Online demonstrates how qualitative and quantitative research methods can be successfully combined to arrive at a comprehensive analysis of a discursive practice. It provides essential information on advice-giving for researchers, academics and students in the fields of (Internet) communication, media studies, pragmatics, social psychology and counseling. Health educators who work for advice columns or use similar forms of communication will also benefit from the insights gained in this study.

Relational work, politeness and identity construction

As social beings we express, communicate, and, ultimately, negotiate our identity through many different channels: one such channel may be the way we dress, another the way we comport ourselves; yet another important channel is the use of language. We can even claim that the way in which we use language plays a crucial role when enhancing, maintaining, and challenging relationships in interpersonal communication. This use of language has variously been termed facework, identity work, relational work or rapport management (cf. Section 3 and 4 for references). This chapter is intended to explain this use by utilizing some of the literature on identity that follows a postmodernist understanding of the concept of identity as “the social positioning of self and other” (Bucholtz and Hall 2005:586). In a ddition, an attempt is made to combine research on the construction of identity by means of language more generally with the linguistic literature that has developed ideas under the keyword politeness. It is shown in this chapter that politeness research can fruitfully be combined with research on identity construction. This line of thought has already been pursued to some extent in the field of gender research (cf. Swann 2000), and also in studies on face and identity more generally (cf. Tracy 1990; Spencer-Oatey 20 07a,b). The chapter thus focuses on the interpersonal side of communication and further intends to explore the links between identity, face, and politeness. It is organized as follows: In section 2, I will discuss the interpersonal and the informational aspect of language. In Section 3, I will move on to link these ideas to identity construction in general. In Section 4, different approaches to politeness will be at the heart of the investigation and will be discussed with identity construction in mind. In Section 5, concluding remarks on the two approaches to interpersonal communication will round off the chapter.

Introduction : impoliteness and power in language

This collection of papers on impoliteness and power in language seeks to address the enormous imbalance that exists between academic interest in politeness phenomena as opposed to impoliteness phenomena.

Introduction: Politeness and impoliteness in computer-mediated communication

This special issue deals with how interactants negotiate the relational aspect of language use in computer-mediated contexts; a subject matter which has received scant attention to date. It offers a range of articles on impoliteness and politeness strategies in various computer-mediated communication (CMC) settings, using data derived from different language backgrounds and practices.

The emergence of the identity of a fictional expert advice-giver in an American Internet advice column*

Abstract This paper is a contribution to research on the expression of expert advice-giving (e.g., Heritage and Sefi 1992; Silverman et al. 1992). We present a linguistic analysis of the ways in which the identity of the fictional expert advisor Lucy emerges in an Internet advice column run by professional health educators as part of a university health service. In discourse-analytical close readings of 280 question–answer records, we identify and discuss seven recurring strategies (the advisors name, self-reference and use of address terms; expert information-giving; giving options and making readers think; the choice of vocabulary; offering opinions; the use of empathy; the display of humor), which together contribute to Lucys voice as an expert advice-giver if the readers repeatedly access the question–answer exchanges. This emerging identity is in line with the sites mission to provide information designed to facilitate independent and responsible decision processes and corresponds to an ideal of nondirectiveness, as also identified in the literature on other advisory settings (He 1994; Sarangi and Clarke 2002; Vehviläinen 2003). The constructed identity of Lucy thus makes ‘Lucy Answers’ an attractive site to (re)turn to for advice and complements the other services provided by the health educators.

‘So let's talk. Let's chat. Let's start a dialog’: An analysis of the conversation metaphor employed in Clinton's and Obama's YouTube campaign clips

Abstract This paper examines how two American presidential candidates, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, make use of a Video exchange is conversation metaphor on YouTube, a channel of communication that allows the exchange of video clips on the Internet. It is argued that the politicians exploit the metaphor for its connotations of creating involvement and closeness and its potential as a persuasive strategy. They are, however, also restricted by the Video exchange is conversation metaphor: since the metaphor entails alternating speaker roles, the willingness of the addressee to engage in the exchange and to personally bond, the candidates have to construct a viewer identity and a candidate identity that matches the framework of the metaphor. In addition, the influence of the medium YouTube on the linguistic presentation is discussed in a close reading of the video clips, its main restrictions being currency (topicality and coherence), as well as asynchronicity, which results in a pseudo-dialogic character of the exchange.

Health Internet sites: a linguistic perspective on health advice columns

In this article, health Internet sites are discussed with a special focus on advice, and in particular advice columns. It is argued that health educators can exploit the potential of the Internet to reach a large audience by making use of the popular format of an advice column. This text type is already well established in the print media and offers the advice-seekers anonymity and an archive to search for solutions to their concerns. At the same time, the interactive format allows health educators to find the genuine concerns of their target audience, as depicted in the “problem letters”. The article discusses the intricacies of the linguistic act of advice-giving and the linguistic challenges that health providers face in creating and maintaining an online advice platform.