The term “politeness” goes back to the sixteenth century (e.g. Burke 1993) and is described as “having or showing that one has good manners and consideration for other people” in the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. However, since it is associated to the terms “civility” and “courtesy”, there are several connections to civilization and life-experience (see for example the Dutch translation “be-leefd-heid”). Therefore “politeness” is not an absolute term, but influenced by social hirarchy and social status. For about 30 years by now politeness is a very popular research topic and the term has received many different definitions and interpretations (Eelen, 2001). I therefore want to start by summarizing and discussing the most important approaches to linguistic politeness.
One of the most interesting aspects of this research field is its situation in the intersection of language and social reality. To study linguistic politeness may lead to a deeper understanding of the connections between society, ethics and language. In the linguistic perspective politeness is a form of language use, which is therefore invariably coupled with social roles and relationships.
Not only the social state in a given speech community, but also the language itself influences the expression of politeness, since speech communities differ in their notion of politeness. In second language acquisition not only vocabulary and grammar rules have to be learnt, but also the set of social norms of the foreign speech community. It is therefore of great interest, how second language learners show politeness at different learner levels. I will present an empirical study on the expression of Request and Thanks in Austrian students of different English competence level compared to a native speaking control group.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 State of the Art
2.1 Politeness Theories
2.1.1 The social norm
2.1.2 The conversational maxime
2.1.3 “face saving”
2.1.4 The conversational contract
2.1.5 The boomerang model
2.2 Characterization of Requests and Thanks
3 The research problem
4 Method
4.1 Design
4.2 Data
4.3 Subjects
5 The results
5.1 Description of results
5.2 Discussion
6 Conclusion
7 References
Research Objectives and Themes
This study explores the realization of speech acts, specifically requests and thanks, by Austrian students at different levels of English language proficiency compared to a native-speaking control group. The primary research question addresses whether higher linguistic competence correlates with a more sophisticated and contextually appropriate use of pragmatic forms in a second language.
- Theoretical foundations of linguistic politeness and social norms.
- Comparative analysis of speech act realization across three learner levels.
- Impact of social distance and learner proficiency on pragmatic performance.
- Empirical evaluation of request and thanks structures versus native speaker norms.
Excerpt from the Book
1 Introduction
The term “politeness” goes back to the sixteenth century (e.g. Burke 1993) and is described as “having or showing that one has good manners and consideration for other people” in the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. However, since it is associated to the terms “civility” and “courtesy”, there are several connections to civilization and life-experience (see for example the Dutch translation “be-leefd-heid”). Therefore “politeness” is not an absolute term, but influenced by social hirarchy and social status. For about 30 years by now politeness is a very popular research topic and the term has received many different definitions and interpretations (Eelen, 2001). I therefore want to start by summarizing and discussing the most important approaches to linguistic politeness.
One of the most interesting aspects of this research field is its situation in the intersection of language and social reality. To study linguistic politeness may lead to a deeper understanding of the connections between society, ethics and language. In the linguistic perspective politeness is a form of language use, which is therefore invariably coupled with social roles and relationships.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter provides an overview of the definition and significance of politeness, highlighting the connection between language use, social reality, and second language acquisition.
2 State of the Art: This section summarizes essential politeness theories, including social norms, conversational maxims, face-saving strategies, and the conversational contract, and characterizes the speech acts of requests and thanks.
3 The research problem: This chapter outlines the research focus on how interlanguage pragmatics and contextual appropriateness develop across different English learner levels.
4 Method: This chapter details the study design, data collection via questionnaires, and the demographic profile of the participants involved in the empirical analysis.
5 The results: This section presents the empirical findings, analyzing the use of pre-phrases, supportive moves, and head acts by the different groups compared to native speakers.
6 Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the findings, confirming that pragmatic competence develops alongside linguistic proficiency, though the progress is marked by fluctuations.
7 References: This chapter lists all cited academic sources used for the study.
Keywords
Politeness, Linguistic Competence, Interlanguage Pragmatics, Speech Acts, Requests, Thanks, Social Norms, Face Saving, Second Language Acquisition, Pragmatic Forms, Conversational Maxims, Learner Levels, Social Distance, Empirical Study, Language Usage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The work examines how Austrian students at different levels of English proficiency express requests and thanks, focusing on their pragmatic competence compared to native speakers.
What are the primary thematic areas?
The study covers linguistic politeness theories, the structure of speech acts, and the development of pragmatic proficiency within the context of second language acquisition.
What is the main research question?
The study aims to determine whether an increase in general linguistic competence leads to a corresponding increase in the contextually appropriate use of pragmatic forms.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The author uses an empirical comparative study, utilizing questionnaires with seven distinct social situations to measure and categorize the occurrences of pre-phrases, supportive moves, and head acts.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main section discusses the theoretical framework of politeness, provides a characterization of speech acts, details the study design, and presents an analysis of results using statistical tests like the Kruskal-Wallis test.
How can the work be summarized via keywords?
The research is best characterized by terms such as Politeness, Interlanguage Pragmatics, Speech Acts, and Second Language Acquisition.
Why are requests generally more complex than expressions of thanks?
According to the "face-saving" theory, requests are potentially face-threatening acts, requiring more indirectness and linguistic cushioning, whereas thanks serve to restore social balance and can be more direct.
Do learners always show consistent improvement in their pragmatic performance?
No, the study suggests that performance does not follow a linear path; as students learn new, more complex formulations, they may occasionally over-apply them, leading to temporary performance dips before they fully grasp appropriate usage.
- Quote paper
- MMag. DDr. B.Sc. Ulrike Kipman (Author), 2009, The Politeness Phenomenon, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/157383
