politeness and appropriateness.docx
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politeness and appropriateness.docx
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politenessandappropriateness
Abstract
ThispaperattemptstoadvancethattheAppropriatenessPrinciple(AP)otherthantheCooperativePrinciple(CP)andthePolitenessPrinciple(PP)shouldbeestablishedasthefirst-orderprincipleintheactualuseoflanguage.Firstagoal-directedviewofcommunicationisadoptedtoexplainthesignificanceofpragmaticrulesintherealizationoflanguagepotential.Thenoneofthepragmaticrules,Leech’sPPandhisunderstandingofpolitenessareexploredtoshowthattheyfailtomotivatelanguageproductioninquiteafewcases.Leech’sunderstandingistoogeneraltoincludesituational,social,andculturalconstraintsinhisframework.Theseconstraintsshouldnotbeignoredinordertorealizethegoalofappropriatenessforeffectivecommunication.Finally,APisinterpretedfromtheviewpointofcognitionandoutlinedintermsofitsvariables.
Preface
In1994,IwasadmittedasastudentofcorrespondencecourseforBAdegreetoAnhuiNormalUniversity,whereIwasfirstacquaintedwithandindulgedinlinguisticsthroughlecturenotescompiledbyProfessorOuyangJunlin.Since1997whenIenteredAnhuiUniversityforMAdegree,IhavebeenreceivingunfailinglyacademicandmoralsupportfromProfessorZhuYue,whohasledmeintothefieldofmysteriousbutcharminglinguistics,andhashelpedmelayasolidfoundationandenhancedmoreenthusiasmformyfutureresearchwork.ThedissertationowesitspresentformtoProfessorZhuforhisdetailedandcriticalcomments.NosmallthanksarealsoduetoProfessorsHongZeng-liu,ZhouFang-zhu,ChenZhen-fa,HeGong-jie,HuaQuan-kun,andZhangZu-wufromAnhuiUniversity,Dr.HeimbeckfromUSA,Dr.StewartfromAustralian,withoutwhosepatienceandencouragementIcouldnothavefinishedthethree-yearstudysuccessfully.
ChapterOneGoal-directedViewofCommunication
Communicationasafunctionoflanguagearousesmuchdiscussion.Sofarasthenatureofcommunicationisconcerned,therearevariousviews:
aformofsocialinteraction,theexchangeofinformationbetweenatleasttwoindividualsthroughtheuseofverbalandnon-verbalsymbols,andproductionandcomprehensionprocesses.Butcommunicationisunderstoodinthispaperasanattainmentofasetofgoalsinlanguageproductionandinterpretation.Theactualuseoflanguageisinvestigatedbyexaminingthewaythatactualusersuselanguagetoattaingoalsinreallifesituations,withafullrecognitionofactualusersasdiscoursemanagers.
Ineverydaylanguage,peoplealsouse“motive”,“purpose”,or“end”totalkaboutothers’ortheirownactions.SomelinguistssuchasLeech(1983:
24,36)alsopropose,“Languageismotivated”,and“means-endsanalysis”.Gu(1999)distinguishestwosuper-goals:
thecommunicativeandextra-communicativegoals.Thecommunicativegoalisthegoalofgettingthemessageacross.Theextra-communicativegoalisthegoalthatparticipantshopetoachieveviadiscourse.Thecommunicativegoalwillbeassociatedwithillocutionaryacts,whereastheextra-communicativegoal,withthepurposeofthewholeinteraction.Thecommunicativegoalisameanstotheattainmentoftheextra-communicativegoal.Othersdistinguishsubordinategoalsfromsuperordinategoals,andmajorgoalsfromminorgoals.
Inthelinguisticcommunication,theattainmentofgoalsisrealizedthroughlanguagepotential,knowledgeoflanguageasasystemofchoices,andsocialpotentialderivedfromsocialrole,status,andsoon.Conversely,therealizationoflanguagepotentialandsocialpotentialdependsmuchongoalsdesiredbyinterlocutors.Certaingoalsalwayscorrespondtocertainrealizationofsocialandlanguagepotentialinlanguageforms.Thiscorrespondenceis,withthepassageoftime,naturallymappedinman’smindascertainrules.Inotherwords,manappliescertainrulestorealizepotentialsfortheattainmentofgoals.
Thecommonsensemeaningoftheterm“rule”issomeprincipletowhichanactionconformsorisintendedtoconform.Sofaraslinguisticactivity—theactualuseoflanguageisconcerned,rulesfallintotwokinds—constitutiverulesandregulativerules.Theformercreatethelinguisticbehaviorwhilethelatterregulateanalreadyexistingformofbehavior.Therulesofplayingfootballandchessbelongtotheformerbecausewithouttherulestherewould,indeed,benogametoplay.Thetrafficrulesshouldbeclassifiedasregulativeones,withoutwhichvehiclesstillrunbutwithmoreaccidents.Constitutiverulesaredescriptive,inthesensethattheyattempttodescribewhatactuallyhappens,andregulativerulesnormativeorprescriptive,layingdownlawsconcerningwhatoughtoroughtnottohappen.Inordertomakelinguisticactivityefficienttheremustbecertainrules.
However,thetem“rules”easilyremindspeopleofgrammarwhichisregardedassimplyconsistingofruleseversinceChomsky.Inearlierversionsoftransformationalgrammar,ruleswerethoughtofasexclusivelysyntacticinoriginandfunction.Asfarassyntaxisconcerned,languageisrule-generated.Leech(1983:
5)observes,“semanticsisrule-governed;generalpragmaticsisrule-controlled.”Rulesonlymakesenseinsemanticsandsyntaxoutsidethecontextoftheactuallanguageuse.Principlesappearonthestageofpragmatics,thestudyoftheactuallanguageuse.Soconstitutiverulesfallintothenarrowsenseofrules—concerningtheactivityofgeneratingwell-formedness.Regulativerulescorrespondtoprinciplesinthattheyeitherregulatethelinguisticactivityormakeiteffective,whichistheconcernofthispaper.
What’stherelationshipamonggoals,rulesandprinciples,andtheactualuseoflanguage?
Intheprocessofobtaininggoals,interlocutors,tobeginwith,havetoseekforlanguagepotential.Theyapplyrulestoproducegrammaticallycorrectspeechacts,whichareallinaccordwithinterlocutors’intention.Thensocialpotentialrequiresinterlocutorstoapplyprinciplesintheextractionoftheactualusefromthesespeechacts.Theextractionisnotmadeatrandombutsubjecttorules(governinglanguagepotential)andprinciples(governingsocialpotentialandhencelanguagepotential)mappedininterlocutors’minds.Theactualusefrompotentialistheresultofthecompositeforceofrulesandprinciples.
Thegoalofpolitenessinlinguisticcommunicationhasbeenprevailinginhistoryofallcultures.Gu(1990)holdsthatinChina“li”wasfirstdocumentedinthebookLiJi,where“li”wasequatedwithdemonstrationofself-denigrationandrespecttoothers,especiallyinverticalrelationship.NowadaysChinesechildrenaretaughtto“JiangLimao”(tobepolitetoothersinactionandspeech).InWesterncountries,politenessdatesbacktothe15thcentury;inthe17thcentury,apolitepersonwasofrefinedcourteousmanners,whichisshownintheOxfordDictionaryofEnglishEtymology.“Ladyfirst”maybemosttypicalofpoliteness.InJapanhonorificsarewidelyused.Intermsoflexicon,“差し上げる”isusedtodenote“givesomethingtosomebodywhoishigherinstatus”insteadof“ぁげる”,“givesomethingtosomebodywhoisequalorlowerinstatus”.Intermsofstructure,“です”,“ござぃます”areoftenusedattheendofthesentence.Inthissense,politenessisuniversal.
InordertoachievethegoalofpolitenessLeechputsforwardthefamousandcontroversialPPanditsmaximsaswellashisotherconceptsofpolitenesstocontroltheextractionfrompotential.Nodoubtthattheycanbesatisfactorilyappliedinproducingandinterpretingpoliteness,buttheystillleavesmuchtobedesired.
ChapterTwoTheObjectofInquiry:
Leech’sConceptofPoliteness
1.Approachestopoliteness:
areview
BeforeLeech,therearetwomainapproachestopoliteness.FirstlyLakoffseesGrice’srulesasessentiallyrulesofclarity,andproposesthattherearetwopriorrulesofpragmaticcompetence:
“BeClear”and“BePolite”,whereclarityamountstoacondensedversionoftheGriceanmaxims,whilepolitenessservestoavoidconflictsbetweenparticipants.Sheproposesherownthreerulesofpoliteness:
1.formality:
don’timpose/remainaloof;
2.hesitancy:
givetheaddresseehisoptions;
3.equality:
actasthoughyouandtheaddresseewereequal/makehimfeelgood.
Secondly,theface-savingviewofpoliteness,proposedbyBrownandLevinson(1978)isrelatedtothefolkexpression“loseface”.Theysuggesttwokindsofface.Oneis“negativeface”ortherightstoterritories,freedomofactionandfreedomfromimposition;essentiallythewantthatyouractionsbenotimpededbyothers.Theotheris“positiveface”,thepositiveconsistentself-imagethatpeoplehaveandwanttobeappreciatedandapprovedofbyatleastsomeotherpeople.
2.Leech’sapproachtopoliteness
InthissectionLeech’streatmentofpolitenessisexamined.
2.1PPandCP
PPisanalogoustoCPinthatbothofthemconsistofasetofmaximsrespectively.PP’smaximsrequireinterlocutorstoadoptstrategiesof(a)maximizingpolitebeliefsand(b)minimizingimpolitebeliefs,alsoexpressedinthenegativeimperative“Donotoffendothers”andinthepositiveimperative“Benicetoothers”.Theseaddupto“anessentialasymmetryinpolitebehavior,inthatwhateverisapolitebeliefforthespeakertendstobeanimpolitebeliefforthehearer,andviceversa”(Leech1983:
169).Hefurtheradvancesscalesofpoliteness:
thecost-benefitscale,theoptionalityscale,andtheindirectnessscale.
Leech(1983:
80)clarifiestherelationshipbetweenPPandCPasfollows:
CPinitselfcannotexplain(i)whypeopleareoftensoindirectinconveyingwhattheymean;and(ii)whatistherelationbetweensenseandformwhennon-declarativetypesofsentencearebeingconsidered.PPcanbeseen
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