Module III·Article II·~1 min read
Politeness, Face, and Communication Strategies
Pragmatics and Communication
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The Concept of “Face”
Erving Goffman introduced the concept of “face”—the public image a person projects in social interactions. Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson (1987) developed a theory of politeness through the notion of “face”:
Positive face: the desire to be accepted, approved of, understood. “You are really knowledgeable about this topic” is an example of supporting positive face.
Negative face: the desire for autonomy, freedom from imposition. “Could you please...” instead of “do it”—this shows respect for negative face.
Face-Threatening Acts
Criticism, disagreement, requests, commands—these are “face-threatening acts.” Politeness strategies mitigate these threats. The choice of strategy depends on: social distance, power, and the “weight” of the request.
In different cultures, these strategies vary radically. What is straightforwardness in one culture may be rudeness in another.
Question for reflection: Recall a negotiation where misunderstanding arose due to different politeness conventions. How does the theory of “face” help explain it?
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