Questions and Politeness: Strategies in Social Interaction (Cambridge Papers in Social Anthropology 8) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521292506 ISBN 13: 9780521292504

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1978

Synopsis

These essays, by anthropologists and anthropological linguists, draw on material from speech communities in three continents to raise fundamental questions about the ways in which interrogative and politeness forms are used in day-to-day social interaction. The authors suggest that interrogative and politeness forms have universal features which make them efficient for certain strategies of interaction. Why should these strategies constantly recur? Here the focus shifts to the consideration of status and power, social roles and social distance. Esther Goody looks at the way in whichy the institutionalization of questioning allows only for speech acts consistent with status differences. Brown and Levinson claim that speech acts are potentially threatening to those being addressed, and that politeness forms have evolved as a mechanism for reducing such threats. They analyse the conditions under which politeness forms will be used and show that their findings are consistent with data drawn from India, Mexico and the US.

About this title

Book Description

These essays draw on material from speech communities in three continents to raise fundamental questions about the ways in which interrogative and politeness forms are used in day-to-day social interaction. The authors suggest that interrogative and politeness forms have universal features which make them efficient for certain strategies of interaction.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1978
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521292506
• ISBN 13: 9780521292504
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 334
• Editor: Esther N.Goody