Politeness theory

Politeness theory explains how speakers use language to manage face—the public self-image people claim—and negotiate social relationships.

Face (sociological concept): A person's socially recognized public self-image, maintained through interaction. The theory’s central idea is that speech can support or threaten this self-image.
Brown and Levinson's politeness theory: A model that classifies face-oriented strategies speakers use when performing face-threatening acts. Its strategy system is the best-known formal account of how politeness choices respond to face risk.
Erving Goffman: A sociologist whose work examined self-presentation, interaction, and face in everyday life. His account of face supplied a foundation for later linguistic theories of politeness.
Discernment politeness: A view of politeness as conformity to socially prescribed norms and conventions. It contrasts with accounts that explain politeness mainly as strategic face management.
Indirect speech act: A speech act performed through an utterance whose literal form conventionally or contextually expresses another act. Indirect requests can soften impositions while preserving plausible deniability.
Face-threatening act: A communicative act that risks damaging someone’s social self-image or freedom of action. Requests, criticism, and refusals are analyzed by the face they put at risk.
Bald-on-record strategy: A direct utterance that makes little or no effort to soften a face-threatening act. It illustrates the choice to prioritize clarity or urgency over face redress.
Penelope Brown: A linguist and anthropologist known for research on language, interaction, and politeness. Her work with Stephen Levinson established the most influential face-based politeness model.
Politeness as social practice: An approach that treats politeness as situated social practice shaped by participants and context. It challenges fixed strategy categories by emphasizing how communities interpret conduct.
Requests (pragmatics): Speech acts that seek to get another person to perform an action. Requests make a clear test case for how imposition and social relations shape wording.

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