Language, culture, and politeness

The terms ‘language’ and ‘culture’ are often used in politeness research as if they were synonyms. In this chapter, I tease these two terms apart and chart their complex relation with politeness. I firstly discuss traditional models of politeness and impoliteness which analyse politeness in purely formally linguistic terms. I foreground the problems of such an analysis and then I examine the discursive approach to politeness which tries to develop a more context-based perspective. This approach is more able to chart the complex relations between the terms ‘language’, ‘culture’, and ‘politeness’. In my discussion, I will emphasize the norm-setting role of the elites. I then focus on the way that different cultures have been described in relation to politeness norms, where certain cultures have been labelled as collectivist or individualist cultures, positive or negative politeness cultures, and discernment and volition-based cultures. I question the validity of classifying whole cultures as tending towards certain styles of politeness or impoliteness.