10. Go on record as incurring a debt, or as not indebting hearer Here, the speaker request or offer something on record. If the request is done,
the speaker should feel as if he received a debt from the hearer. When the hearer asks something, the speaker does it as not indebting the addressee. For example:
a I could easily do it for you.
b It wouldn’t be any trouble, I have to go right by there anyway.
d. The strategies to show off-record politeness
There are fifteen strategies to show off-record politeness in Brown-Levinson theory.
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It is listed as follows: 1.
Give hints When you want your friend to shut the windows, you can say “it’s cold in
here”. Your utterance is a hint for the hearer to shut the window. “let’s leave the theatre” then can be changed into “what a boring movie”.
2. Give association clues
To borrow hearer’s swimming suit, you can say “oh God, i’ve got a headache
agai n”. It is when you and the hearer have the association of headache with
borrowing swiming suit. 3.
Presuppose To criticize your lazy roommate, you can say “i clean our room again today”.
By using the word “again”, it means you are the one who clean the room
previously, and now you want your friend to clean it.
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Ibid. pp. 213-227.
4. Understate
Understatement are one way of generating implicatures by saying less than is required. It is then considered off-record politeness. For example:
a What do you think of Harry?
b Nothing wrong with him this means : i dont think he’s very good.
5. Overstate
If you give information more than what is needed, you are using this fifth strategy called overstatement. For example: i tried to call a hundred times, but
there was never any answer it means conveying an apology for not getting in touch.
6. Use tautologies
Tautology means uttering patent and necessary truth. For example : “your
clothes belong where your clothes belong, my clothes belong where my clothes belong. Look upstairs
” it is a criticism. 7.
Use contradictions By stating two things that contradict each other, you can
’t be telling the truth. It is a way to be polite. For example:
a Are you upset about that?
b Well, yes and no conveying a complaint or a criticism
8. Be ironic
You can say the opposite of what you meant when speaking to someone, and it is a kind of strategy. For example: “John’s a real genius” after john has just
done twenty stupid things in a row.
9. Use metaphor
To say that your friend is slimy, you can use “Harry is a real fish”. It is a kind of metaphor that used to show off record politeness.
10. Use rhetorical questions
It is a kind of question that leave its answer hanging in the air. For example: “what can i say?” to say nothing, it is so bad.
11. Be ambiguous
When you say something ambiguously, it means you try to be polite. For example: “John is a pretty smooth cookie” an insult.
12. Be vague
The twelfth strategy is by expressing something vaguely. For example :”i am
going down to the road for a bit” euphemism for to the local pub. 13.
Overgeneralize The next strategy is by not mentioning the hearer name or adressing him
directly. For example: “Mature people sometimes help do the dishes” to ask help for your adult friend.
14. Displace H
This strategy can be exampled in a case where you ask the secretary to pass the stapler, but a professor is much nearer to the stapler you ask for.
You say “the secretary, pass me the stapler, please”. The professor then pass it to you and the
secretary does nothing.
15. Be incomplete by using ellipsis
Elliptical utterances are legitimated by various conversational contexts. A student can ask permission to leave the classroom from his teacher by “oh sir, a
headache.... ” Here, the speaker intentionally expresses his statement incompletely.
It is considered as politeness strategy when the speaker is aware of using the ellipsis. When it is caused by lack of grammar ability, it is absolutely not included
in off record politeness strategies. By inverting the politeness paradigm of Brown and Levinson, Spencer-Oatey
argues that Culpeper independently develops a framework specifically addressing impolite behavior.
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Culpeper states that “each of politeness strategies has its
opposite impoliteness strategies. They are opposite in terms of orientation to face. Instead of enhancing or supporting face, impoliteness strategies are a means of
attacking face.”
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There are five kinds of impoliteness with their own specific strategies.
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It is: 1 Bald on record impoliteness 2 Positive impoliteness 3 Negative impoliteness 4 Sarcasm mock politeness 5 Withhold politeness.
C. Power and The Choice of Strategy
