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a. Politeness
Politeness refers to behavior which actively expresses positive concern for others, as well as non-imposing distancing behavior. In other words, politeness
may take the form of an expression of good-will or ‘camaraderie’ Holmes, 1996: 5. Meanwhile, Brown and Levinson 1987: 60 states that politeness is related to
the psychological state, something that is emotionally invested and that can be lost, maintained, or enhanced, and must be constantly attended to in interaction. In
addition, Leech’s view of politeness involves a set of politeness maxims analogous to Grice’s maxims. Among these are Leech, 1983:132 tact,
generosity, approbation, modesty, agreement, and sympathy. These maxims vary from culture to culture. What may be considered polite in one culture may be
strange or downright rude in another. From the explanations above, it can be said that being polite means paying
attention to others’ feeling. This could be gained by being friendly or respecting them. This will avoid us insulting or threatening someone’s feeling. Hence, it is
indeed expected that when we engage in a conversation, we should present more positive concern toward people we are talking to rather than the negative one in
order to maintain successful and meaningful interaction.
b. Positive and Negative Faces
Face is the “public self-image that a person wants for himself Brown and Levinson, 1987: 61-62. They defined positive face two ways: as the want of
every member that his wants be desirable to at least some others, or alternately,
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19 the positive consistent self-image or personality crucially including the desire
that this self-image be appreciated and approved of claimed by interactants. Negative face was defined as the want of every competent adult member that his
actions be unimpeded by others, or the basic claim to territories, personal preserves, rights to non-distraction--i.e. the freedom of action and freedom from
imposition. Further, Brown characterized positive face by desires to be liked, admired,
ratified, and related to positively, nothing that one would threaten positive face by ignoring someone. At the same time, he characterized negative face by the desire
not to be imposed upon, noting that negative face could be impinged upon by imposing on someone. Positive Face refers to ones self-esteem, while negative
face refers to ones freedom to act. The two aspects of face are the basic wants in any social interaction, and so during any social interaction.
c. Face-Threatening Acts