Appropriate politeness in interactions with acquaintances and close friends: When is saying 'thank you' going too far?

摘要

Using Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory as a lens, the present study examines the politeness rituals used during interactions. Particularly, this study searches for a better understanding as to the level of politeness that the hearer feels is appropriate in different relational situations (that of acquaintance or close friend) and whether inappropriate politeness threatens the hearer's face. This paper posits that if a person expects a simple "thank you" and does not receive one, the politeness is seen as inappropriate and face is threatened. On the other hand, if a hearer expects a simple, direct response and gets an overwhelming exaggerated response, again the politeness is deemed inappropriate and face is threatened. The proposed Appropriate Politeness Thresholds (APT) model assists in understanding how the hearer is effected by degrees of politeness and that high and low amounts of politeness are perceived as inappropriate. Support is found for the APT with results indicating that high and low amounts of politeness are perceived as inappropriate and face threatening.