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Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage (Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics)

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Brown and Levinson's classic treatment of linguistic politeness is quite possibly the most widely cited work on the subject. Their theory of politeness is based on the notion of "face," that is, the twin desires to be unimpeded and approved, and takes politeness to be speech that addresses one or both of these "face needs."

In this re-issue of the original work, the authors expand their analysis to incorporate and respond to the considerable body of literature generated by their original work.

This book is a must for students of applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, sociology and anthropology.

Stemming from a sociological view of language in use, this book shows that politeness strategies are the basis for social order. The authors advocate as well that politeness fuels the interactions any rational individual in all societies performs while using language to communicate and share experiences with each other. Any individual holds a specific face, that is, if the face is positive, the individual allows for a more "softly" interaction. By contrast, if the individual's face is negative, a more formal way of using language is required, in order to minimise any imposition upon the listener. So the authors demonstrate that politeness is far more than a guide to the rules of diplomatic etiquette. The book is, in fact, an invaluable source for lay people as well as linguists who seek to understand politeness as a realisation of power and agreement through language in use.

Politeness: some universals in language usage é um livro que não envelhece, embora tenha despertado enumeras críticas depois de sua publicação, mas como o próprio Leech(2005) disse, os pioneiros sofrem mais, pois pecam pela ousadia, e um trabalho com essa profundidade não seria diferente.
O principal objetivo do livro é mostrar como a polidez linguistica interfere na dinâmica das relações humanas sob diferentes línguas. Posso dizer que os linguistas foram bastante convincentes e fizeram do livro um sucesso, um clássico da literatura no assunto.