Keywords
Mianzi
Heart
Politeness
Submitted : 2024-06-11
Accepted : 2024-06-26
Published : 2024-07-11
Abstract
Face theory is an important pragmatic theory regarding politeness in human communication. As the central term of the theory, the face, a part of the human body, is seen as a metaphor for dignity and respect. The heart is put forward in this paper as an alternative politeness metaphor. Due to the differences between Western and Eastern politeness ideologies, face theory sometimes fails to explain certain pragmatic phenomena in China. By replacing the face in face theory with heart, the paper tries to inject an Eastern perception of human relationships into the traditional pragmatic theory.
References
Brown P, Levinson SC, 1987, Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Goffman E, 1967, Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face-to-Face Behaviour. Pantheon, New York.
Zhai XW, 2006, Chinese Face View Model. Chinese Social Psychology Review, 2006(02): 217–228.
Lu X, 1991, Talking about “Face”, The Complete Works of Lu Xun, Volume 6. People’s Literature Publishing House, Beijing.
Lin YT, 1935, My Country and My People. John Day Press, New York.
Turnbull J, Lea D, Parkinson D, et al., 2010, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary: International Student’s Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Languages, Dictionary Editorial Office, 2002, Modern Chinese Dictionary. Commercial Press, China.
Eelen G, 2001, A Critique of Politeness Theories. St. Jerome Publishing, Manchester.
Yabuuchi A, 2006, Hierarchy Politeness: What Brown and Levinson Refused to See. Intercultural Pragmatics, 2006(3): 323–351.
Gu, YG, 1990, Politeness Phenomena in Modern Chinese. Journal of Pragmatics, 1990(14): 237–257.
Mao LMR, 1994, Beyond Politeness Theory: “Face” Revisited and Renewed. Journal of Pragmatics, 1994(21): 451–486.
Intachakra S, 2012, Politeness Motivated by the “Heart” and “Binary Rationality” in Thai Culture. Journal of Pragmatics, 44(5): 619–635.