바로가기메뉴

본문 바로가기 주메뉴 바로가기

logo

Politeness in Korea and America: <i>A Comparative Analysis of Request Strategy in English Communication

Korea Journal / Korea Journal, (P)0023-3900; (E)2733-9343
2014, v.54 no.1, pp.60-84
https://doi.org/10.25024/kj.2014.54.1.60
(University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
  • Downloaded
  • Viewed

Abstract

Due to the importance of politeness in intercultural communication, the subject ofpoliteness has received a lot of scholarly attention. Despite a vast volume of studieson this subject, few studies have investigated the nexus between politeness and culturalbackground in the context of comparing expressions of politeness made bynative speakers with those made by second language learners. To fill this gap in theliterature, I analyze how cultural differences affect native speakers’ and second languagelearners’ choice of request strategy in the context of politeness. By employing asurvey method, using two subject groups—English native speakers and Korean ESLlearners—I compare politeness behavior in request speech acts between Korean andAmerican subjects. The results of this analysis reveal that cultural differences domatter, and expressing politeness in a second language also affects one’s politenessexpressions.

keywords
politeness, culture, Korea, America, crosscultural communication, request strategy

Reference

1.

Arundale, Robert B. 2006. “Face as Relational and Interactional: A Communication Framework for Research on Face, Framework and Politeness.” Journal of Politeness Research 2.2: 193-216.

2.

Becker, Judith, Herbert Kimmel, and Michael Bevill. 1989. “The Interactive Effects of Requests Form and Speaker Status on Judgments of Requests.”Journal of Psycholinguistic E-Search 185: 512-531.

3.

Blum-Kulka, Shoshana. 1987. “Indirectness and Politeness in Requests: Same or Different?” Journal of Pragmatics 11: 131-146.

4.

Blum-Kulka, Shoshana. 1989. “Conventional Requests.” In Cross-cultural Pragmatics: Requests and Apologies, edited by Shoshana Blum-Kulka, Juliane House, and Gabriele Kasper, 71-96. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

5.

Blum-Kulka, Shoshana, and Juliane House. 1989. “Cross-cultural and Situational Variation in Requestive Behavior.” In Cross-cultural Pragmatics Pragmatics:Requests and Apologies, edited by Shoshana Blum-Kulka, Juliane House, and Gabriele Kasper, 123-154. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

6.

Brown, Lucien. 2010. “Politeness and Second Language Learning: The Case of Korean Speech Style.” Journal of Politeness Research 6.2: 243-269.

7.

Brown, Penelope, and Stephen D. Levinson. 1978. “Universals in Language Usage:Politeness Phenomena.” In Questions and Politeness: Strategies in Social Interaction, edited by Esther N. Goody, 56-289. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

8.

Brown, Penelope, and Stephen D. Levinson. 1987. Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

9.

Carrell, Patricia L., and Beverly H. Konneker. 1981. “Politeness: Comparing Native and Nonnative Judgments.” Language Learning 31.1: 17-31.

10.

Clyne, Michael. 1979. “Communicative Competence in Contact.” ITL Review of Applied Linguistics 43: 17-37.

11.

Fraser, Bruce. 1990. “Perspective on Politeness.” Journal of Pragmatics 14: 219-236.

12.

Gu, Yueguo. 1990. “Politeness Phenomena in Modern Chinese.” Journal of Pragmatics 14: 237-257.

13.

Hasegawa, Yoko. 2008. “Simultaneous Application of Negative and Positive Politeness.” Proceedings from the Annual Meetings of the Chicago Linguistic Society 44.1: 125-140.

14.

Haugh, Michael. 2007. “The Co-constitution of Politeness Implication in Conver-sation.” Journal of Pragmatics 39: 84-110.

15.

Held, Gudrun. 1989. “On the Role of Maximization in Verbal Politeness.” Multilingua 8: 167-206.

16.

Hill, Beverly, et al. 1986. “Universal of Linguistic Politeness: Quantitative Evidence from Japanese and American English.” Journal of Pragmatics 10: 347-371.

17.

Holtgraves, Thomas, and Yang Joong-Nam. 1990. “Politeness as Universal: Crosscultural Perceptions of Request Strategies and Inferences Based on Their Use.”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 59: 715-729.

18.

House, Juliane. 1989. “Politeness in English and German: The Functions of ‘Please’and ‘Bitte.’” In Cross-cultural Pragmatics: Requests and Apologies, edited by Shoshana Blum-Kulka, Juliane House, and Gabriele Kasper, 96-119. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

19.

House, Juliane, and Gabriele Kasper. 1981. “Politeness Markers in English and German.”In Conversational Routine: Explorations in Standardized Communication Situations and Prepatterned Speech, edited by Florian Coulmas, 157-185. The Hague: Mouton.

20.

Hui, C. Harry, and Marcelo J. Villareal. 1989. “Individualism-Collectivism and Psychological Needs: Their Relationships in Two Cultures.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 20: 310-323.

21.

Hwang, Juck-Ryoon. 1990. “‘Deference’ versus ‘Politeness’ in Korean Speech.” International Journal of the Sociology of Language 82: 41-55.

22.

Ide, Sachiko. 1989. “Formal Forms and Discernment: Two Neglected Aspects of Universals of Linguistic Politeness.” Multilingua 8: 223-248.

23.

Jandt, Fred E. 2010. “Dimensions of Culture.” Chapter 7 in An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community. London: Sage.

24.

Kasper, Gabriele. 1990. “Linguistic Politeness: Current Research Issues.” Journal of Pragmatics 14: 193-218.

25.

Kasper, Gabriele. 1992. “Pragmatic Transfer.” Second Language Research 8: 203-231.

26.

Katriel, Tamar. 1986. Talking Straight: Dugri Speech in Israeli Sabra Culture. New York: Cambridge University Press.

27.

Kim, Alan Hyun-Oak. 2011. “Politeness in Korea.” In Politeness in East Asia, edited by Daniel Z. Kadar-, and Sara Mills. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

28.

Kim, Min-sun, and Mary Bresnahan. 1994. “A Process Model of Request Tactic Evaluation.” Discourse Process 18: 318-344.

29.

Meier, Ardith. 1995. “Passage of Politeness.” Journal of Pragmatics 24: 381-392.

30.

Nakamura, Keiko. 1996. “The Use of Polite Language by Japanese Preschool Children.”In Social Interaction, Social Context, and Language: Essays in Honor of Susan Ervin-Tripp, edited by Dan Isaac Slobin, Julie Gerhardt, Amy Kyratzis, and Jiansheng Guo, 235-250. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

31.

Ogiermann, Eva. 2009. “Politeness and Indirectness across Cultures: A Comparison of English, German, Polish, and Russian Requests.” Journal of Politeness Research 5: 189-216.

32.

Okabe, Keizo. 1987. “Indirectness in Speech Acts of Japanese.” In Communication Theory: Eastern and Western Perspectives, edited by D. Lawrence Kincaid, 127-136. New York: Academic Press.

33.

Olstain, Elite. 1993. “Language and Society.” In Research in Language Learning:Principles, Process, and Prospect, edited by Alice Omaggio Hadly, 47-65. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company.

34.

Rosaldo, Michelle. 1973. “I Have Nothing to Hide: The Language of Ilongot Oratory.”Language in Society 2.2: 193-223.

35.

Sadri, Hudman, and Madelyn Flammia. 2011. Intercultural Communication: A New Approach to International Relations and Global Challenges. London:Continuum.

36.

Scarcella, Raymond, and John Brunak. 1981. “On Speaking Politely in a Second Language.” International Journal of the Sociology of Language 27: 59-75.

37.

Scollon, Ron, and Suzanne B. K. Scollon. 1983. “Face in Interethnic Communication.”In Language and Communication, edited by Jack C. Richards and Richard W. Schmidt, 158-188. London: Longman.

38.

Searle, John R. 1975. “Indirect Speech Act.” In vol. 3 of Syntax and Semantics, edited by Peter Cole and Jerry Morgan, 59-82. New York: Academic Press.

39.

Sohn, Ho-Min. 1999. The Korean Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

40.

Song, Sooho. 2012. Politeness and Culture in Second Language Acquisition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

41.

Takahashi, Tomoko, and Leslie M. Beebe. 1993. “Cross-linguistic Influence in the Speech Act of Correction.” In Interlanguage Pragmatics, edited by Gabriele Kasper and Shoshama Blum-Kulka, 138-157. New York: Oxford University Press.

42.

Watts, Richard J. 2003. Politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

43.

Wierzbicka, Anna. 1985. “Different Cultures, Different Language, Different Speech Acts.” Journal of Pragmatics 9: 145-178.

44.

Wierzbicka, Anna. 2003. Cross-cultural Pragmatics: The Semantics of Human Interaction. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

45.

Yum, June-Ock. 1988. “The Impacts of Confucianism on Interpersonal Relationships and Communication Patterns in East Asia.” Communication Monographs 55: 374-388.

Korea Journal