This article engages with the notions of discernment and volition, developed by Ide (1989), in or... more This article engages with the notions of discernment and volition, developed by Ide (1989), in order to consider how the concept which these phenomena describe could be reintroduced into discursive approaches to the analysis of politeness and impoliteness. It is our contention that these terms have been used in a way which polarises cultures, so that various Asian cultures are characterised as ‘discernment cultures’, whilst Western cultures are seen as ‘volitional’. We argue that this polarisation is problematic as it does not capture politeness behaviour beyond certain stereotypes, and as such it fails to address the complexities a cross-cultural examination of politeness needs to cope with. Nevertheless, we believe that the cross-cultural phenomenon which Ide attempted to capture should not be completely ignored. Thus, we reconceptualise the notions of discernment and volition, by focusing on discernment, and we integrate this concept into a framework (Kádár 2013) based on convention and ritual, hence providing a way of using the term discernment in cross-cultural analysis.
... was amassed about the colonised countries as a form of asserting power over them (Richards, 1... more ... was amassed about the colonised countries as a form of asserting power over them (Richards, 1993).5 For British women of the mid-to-late nineteenth century, there were dif-ficult choices to be made about presenting oneself as knowledgeable; as Sara Suleri has argued ...
Gender and Politeness Gender and Politeness challenges the notion that women are necessar-ily alw... more Gender and Politeness Gender and Politeness challenges the notion that women are necessar-ily always more polite than men as much of the language and gender literature claims. Sara Mills discusses the complex relations between gender and politeness and ...
... An analysis of women's travel writing and colonialism Also available as a printed book .... more ... An analysis of women's travel writing and colonialism Also available as a printed book ... An analysis of women's travel writing and colonialism Sara Mills At ...
We use politeness every day when interacting with other people. Yet politeness is an impressively... more We use politeness every day when interacting with other people. Yet politeness is an impressively complex linguistic process, and studying it can tell us a lot about the social and cultural values of social groups or even a whole society, helping us to understand how humans 'encode' states of mind in their words. The traditional, stereotypical view is that people in East Asian cultures are indirect, deferential and extremely polite - sometimes more polite than seems necessary. This revealing book takes a fresh look at the phenomenon, showing that the situation is far more complex than these stereotypes would suggest. Taking examples from Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Singaporean Chinese, it shows how politeness differs across countries, but also across social groups and subgroups. This book is essential reading for those interested in intercultural communication, linguistics and East Asian languages.
This article engages with the notions of discernment and volition, developed by Ide (1989), in or... more This article engages with the notions of discernment and volition, developed by Ide (1989), in order to consider how the concept which these phenomena describe could be reintroduced into discursive approaches to the analysis of politeness and impoliteness. It is our contention that these terms have been used in a way which polarises cultures, so that various Asian cultures are characterised as ‘discernment cultures’, whilst Western cultures are seen as ‘volitional’. We argue that this polarisation is problematic as it does not capture politeness behaviour beyond certain stereotypes, and as such it fails to address the complexities a cross-cultural examination of politeness needs to cope with. Nevertheless, we believe that the cross-cultural phenomenon which Ide attempted to capture should not be completely ignored. Thus, we reconceptualise the notions of discernment and volition, by focusing on discernment, and we integrate this concept into a framework (Kádár 2013) based on convention and ritual, hence providing a way of using the term discernment in cross-cultural analysis.
... was amassed about the colonised countries as a form of asserting power over them (Richards, 1... more ... was amassed about the colonised countries as a form of asserting power over them (Richards, 1993).5 For British women of the mid-to-late nineteenth century, there were dif-ficult choices to be made about presenting oneself as knowledgeable; as Sara Suleri has argued ...
Gender and Politeness Gender and Politeness challenges the notion that women are necessar-ily alw... more Gender and Politeness Gender and Politeness challenges the notion that women are necessar-ily always more polite than men as much of the language and gender literature claims. Sara Mills discusses the complex relations between gender and politeness and ...
... An analysis of women's travel writing and colonialism Also available as a printed book .... more ... An analysis of women's travel writing and colonialism Also available as a printed book ... An analysis of women's travel writing and colonialism Sara Mills At ...
We use politeness every day when interacting with other people. Yet politeness is an impressively... more We use politeness every day when interacting with other people. Yet politeness is an impressively complex linguistic process, and studying it can tell us a lot about the social and cultural values of social groups or even a whole society, helping us to understand how humans 'encode' states of mind in their words. The traditional, stereotypical view is that people in East Asian cultures are indirect, deferential and extremely polite - sometimes more polite than seems necessary. This revealing book takes a fresh look at the phenomenon, showing that the situation is far more complex than these stereotypes would suggest. Taking examples from Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Singaporean Chinese, it shows how politeness differs across countries, but also across social groups and subgroups. This book is essential reading for those interested in intercultural communication, linguistics and East Asian languages.
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