Politeness - Brown and Levinson'87
"Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage"
- People manage a social attribute called "face"
- Avoid, or mitigate the effects of, a Face Threatening Act (FTA)
- Don't provide people with lists of options - it limits their choices.
- You can give face by embracing a persons goals.
KT's cognitive process?
- "I don't know; it just wouldn't be polite."
Brown and Levinson are doing sociology; we are interested in psychology, and KT "just does" politeness.