Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson are two linguists who put forward some ideas about politeness. They identified the terms positive and negative face needs.
Positive face needs refers to the assumption that we want to be liked and approved of in our dealings with others. As a result of positive face needs, we use positive politeness strategies:
- Paying attention
- Seeking agreement
- Pretend agreement
- Using humour
- Compliments
- Using appropriate address terms
- Being optimistic
- Attend to the listeners interests
Negative face needs refers to the assumption that we deal with difficult conversational situations in a tactful way. As a result of negative face needs, we use negative politeness strategies:
- Being indirect
- Hedging
- Being apologetic
- Giving deference
- Being pessimistic
We use these types of language in every day life without even realising, and it's only now, that I'm taking A Level English Language that I am realising the genius theories that people have thought of.
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