Chinese Politeness
Diachrony, Variation, and Universals in Politeness Theory

Through a thorough treatment of Chinese politeness, this book argues that universalism is of paramount importance in politeness theorizing.

Rong Chen (Author)

9781009281188, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 November 2023

218 pages
23.5 x 16 x 1.5 cm, 0.463 kg

'I heartily welcome this new volume on Chinese politeness, with its level-headed assessment of different views of politeness, of the nature of universals in the context of sociocultural differences, and its proposal for a model of Chinese politeness. It will surely raise the level of intellectual debate on this critical topic in pragmatics.' Penelope Brown, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics

Politeness in Chinese is a well-researched concept in pragmatics; however, this pioneering book sheds an original new light on the subject. It provides a thorough diachronic investigation of Chinese politeness, and argues for universality in politeness theorizing. The author takes us on a journey through changes in Chinese politeness from Confucius to the present day, showing how these processes are reactions to the changing world, rather than to changes in the principles of politeness itself. He splits Chinese face into Face1 and Face2 – the former referring to the person and the latter to the persona of the speaker - and presents a model of Chinese politeness (MCP). He then proposes B&L-E (Brown and Levinson Extended) by incorporating the theoretical constructs of self-politeness and impoliteness. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

1. Pragmatics, politeness, and Chinese politeness
2. Hierarchy and harmony: roots of Chinese face and politeness
3. Chinese face
4. Chinese politeness and theories of politeness
5. Synchronic consistency and variation
6. Diachronic stability and change
7. In comparison with East Asian languages
8. In comparison with English: an east-west divide?
9. Politeness theories
Epilogue.

Subject Areas: Sociolinguistics [CFB]