Chinese politeness : diachrony, variation and universals in politeness theory / Rong Chen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chen, Rong, 1955- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chinese language.

Politeness (Linguistics).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 204 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2024.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Pragmatics, politeness, and Chinese politeness

Hierarchy and harmony: roots of Chinese face and politeness

Chinese face

Chinese politeness and theories of politeness

Synchronic consistency and variation

Diachronic stability and change

In comparison with East Asian languages

In comparison with English: an East-West divide?

Politeness theories.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 03 Nov 2023).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781009281201 (ebook)

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.