Welcome

The aim of this research blog is to encourage sharing among researchers on the topic of linguistic politeness and pragmatics. This platform has been made accessible to public since 31 July 2013.

An Online Discussion & Resource Network
–Multilingual; Cross-Disciplinary (Business, Linguistics, Psychology, Sociology, etc.)
–Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, other Southeast Asian Subgroups & Clusters (Chinese, Indian, Malay, Peranakan, etc.)
–Undergraduates, Postgraduates and Scholars

Register at: sealinguist@gmail.com
(include full name and affiliation)

Tet celebrations unite heaven and earth for Vietnamese

The Straits Times, 30 January 1998, Page 2

I wrote about my first time experiencing the most important holiday of the Vietnamese while I was studying the Vietnamese language in Hanoi. It was a fascinating discovery of the traditional beliefs which seemed similar to those of the Chinese and yet, different. The article has been archived in the National Library of Singapore, and can be accessed in the following link:

https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19980130-1.2.60.3.3

Chew, GCL (Sep 7, 1997). ‘Wake Up to a Hanoi Wet Market’. The Sunday Times, Life! Section. Singapore 14.

I wrote this article in the second weekend after my first arrival in Hanoi. It was the beginning of a cross-cultural transition, and my first time stepping into a large assembly of open-air stalls of squirming seafoods, aromatic spices and sauces, unique breakfasts, and fresh exotic flowers and vegetables. It could be a reminder of the past for the Vietnamese one day. For the present, it could be a reference for those interested in Vietnamese urban development, wet market development, anthropology, food and culture, or simply, a leisurely read. As this site supports type-written texts, links, and media-posts, the pdf file of the article cannot be posted. The legible version has been loaded at researchgate.net, so you will have to head there if you are interested in reading it. My apologies for the inconvenience!

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379376587_Chew_GCL_Sep_7_1997_’Wake_Up_to_a_Hanoi_Wet_Market’_The_Sunday_Times_Life_Section_Singapore_14

Politeness Research Books for Reviews 📚

Dear all,

The following books are available for review in the Journal of Politeness Research:

• Archer, Dawn, Grainger, Karen and Piotr Jagodziński (eds.) 2020. Politeness in professional contexts. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 326 pp., Hardback ISBN 978-9-027-20742-5, E-book ISBN 978-9-027-26085-7. https://benjamins.com/catalog/pbns.311 [available for review]
• Cook, Haruko Minegishi and Janet S. Shibamoto-Smith (eds.). 2018. Japanese at work: Politeness, power, and personae in Japanese workplace discourse. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 234 pp., Hardback ISBN 978-3-319-63548-4. E-book ISBN 978-3-319-63549-1. https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319635484 [available for review] 
• Fukushima, S. 2020. Metapragmatics of attentiveness: A study in interpersonal and cross-cultural pragmatics. Equinox Publishing, 230 pp., Hardback ISBN 978-1-781-79724-2, E-book ISBN 978-1-781-79725-9. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/metapragmatics-attentiveness/ [available for review]
• Grundtvig, A. 2021. English is context: Practical pragmatics for clear communication. DELTA Teacher Development Series. ISBN 978-3-125-01742-9. https://www.klett-sprachen.de/english-is-context/t-1/9783125017429 [available for review]
• Jucker, Andreas H. 2020. Politeness in the history of english: From the middle ages to the present day. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 210 pp., Online ISBN 978-1-108-58914-7. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/politeness-in-the-history-of-english/95F30E5A0D6D21C38E9367565EE91951 [to be requested]
• Jucker, Andreas H. and Irma Taavitsainen (eds.). 2020. Manners, norms and transgressions in the history of English: Literary and linguistic approaches. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 298 pp., Hardback ISBN 978-9-027-20746-3. E-book ISBN 978-9-027-26082-6. https://benjamins.com/catalog/pbns.312 [available for review]
• Mugford, Gerrard. 2019. Addressing difficult situations in foreign-language learning: Confusion, impoliteness, and hostility. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-33690-2. https://www.routledge.com/Addressing-Difficult-Situations-in-Foreign-Language-Learning-Confusion/Mugford/p/book/9780367585044 [to be requested]
• Obana, Yasuko. 2021. Japanese politeness: An enquiry. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-28060-4. https://www.routledge.com/Japanese-Politeness-An-Enquiry/Obana/p/book/9780367280604 [to be requested]
• Ogiermann, Eva and Pilar Garcés-Conejos Blitvich (eds.). 2019. From speech acts to lay understandings of politeness: Multilingual and multicultural Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 334 pp., Online ISBN 978-1-108-18211-9. https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319635484 [to be requested]
• Paternoster, Annick and Susan Fitzmaurice (eds.). 2019. Politeness in nineteenth-century Europe. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 288 pp., Hardback ISBN 978-9-027-20199-7, E-book ISBN 978-9-027-26305-6. https://benjamins.com/catalog/pbns.299 [available for review]
• Sinkeviciute, Valeria. 2019. Conversational humour and (im)politeness: A pragmatic analysis of social interaction.https://benjamins.com/catalog/thr.8 [available for review]
• Xie, Chaoqun (eds.). 2020. (Im)politeness and moral order in online interactions. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 177 pp., Hardback ISBN 978-9-027-20562-9. E-book ISBN 978-9-027-26110-6. https://benjamins.com/catalog/bct.107 [available for review]
• Ylivuori, Soile. 2019. Women and politeness in eighteenth-century England: Bodies, identities, and power. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-31866-3. https://www.routledge.com/Women-and-Politeness-in-Eighteenth-Century-England-Bodies-Identities/Ylivuori/p/book/9780367584252 [to be requested]

If you are interested in reviewing one of these texts or a book not on the list above, please contact me directly at isabelle.vanderbom@phil.tu-chemnitz.de and provide a short biographical statement detailing your suitability as a reviewer for your chosen text/s (100 words max). Please send in your statement no later than Monday the 24th of May. 

Virtual Lecture Series: Politeness in Ancient Languages

The following announcement is from Prof. Ridealgh:

Dear Colleagues,

The Historical Politeness Network for Ancient Languages (www.historicalpoliteness.net) would like to invite you to join us for our new virtual lecture series showcasing the latest research on historical politeness in ancient languages (this semester we will cover ancient Egyptian, ancient Greek, Latin and Sanskrit). All lectures will take place using Zoom.

To register, please email Dr Maria Tsimpiri (M.Tsimpiri@uea.ac.uk)

The network looks to promote research on historical pragmatics, politeness, and interpersonal dynamics within ancient languages. Please do get in touch if you would like to learn more about us or would be willing to give a paper. The network has existed since 2014 and since then we have published two special issues of the Journal of Politeness Research and the Journal of Historical Pragmatics. We are now delighted to offer a virtual lecture series to further showcase our interdisciplinary work.

Friday 12 February 2021 at 4pm UK time

Community and Service: Politeness Strategies in 6th Dynasty Egyptian Letters (ca. 2300-2100 BCE)

Victoria Almansa Villatoro (Brown University, USA)

Friday 12 March at 10am UK time

TBC

Federica Iurescia (University of Zurich)

Friday 16 April at 10am UK time

TBC

Luis Unceta Gómez (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain)

Friday 14 May at 10am UK time

Computing Buddhist Politeness: Etiquette Algorithms for Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese

Chris Handy (Leiden University, Netherlands)

Friday 11 June at 10am UK time

The (Im)polite Envoy, or How to Approach Ancient Diplomatic Etiquette in terms of Politeness 

Francesco Mari (Free University, Berlin)

Best wishes

Kim

Dr Kim Ridealgh

Associate Professor in Sociolinguistics (SFHEA)

Head of Language and Communication Studies

University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK, NR4 7TJ

Colonial / military history, song translation history, and the story behind the song, “The Torment of a Flower 雨夜花 ” (also known as “Rainy Night Flower”).

(Photo: A screenshot of tzengshimin’s YouTube video)

An interview with the son of the war-time composer, Deng Yuxian (鄧雨賢). The song featured was popular in the Chinese communities of Singapore and Malaysia.

The evolution of the song, authored by 莊永明 (in Mandarin):

https://www.thenewslens.com/amparticle/2973

The modern Japanese version sung by Natsukawa Rimi (夏川里美):

Institutionalized marginalization as tolerated discrimination

Chew, Grace Chye Lay (24 April 2018). ‘Forms of Tolerated Discrimination in the Workplace’. The Straits Times. A19; online.

I have coined the term “institutionalized marginalization” to describe one of the common forms of tolerated discrimination experienced by some contract workers.

Those researching on workplace language and issues, organizational psychology, communication, and linguistics might be interested to pursue the topic.

https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/forms-of-tolerated-discrimination-in-the-workplace

Call for Papers! Politeness in Professional Contexts (Proposed Publisher: John Benjamins)

 Politeness in Professional Contexts: Call for abstracts

• Grainger, Karen <K.P.Grainger@shu.ac.uk>

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

for inclusion in an edited collection:

Politeness in Professional Contexts

Editors:

Dawn Archer

Karen Grainger

Piotr Jogodziński

Proposed Publisher: John Benjamins

·        Abstracts of 500 words should be submitted by July 28^th to:

Karen Grainger, k.p.grainger@shu.ac.uk       

·        Authors will be informed of the editors’ decision by Sept. 8th

·        Those authors invited to contribute to the collection will be asked to submit a full draft paper by December 8th.

·        Papers should be on some aspect of politeness in one of the following professional contexts:

          medical contexts,

          educational contexts or

          legal contexts

·       Papers should be of high quality, taking into account  recent developments in Politeness Theory and contributing to knowledge of communication in professional contexts. 

Dr. Karen Grainger

Principal Lecturer in English Language

Dept. of Humanities

Sheffield Hallam University

Long (2016) A Social Cognitive Account of Relational Work

Image from med.upenn.edu)

christopher-long-article.pdf

Bengalis on Orkut: Greetings and Interpersonal Closeness

(Image from: asiatravelservices.com)

Information on the new publication of Assistant Professor, Dr. Anupam, has come in.

The publication, “Greetings and interpersonal closeness: A case of Bengalis on Orkut”, may be of interest to some of the members/ readers of this group. The article is freely available for all until March 11, 2016. The paper can be accessed by clicking on the following URL:
http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1SPmA_6B8INvXB

Tsakona, V. (2016). Teaching Polite Strategies in the Kindergarten

(Image: escb.co.uk)

Congratulations!

Abstract: The present study explores the use of the genre of service encounters to
teach (about) politeness strategies in the kindergarten. My teaching proposal involves
a critical approach to politeness strategies which is expected to enhance students’
awareness of the social/interactional aspects of service encounters, and in particular to
familiarize them with positive and negative politeness and with how the speech acts
they may use in such contexts contribute to creating solidarity or distance with their
interlocutors. Since young children participate in such interactions outside school,
their own experiences could form the basis for language teaching. Concurrently,
kindergartens are often equipped to host role play activities simulating service
encounters, and teachers are usually trained to assist children in such activities. Given
the above, the present teaching proposal will be based on the multiliteracies model
which aims at cultivating students’ critical literacy skills and exploits children’s
communicative and textual experiences. The presentation of the teaching proposal
here includes not only specific activities and goals that could be set by teachers and
children, but also the analysis of authentic data, so as to assist teachers in the
preparation of their courses. (Full article: tsakona_pr-2015-0022_proofs.pdf )