Lecture 8: Face

Question 1

Goffman 1955

Answer 1

Face – prestige, honour, or reputation. Salient in almost all social interaction. Facework – the means whereby people defend or enhance face.
3 kinds of facework:
Avoidance of potentially face-threatening acts.
Corrective process - redressive acts.
Making points - aggressive use of facework.

Question 2

Brown and Levinson 1987

Answer 2

Politness Theory: Face is important in all cultures – can be lost, maintained, or enhanced.
Positive face and Negative face
Some acts are intrinsically threatening to face and thus require ‘softening’ – 4 strategies:
Bald on-record – no attempt to minimize face threat.
Positive politeness – minimize positive face threat – make hearer feel good
Negative politeness – minimize negative face threat, avoid imposing on hearer.
Off-record – use indirect language, avoid any face threats.

Question 3

Bull 1996

Answer 3

Questions pose “threats to face” – positive and/or negative face. Communicative conflict (CC): If all principal responses present “threats to face.”
“Threats to face” a prime cause of CCs in political interviews.
Analysis of face-threats in political interviews f
New question typology. 19 types of face-threat, 3 superordinate categories: Personal face, Face of the party they represent and Face of significant others.
Two types of question:
CC questions (41%):Equivocation the modal response (64% of questions).
Non-conflictual questions (59%): Answers the modal response (60% of questions).

Question 4

Gnisci 2008

Answer 4

2 Italian interviewers to 13 politicians.
Analysis of 804 questions in terms of:
Coerciveness – closed-ended(polar; declarative)
Face-threats – those which pose CCs.
Closed & open questions (67% & 33%) – similar to UK (72% & 23%, Bull 1994).
CC questions (>30%) cf. UK (40%+, Bull et al., 1996).
CC questions tend to be closed
Face-threats & coercive questioning closely linked.

Question 5

Culpeper 1996

Answer 5

Theory of impoliteness.
Situations – army training, drama.
4 impoliteness strategies:
Bald on record
Positive
Negative
Sarcasm or mock politeness.

Question 6

Harris 2001

Answer 6

Analysis of PMQs:
Intentional and explicitly face-threatening acts (FTAs). Both positive & negative impoliteness. Not only sanctioned but rewarded through an adversarial process.
Strategies:
Disingenuous questions.
Face-threatening presuppositions.
“Will the PM promise straightforwardness and honesty in future health announcements?”

Question 7

Counterfactuals

Answer 7

If the West had not rid Iraq of Saddam Hussein, the crisis in the Middle East would be worse” (Tony Blair)
Antecedent of past event changed hypothetically to alter outcome. Indirect way of defending own face & attacking the face of others.

Question 8

Catellani and Covelli 2013

Answer 8

Pre-electoral broadcasts by the 2 candidates for the Italian premiership
Upward – outcome better
Downward – outcome worse
Control – whether events were under control of the actors.
Upward controllables used more when attacking others. Downward controllables used more in defending self. Upward uncontrollables used more in defending self.