The Brown and Levinson theory revisited: A statistical analysis. (July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Song, Sooho
• Is Part Of: Language sciences. Volume 62(2017:Aug.)
• Page Start: 66
• Page End: 75
• Publication Date: 2017-07
• Subjects: Brown and Levin's Politeness Theory -- Social distance -- Power -- Task imposition -- Cultural difference; Linguistics -- Periodicals; Language and languages -- Periodicals; Linguistique -- Périodiques; Langage et langues -- Périodiques; Language and languages; Linguistics; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 405
• DOI: 10.1016/j.langsci.2017.03.006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0388-0001

Abstract

Abstract: The Brown and Levinson (1987) theory posits that the combination of social distance, power ratio, and task imposition determine politeness weightiness perception regardless of the culture. In order to test the effects of culture, I conducted statistical analyses using subjects with American, East Asian, and Latin American cultural backgrounds. The results reveal that task imposition does not have a statistically significant impact on the speaker's determination of politeness weightiness in East Asia while it does in the US and Latin America.