A Dissertation by GRACE HUI-CHIN LIN Submitted to the Office of ...
A Dissertation by GRACE HUI-CHIN LIN Submitted to the Office of ...
A Dissertation by GRACE HUI-CHIN LIN Submitted to the Office of ...
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finally would be able <strong>to</strong> attain <strong>the</strong>ir purpose <strong>of</strong> expressing intended meanings.<br />
Politeness<br />
The issue <strong>of</strong> politeness was mentioned a great deal in <strong>the</strong> first findings <strong>of</strong> this<br />
study. Many students believed that “<strong>to</strong>pic avoidance” was not a very appropriate<br />
strategy, not only because it did not express clearly <strong>the</strong>ir need <strong>to</strong> change <strong>the</strong> <strong>to</strong>pic, but<br />
it could cause confusion in <strong>the</strong> speakers.<br />
Actually, <strong>the</strong> issue <strong>of</strong> politeness in communication was regarded as significant<br />
both in <strong>the</strong> east and west. According <strong>to</strong> Confucius (551-479 BCE), anyone who<br />
possesses <strong>the</strong> fine virtues <strong>of</strong> politeness, <strong>to</strong>lerance, generosity, honesty, diligence, and<br />
benevolence would be regarded as a person <strong>of</strong> humanity. He persuaded Chinese<br />
people <strong>to</strong> be polite because politeness saved one from insults <strong>by</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs. In Analects<br />
<strong>of</strong> Confucius, he noted that, “Without politeness, <strong>the</strong> respectfulness becomes<br />
laborious bustle. Without politeness, <strong>the</strong> carefulness becomes timidity. Without<br />
politeness, <strong>the</strong> courage becomes insubordination. Without politeness, <strong>the</strong> frankness<br />
becomes rudeness” (Confucius, BC 500, Taibo). He argued, “if it is not polite, don’t<br />
listen <strong>to</strong> it; if it is not polite, don’t say it” (Confucius, BC 500, Yenyun).<br />
In comparison, Brown and Levinson (1987) and Leech (1983) in <strong>the</strong> west also<br />
emphasized <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> politeness in communication. Leech (1983) provided<br />
pragmatic principles for gaining politeness in communication. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, Brown<br />
and Levinson (1987) pointed out that if <strong>the</strong> speeches were not articulated in a polite<br />
way, <strong>the</strong>y might cause potential face-threatening situations, especially in <strong>the</strong> speech<br />
acts <strong>of</strong> requests and invitations.<br />
In this study, many students discussed <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> politeness for <strong>the</strong><br />
strategy <strong>of</strong> <strong>to</strong>pic avoidance. Their statement was similar <strong>to</strong> Watts, Ide, and Ehlih’s<br />
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