A student says to a classmate, 'You're so good at this, could you help me with problem five?' The compliment is best described as which strategy?
ABald on record
BPositive politeness
CNegative politeness
DOff record
The compliment appeals to the hearer's positive face, their wish to be liked and approved of, which softens the request. Negative politeness would instead stress not imposing, as in 'Sorry to bother you, but if you have a minute…'
Question 2 Multiple Choice
Which utterance is an off-record way of asking someone to open a window?
AOpen the window.
BCould you open the window, please?
CI'm sorry to ask, but would you mind opening the window?
DWow, it's really stuffy in here.
An off-record strategy leaves the request implicit, so the hearer must infer it. The speaker can later deny having asked. The first choice is bald on record, and the second and third are on-record requests with negative politeness.
Question 3 True / False
In Brown and Levinson's model, a request is generally more face-threatening when the hearer has more power than the speaker.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
The model treats the weight of a face-threatening act as depending on social distance, the hearer's relative power, and the size of the imposition. Asking a boss for a favor is weightier than asking a sibling, so speakers tend to use more redressive strategies.
Question 4 Short Answer
Why is a direct command such as 'Get out!' acceptable when shouted during a fire, even to a stranger?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: In an emergency, efficiency and urgency outweigh face concerns, and the command clearly serves the hearer's interest. Brown and Levinson note that bald-on-record forms are used when maximum efficiency matters more than face.
Politeness strategies are chosen by weighing face against other needs. When speed and clarity are vital, the face threat of a bare imperative is not taken as rude.