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Linguistic Politeness and Face-Work in Computer Mediated Communication, Part 2: an Application of the Theoretical Framework

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Linguistic Politeness and Face-Work in Computer Mediated Communication, Part 2: an Application of the Theoretical Framework Linguistic Politeness and Face-Work in Computer Mediated Communication, Part 2: An Application of the Theoretical Framework Jung-ran Park College of Information Science and Technology, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA19104. E-mail: [email protected] Analysis of sociointerpersonal communication patterns online discourse participants interact among themselves in among discourse participants is essential to under- the process of presenting arguments, asking for clarification stand the manifestation of and the interpersonal- of misunderstandings, displaying disagreement, and the like. communication features realized in online social interaction. The linguistic politeness theory provides an Such interaction may pose a threat to discourse participants’ effective framework for such an analysis of sociointer- face, or public self-image. Discourse participants there- personal communication features employed by online fore converse with each other while engaging in face-work language users to maintain and enhance their public self- (i.e., a linguisticpoliteness strategy) based on a cognitive image, or face. The qualitative data analysis of this study, assessment of contextual and interpersonal variables such drawn from the real-time, online discussions of K–12 stu- dents, makes evident that interpersonal-communication as power difference and social distance among discourse features appear in the form of politeness tactics. The participants. results of the study show that there is decreased use The analysis of communication and sociointeractional of deferential linguistic forms; on the contrary, a vari- patterns among online discourse participants is essential in ety of verbal and nonverbal devices that denote positive understanding the manifestations of social interaction and the politeness and bald-on-record (i.e., direct speech acts) frequently occur. The commonality of positive politeness interpersonal communication features realized in online dis- and bald-on-record lies in the fact that both tactics are cussion. The linguistic politeness theory provides an effective grounded in the nature of the close interpersonal rela- framework for such an analysis of sociointerpersonal commu- tionships between participants. Such a communication nication among speech participants. However, as described pattern in the real-time, online discourse of K–12 stu- in the first part of this study (Park, 2008), interpersonal dents signifies that cognitive assessment of sociointer- personal and contextual variables undertaken by speech communication patterns over the CMC have been relatively participants underlies the realization of linguistic polite- unexplored in the LIS domain (Mon, 2006; Park, 2007; ness. Employment of such politeness tactics indicates Radford, 2006; Westbrook, 2007). that effective and fully realized interpersonal communica- This study aims to examine the ways in which online- tion plays a vital role in the development of online social discussion participants express their sociointerpersonal interaction. stance while presenting thoughts and arguments in group- discussion forums. Towards this end, the first part of the Introduction study examined the linguisticpoliteness theoreticalframe- The development of communication technologies has work in depth and the way the framework has been used enabled dynamic social interaction through the computer- within the CMC context (Park, 2008). The second part of mediated communication (CMC) channel.Accordingly, there the study aims to apply the linguisticpoliteness theoretical has been rapid growth in multiple genres of social interac- framework to a text-based, synchronous, online-discussion tion through the CMC channel. The use of electronic mail, forum. The following research questions are explored: a type of CMC genre, is today widespread and common in daily communication, social interaction that implicates lin- 1. What methodological merits does the linguistic politeness guistic politeness. That is, as in face-to-face (FtF) interaction, theoretical framework bring to the analysis of sociointer- actional patterns within the CMC context? 2. How do online-discussion participants engage in group Received September 25, 2006; revised May 28, 2008; accepted May 29, discussion to present their thoughts, clarify misunder- 2008 standings, and seek information from other participants? © 2008 ASIS&T • Published online 16 July 2008 in Wiley InterScience 3. What types of interpersonal communication features are (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/asi.20926 realized in online discussion? JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 59(14):2199–2209, 2008 Prior to presenting the data and research methods for this Brown and Levinson (1987) delineated four major cat- study, some of the key aspects of the linguistic politeness egories of politeness strategies: bald-on-record (e.g., direct theoretical framework are briefly reiterated in the following speech act), positive politeness (e.g., solidarity), negative section. politeness (e.g., deference), and off-record (e.g., hint, the most indirect speech act). The realization of politeness strate- gies is dependent on the cognitive assessment of sociointer- Brief Recap of Linguistic Politeness personal variables in a given sociocultural context.According Linguistic politeness can be seen as a strategy for reduc- to the politeness assessment formula of Brown and Levinson, ing interpersonal friction and conflict and as a device that there are three variables: power, distance, and imposition. speech participants use to facilitate smooth social interac- tion (Lakoff, 1973; Leech, 1983). The Brown and Levinson (1987) politeness theoretical framework, which prominently Data and Data-Analysis Method shaped the state of the art of linguisticpoliteness theory, is The Virtual Math Teams (VMT), managed by the Math constituted with politeness principles and strategies for main- Forum at Drexel University, investigate issues related to face taining and enhancing one’s (i.e., publicself-image) online collaborative problem solving. For this, the VMT during social encounters. In everyday language use, such conducted an experiment called powwow, an extension of strategic devices can be easily observed in various verbal the Math Forum’s Problem of the Week (PoW ) service. The and nonverbal expressions and rituals. experimental powwow project explores small-group collabo- For example, in a job setting, a subordinate may be dis- rative learning with minimal support in terms of software.The cussing work-related matters in her supervisor’s office. The project aims at investigating the issues surrounding the ped- subordinate feels cold and wants to have a window closed. agogy of online collaborative learning of mathematics and In this context, the utterance by the subordinate for making a software design. Data for this study were directly derived request to her supervisor (“It’s cold in here.”) is realized as an from the experimental powwow project. indirect speech act by hint together with a nonverbal gesture; The VMT conducted the powwow project using AOL’s a direct command such as “Close the window!” would likely Instant Messenger (AIM) software. For group discussion, vitiate smooth social interaction considering the asymmetri- each participant received his or her screen name through cal power relationship between subordinate and supervisor. the official AIM Web site (http://dashboard.aim.com/aim). In other words, a direct speech act would likely pose a Participants in the chat forum were able to see the screen face threat to the speech participant’s . In this sense, indirect names of their counterparts, which have been de-identified for verbal and nonverbal behaviors reflect the use of linguistic the purposes of the article.The chat forum runs approximately politeness as a strategic device for facilitating social inter- 1to11 hr with math questions from algebra and geometry. action; it can be said that linguistic politeness underlies the 2 The mathematical discourse data of each powwow session interpersonal and interactive function of language use during are recorded as chat logs. The originally recorded chat logs social interaction. consist of the screen name of participants, the time stamp There are two interrelated aspects of face desire. One is the of the posting (e.g., 8:00:16 PM), and utterance (e.g., Hello). positive-face desire that is rooted in involvement, connection, The following excerpt from a powwow session is illustrative: and proximity with others. Scollon and Scollon (1983) used “solidarity” in lieu of positive face. The other is the negative- face desire that is rooted in the independence and autonomy of individuals. According to Scollon and Scollon, “deference” You are now in chat room “powwow1.” is in line with negative face. There are a variety of politeness Pee1 has entered the chat room. strategies that attend to the positive-face desire to be liked Shk has entered the chat room. and appreciated. These include verbal and nonverbal forms Azn has entered the chat room. Life has entered the chat room. encompassing the claiming of common ground such as shared interest and knowledge with the other speech participant, Shk (8:00:16 PM): Hello seeking agreement and avoiding overt disagreement, deliv- Sunshine has entered the chat room. Life (8:00:23 PM): hey ering compliments, showing interest, approval, or sympathy, Pee1 (8:00:27 PM): hello there old chap and using in-group identity markers such
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