Home How (not) to be rude: Facilitatingthe acquisition of L2 (im)politeness
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

How (not) to be rude: Facilitatingthe acquisition of L2 (im)politeness

  • Caroline L. Rieger

    Caroline L. Rieger is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada. She has published on self-repair of bilinguals, self-repair of language learners, the teaching of conversational features, (im)politeness, laughter in interaction, and intercultural competence. More recently she has ventured into translation studies and communication in health care. She continues to work on interlanguage pragmatics and on (im)politeness.

     EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: November 30, 2018
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill
Author Information
Intercultural Pragmatics
From the journal Intercultural Pragmatics Volume 15 Issue 5

Abstract

This article argues for frequent targeted teaching of relational language use or (im)politeness in the L2 classroom. The approach presented here draws on authentic data in the target language and in the language of instruction, which are readily available online. It encourages the learner to make use of their multilingual resources and is exploratory in nature, allowing for a deep engagement with (im)politeness, viz., an extensive array of semiotic features invested in the co-construction of social relations in every social interaction. Working at the interface of (im)politeness studies, intercultural pragmatics, interlanguage pragmatics, and language pedagogy, and undertaken from the perspective of interpersonal pragmatics and relational work, the qualitative analysis focuses on the collaborative work products from participatory learning activities of intermediate to advanced learners of German at a large North-American university. Results show the learners’ raised awareness and broadened knowledge. In particular, learners became aware that what is judged as (im)polite is dependent on the relationship of the interactants, the gender of the interactants, the sociocultural background, norms, values, and believes of the interactants, the context of the interaction, the affiliations of the evaluator, the sociocultural background, norms, values, and believes of the evaluator, etc. Results also suggest that some of the learners need to develop their pragmalinguistic skills further to fully participate in the evaluation of pragmatically rich target language discourse. Additional studies are needed to explore the impact on the learners’ interactional competence.

Keywords: L2 politeness teaching; L2 impoliteness teaching; L2 pragmatics; intercultural interaction; relational work; German

About the author

Caroline L. Rieger

Caroline L. Rieger is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada. She has published on self-repair of bilinguals, self-repair of language learners, the teaching of conversational features, (im)politeness, laughter in interaction, and intercultural competence. More recently she has ventured into translation studies and communication in health care. She continues to work on interlanguage pragmatics and on (im)politeness.

References

Agha, Asif. 2007. Language and social relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Arendholz, Jenny. 2013. (In)appropriate online behavior: A pragmatic analysis of message board relations (Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 229). Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.10.1075/pbns.229Search in Google Scholar

Atkinson, Dwight. 2002. Towards a sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition. The Modern Language Journal 86(4). 525−545.10.1111/1540-4781.00159Search in Google Scholar

Bardovi-Harlig, K. 2013. Developing L2 pragmatics. Language Learning 63(Supplement 1). 68−86.10.1111/j.1467-9922.2012.00738.xSearch in Google Scholar

Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen. 1999. Exploring the interlanguage of interlanguage pragmatics: A research agenda for acquisitional pragmatics. Language Learning 49(4). 677−713.10.1111/0023-8333.00105Search in Google Scholar

Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen. 2001. Evaluating the empirical evidence: Grounds for instructions in pragmatics? In Kenneth R. Rose & Gabriele Kasper (eds.), Pragmatics in language teaching, 13−32. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9781139524797.005Search in Google Scholar

Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen & Robert Griffin. 2005. L2 pragmatic awareness: Evidence from the ESL classroom. System 33(3). 401–415.10.1016/j.system.2005.06.004Search in Google Scholar

Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen, B. A. S. Hartford, R. Mahan-Taylor, M. J. Morgan & D. W. Reynolds. 1991. Developing pragmatic awareness: Closing the conversation. ELT Journal 45(1). 4−15.10.1093/elt/45.1.4Search in Google Scholar

Barraja-Rohan, Anne-Marie. 2011. Using conversation analysis in the second language classroom to teach interactional competence. Language Teaching Research 15(4). 479–507.10.1177/1362168811412878Search in Google Scholar

Béal, Christine. 1994. Keeping the peace: A cross-cultural comparison of questions and requests in Australian English and French. Multilingua 13(1−2). 35−58.10.1515/mult.1994.13.1-2.35Search in Google Scholar

Beebe, Leslie M. 1995. Polite fictions: Instrumental rudeness as pragmatic competence. In James E. Alatis, Carolyn A. Straehle, Brent Gallenberger & Maggie Ronkin (eds.), Linguistics and the education of language teachers: Ethnolinguistic, psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic aspects (Georgetown University Roundtable on Language and Linguistics 1995), 154−168. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Bella, Spyridoula, Maria Sifianou & Angeliki Tzanne. 2015. Teaching politeness?. In Barbara Pizziconi & Miriam A. Locher (eds.), Teaching and learning (im)politeness (Trends in Applied Linguistics 22), 23−51. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9781501501654-003Search in Google Scholar

Betz, Emma M. & Thorsten Huth. 2014. Beyond grammar: Teaching interaction in the German language classroom. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German 47(2). 140−163.10.1111/tger.10167Search in Google Scholar

Blum-Kulka, Shoshana. 1987. Indirectness and politeness in requests: Same or different?. Journal of Pragmatics 11(2). 131−146.10.1016/0378-2166(87)90192-5Search in Google Scholar

Brown, Penelope & Stephen C. Levinson. 1978. Universals in language usage: Politeness phenomena. In Esther Goody (ed.), Questions and politeness: Strategies in social interaction (Cambridge Papers in Social Anthropology 8), 56−289. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Brown, Penelope & Stephen C. Levinson. 1987. Politeness. Some universals in language usage (Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics 4). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511813085Search in Google Scholar

Bush creeps out German chancellor, controversial footage. YouTube. 19 July 2006. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTQY1Aw9zcs (accessed 15 July 2016).Search in Google Scholar

Carbaugh, Donal A. 2005. Cultures in conversation. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Search in Google Scholar

Clyne, Michael. 2006. Some thoughts on pragmatics, sociolinguistic variation, and intercultural communication. Intercultural Pragmatics 3(1). 95–105.10.1515/IP.2006.005Search in Google Scholar

Council of Europe. 2001. Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Culpeper, Jonathan. 2011. Impoliteness: Using language to cause offence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511975752Search in Google Scholar

Dijk, Teun A. van. 1977. Context and cognition: Knowledge frames and speech act comprehension. Journal of Pragmatics 1(3). 211−232.10.1016/0378-2166(77)90035-2Search in Google Scholar

Eckert, Penelope & Sally McConnell-Ginet. 1992. Think practically and look locally: Language and gender as community-based practice. Annual Review of Anthropology 21. 461−490.10.1146/annurev.an.21.100192.002333Search in Google Scholar

Eckert, Penelope & Sally McConnell-Ginet. 1998. Communities of practice: Where language, gender and power all live. In Jennifer Coates (ed.), Language and gender: A reader, 484−494. Oxford: Blackwell.Search in Google Scholar

Eelen, Gino. 2001. A critique of politeness theories. Manchester: St Jerome Publishing.Search in Google Scholar

Ehrhardt, Claus. 2009. Netiquette zwischen Anspruch und Wirklichkeit Höflichkeit in deutschen und italienischen Internetforen [Netiquette between demands and reality: Politeness in German and Italian Internet fora]. In Claus Ehrhardt & Eva Neuland (eds.), Sprachliche Höflichkeit in interkultureller Kommunikation und im DaF-Unterricht [Linguistic politeness in intercultural communication and in German-as-a-foreign-language instruction] (Sprache – Kommunikation – Kultur 7), 171−189. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.10.3726/978-3-653-01068-8Search in Google Scholar

Fukushima, Saeko & Maria Sifianou. 2017. Conceptualizing politeness in Japanese and Greek. Intercultural Pragmatics 14(4). 525−555.10.1515/ip-2017-0024Search in Google Scholar

Goffman, Erving. 1967. Interactional rituals: Essays on face–To–Face behavior. New York: Doubleday.Search in Google Scholar

Haugh, Michael. 2007. The discursive challenge to politeness research: An interactional alternative. Journal of Politeness Research 3(2). 295−317.10.1515/PR.2007.013Search in Google Scholar

Haugh, Michael & Wei-Lin Melody Chang. 2013. Collaborative creation of spoken language corpora. In Tim Greer, Yuriko Kite & Donna Tatsuki (eds.), Pragmatics and language learning. Volume 13, 133–159. Honolulu: National Foreign Language Resource Centre, University of Hawai’i.Search in Google Scholar

Haugh, Michael & Wei-Lin Melody Chang. 2015. Understanding im/politeness across cultures: An interactional approach to raising sociopragmatic awareness. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 53(4). 389−414.10.1515/iral-2015-0018Search in Google Scholar

Haugh, Michael, Dániel Z. Kádár & Sara Mills. 2013. Interpersonal pragmatics: Issues and debates. Journal of Pragmatics 58(1). 1−11.10.1016/j.pragma.2013.09.009Search in Google Scholar

House, Juliane. 1996. Developing pragmatic fluency in English as a foreign language: Routines and metapragmatic awareness. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 18(2). 225−252.10.1017/S0272263100014893Search in Google Scholar

House, Juliane. 2015. Epilogue: Impoliteness in learning and teaching. In Barbara Pizziconi & Miriam A. Locher (eds.), Teaching and learning (im)politeness (Trends in Applied Linguistics 22), 247−254. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9781501501654-010Search in Google Scholar

Huth, Thorsten. 2006. Negotiating structure and culture: L2 learners’ realization of L2 compliment-response sequences in talk-in-interaction. Journal of Pragmatics 38(12). 2025–2050.10.1016/j.pragma.2006.04.010Search in Google Scholar

Huth, Thorsten. 2007. Pragmatics revisited: Teaching with natural language data. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German 40(1). 21−33.10.1111/j.1756-1221.2007.tb00027.xSearch in Google Scholar

Huth, Thorsten. 2010. Intercultural competence in conversation: Teaching German requests. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German 43(2). 154−164.10.1111/j.1756-1221.2010.00077.xSearch in Google Scholar

Huth, Thorsten & Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm. 2006. How can insights from conversation analysis be directly applied to teaching L2 pragmatics?. Language Teaching Research 10(1). 53–79.10.1191/1362168806lr184oaSearch in Google Scholar

Ide, Sachiko, Beverly Hill, Yukiko M. Carnes, Tsunao Ogino & Akiko Kawasaki. 1992. The concept of politeness: An empirical study of American English and Japanese. In Richard J. Watts, Sachiko Ide & Konrad Ehlich (eds.), Politeness in language: Studies in its history, theory and practice, 281−298. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110886542Search in Google Scholar

Jucker, Andreas H. 2012. Changes in politeness cultures. In Terttu Nevalainen & Elizabeth Closs Traugott (eds.), The Oxford handbook of the history of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199922765.013.0036.Search in Google Scholar

Kádár, Dániel Z. & Michael Haugh. 2013. Understanding politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9781139382717Search in Google Scholar

Kasper, Gabriele. 1992. Pragmatic transfer. Second Language Research 8(3). 203−231.10.1177/026765839200800303Search in Google Scholar

Kasper, Gabriele. 1997. Can pragmatic competence be taught? NetWork #6 [HTML document]. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i, Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center.http://www.nflrc.hawaii.edu/NetWorks/NW06/ (accessed 15 July 2016).).Search in Google Scholar

Kasper, Gabriele & Carsten Roever. 2005. Pragmatics in second language learning. In Eli Hinkel (ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning, 317−334. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Search in Google Scholar

Kasper, Gabriele & Kenneth R. Rose. 2001. Introduction. In Kenneth R. Rose & Gabriele Kasper (eds.), Pragmatics in language teaching, 1−9. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9781139524797Search in Google Scholar

Kasper, Gabriele & Kenneth R. Rose. 2002. Pragmatic development in a second language. Oxford: Blackwell.Search in Google Scholar

Kasper, Gabriele & Richard Schmidt. 1996. Developmental issues in interlanguage pragmatics. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 18(2). 149−169.10.1017/S0272263100014868Search in Google Scholar

Kecskes, Istvan. 2015. Intercultural impoliteness. Journal of Pragmatics 86(1). 43−47.10.1016/j.pragma.2015.05.023Search in Google Scholar

Kecskes, Istvan. 2017. Context-sensitivity in intercultural impoliteness. Journal of Politeness Research 13(1). 7−33.10.1515/pr-2015-0019Search in Google Scholar

Kinginger, Celeste & Julie A. Belz. 2005. Socio-cultural perspectives on pragmatic development in foreign language learning: Microgenetic case studies from telecollaboration and residence abroad. Intercultural Pragmatics 2(4). 369−421.10.1515/iprg.2005.2.4.369Search in Google Scholar

Lakoff, Robin. 1973. The logic of politeness; or minding your p’s and q’s. In T. Claudia Corum, Cedric Smith-Stark & Ann Weiser (eds.), Papers from the Ninth Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society, 292−305. Chicago: Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago.Search in Google Scholar

Lakoff, Robin. 1990. Talking power: The politics of language in our lives. New York: Basic Books.Search in Google Scholar

Lave, Jean & Etienne Wenger. 1991. Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511815355Search in Google Scholar

Leech, Geoffrey. 1983. Principles of pragmatics. New York: Longman.Search in Google Scholar

Liddicoat, Anthony J. 2014. Pragmatics and intercultural mediation in intercultural language learning. Intercultural Pragmatics 11(2). 259−277.10.1515/ip-2014-0011Search in Google Scholar

Locher, Miriam A. 2004. Power and politeness in action: Disagreements in oral communication. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110926552Search in Google Scholar

Locher, Miriam A. 2006. Polite behavior within relational work: The discursive approach to politeness. Multilingua 25(3). 249−267.10.1515/MULTI.2006.015Search in Google Scholar

Locher, Miriam A. 2010. Introduction: Politeness and impoliteness in computer-mediated communication. Journal of Politeness Research 6(1). 1−5.10.1515/jplr.2010.001Search in Google Scholar

Locher, Miriam A. 2011. Situated impoliteness: The interface between relational work and identity construction. In Bethan L. Davies, Michael Haugh & Andrew John Merrison (eds.), Situated politeness, 187−208. London: Continuum.Search in Google Scholar

Locher, Miriam A. 2012. Politeness research from past to future, with a special focus on the discursive approach. In Lucía Fernández-Amaya, Maria de la O Hernández López, Reyes Gómez Morón, Manuel Padilla Cruz, Manuel Mejias Borrero & Mariana Relinque Barranca (eds.), New perspectives on (im)politeness and interpersonal communication, 36−60. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars.Search in Google Scholar

Locher, Miriam A. 2013. Politeness. In Carol A. Chapelle (ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell. doi:10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0916.Search in Google Scholar

Locher, Miriam A. 2015. “After all, the last thing I wanted to be is rude”: Raising of pragmatic awareness through reflective writing. In Barbara Pizziconi & Miriam A. Locher (eds.), Teaching and learning (im)politeness (Trends in Applied Linguistics 22), 185−209. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9781501501654-008Search in Google Scholar

Locher, Miriam A., Brook Bolander & Nicole Höhn. 2015. Introducing relational work in Facebook and discussion boards. Pragmatics 25(1). 1−21.10.1075/prag.25.1.01locSearch in Google Scholar

Locher, Miriam A. & Sage L. Graham. 2010. Introduction to interpersonal pragmatics. In Miriam A. Locher & Sage L. Graham (eds.), Interpersonal pragmatics (Handbooks of Pragmatics 6), 1−13. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110214338Search in Google Scholar

Locher, Miriam A. & Richard J. Watts. 2005. Politeness theory and relational work. Journal of Politeness Research 1(1). 9−33.10.1515/jplr.2005.1.1.9Search in Google Scholar

Locher, Miriam A. & Richard J. Watts. 2008. Relational work and impoliteness: Negotiating norms of linguistic behavior. In Derek Bousfield & Miriam A. Locher (eds.), Impoliteness in language. Studies on its interplay with power in theory and practice (Language, Power and Social Process 21), 77−99. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.Search in Google Scholar

Mills, Sara. 2003. Gender and politeness (Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics 17). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Mills, Sara. 2005. Gender and impoliteness. Journal of Politeness Research 1(2). 263−280.10.1515/jplr.2005.1.2.263Search in Google Scholar

Mills, Sara. 2009. Impoliteness in a cultural context. Journal of Pragmatics 41(5). 1047−1060.10.1016/j.pragma.2008.10.014Search in Google Scholar

Mills, Sara. 2010. Impoliteness. In Patrick Griffiths, Andrew John Merrison & Aileen Bloomer (eds.), Language in use: A reader, 59−68. London: Routledge.10.4324/9781003060994-6Search in Google Scholar

Mills, Sara. 2011. Discursive approaches to politeness and impoliteness. In Linguistic Politeness Research Group (ed.), Discursive approaches to politeness, 19−56. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110238679.19Search in Google Scholar

MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Foreign Languages. 2007. Foreign languages and higher education: New structures for a changing world. https://www.mla.org/Resources/Research/Surveys-Reports-and-Other-Documents/Teaching-Enrollments-and-Programs/Foreign-Languages-and-Higher-Education-New-Structures-for-a-Changed-World (accessed 15 July 2016).10.1632/prof.2007.2007.1.234Search in Google Scholar

O’Keeffe, Anne, Brian Clancy & Svenja Adolphs. 2011. Introducing pragmatics in use. London: Routledge.10.4324/9780203830949Search in Google Scholar

Olstain, Elite & Andrew D. Cohen. 1991. Teaching speech act behavior to nonnative speakers. In Marianne Celce-Murcia (ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language, 154−165. Boston, MA: Newbury House.Search in Google Scholar

Pizziconi, Barbara. 2015. Teaching and learning (im)politeness: A look at the CEFR and pedagogical research. In Barbara Pizziconi & Miriam A. Locher (eds.), Teaching and learning (im)politeness (Trends in Applied Linguistics 22), 113−151. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9781501501654-006Search in Google Scholar

Pizziconi, Barbara & Miriam A. Locher. 2015. Introducing the ‘teaching’ and ‘learning’ of (im)politeness. In Barbara Pizziconi & Miriam A. Locher (eds.), Teaching and learning (im)politeness (Trends in Applied Linguistics 22), 1−19. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9781501501654Search in Google Scholar

Rieger, Caroline L. 2007. Artificial versus authentic textbook dialogues: Reviewing conversation in the intercultural foreign language classroom. In Christoph Lorey, John L. Plews & Caroline L. Rieger (eds.), Intercultural Literacies and German in the Classroom. Festschrift für Manfred Prokop (Giessener Beiträge zur Fremdsprachendidaktik), 249−278. Tübingen: Narr.Search in Google Scholar

Rieger, Caroline L. 2015. (Im)politeness and L2 socialization: Using reactions from online fora to a world leader’s ‘impolite’ behavior. In Barbara Pizziconi & Miriam A. Locher (eds.), Teaching and learning (im)politeness (Trends in Applied Linguistics 22), 79−111. Berlin & NewYork: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9781501501654-005Search in Google Scholar

Rieger, Caroline L. 2017. Analyzing online postings as social behavior for L2 instruction of (im)politeness: Sensitizing advanced learners of German or English. Journal of Politeness Research 13(2). 345−377.10.1515/pr-2015-0029Search in Google Scholar

Schmidt, Richard. 1993. Consciousness, learning and interlanguage pragmatics. In Gabriele Kasper & Shoshana Blum-Kulka (eds.), Interlanguage pragmatics, 21–42. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Scialdone, Maria Paola. 2009. Sprachliche Höflichkeit in interkulturellen DaF-Lehrwerken deutsch-italienisch: Ein kritischer Überblick. [Linguistic politeness in intercultural German-as-a-foreign-language German-Italien textbooks: A critical overview.]. In Claus Ehrhardt & Eva Neuland (eds.), Sprachliche Höflichkeit in interkultureller Kommunikation und im DaF-Unterricht [Linguistic politeness in intercultural communication and in German-as-a-foreign-language instruction] (Sprache – Kommunikation – Kultur. Soziolinguistische Beiträge 7), 283−299. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.Search in Google Scholar

Siegal, Meryl. 1996. The role of learner subjectivity in second language sociolinguistic competency: Western women learning Japanese. Applied Linguistics 17(3). 356−382.10.1093/applin/17.3.356Search in Google Scholar

Spencer-Oatey, Helen. 2000. Rapport management: A framework for analysis. In Helen Spencer-Oatey (ed.), Culturally speaking: Managing rapport through talk across cultures, 11−46. London: Continuum.10.5040/9781350934085Search in Google Scholar

Spencer-Oatey, Helen. 2005. (Im)politeness, face and perceptions of rapport: Unpackaging their bases and interrelationships. Journal of Politeness Research 1(1). 95−119.10.1515/jplr.2005.1.1.95Search in Google Scholar

Taguchi, Naoko. 2008. Cognition, language contact and the development of pragmatic comprehension in a study-abroad context. Language Learning 58(1). 33−71.10.1111/j.1467-9922.2007.00434.xSearch in Google Scholar

Taguchi, Naoko. 2011. Teaching pragmatics: Trends and issues. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 31. 289−310.10.1017/S0267190511000018Search in Google Scholar

Taguchi, Naoko. 2015. Instructed pragmatics at a glance: Where instructional studies were, are, and should be going in interlanguage pragmatics. Language Teaching 48(1). 1−5.10.1017/S0261444814000263Search in Google Scholar

Taleghani-Nikazm, Carmen & Andrea Golato. 2016. Jaja in spoken German: Managing knowledge expectations. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German 49(1). 80−96.10.1111/tger.10213Search in Google Scholar

Tannen, Deborah. 2005. Interactional sociolinguistics as a resource for intercultural pragmatics. Intercultural Pragmatics 2(2). 205−208.10.1515/iprg.2005.2.2.205Search in Google Scholar

The Douglas Fir Group. 2016. A transdisciplinary framework for SLA in a multilingual world. The Modern Language Journal 100(1). 19−47.10.1111/modl.12301Search in Google Scholar

Thornbury, Scott & Diana Slade. 2006. Conversation: From description to pedagogy. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511733123Search in Google Scholar

van Compernolle, Rémi A. 2011. Developing second language sociopragmatic knowledge through concept-based instruction: A microgenetic case study. Journal of Pragmatics 43(13). 3267−3283.10.1016/j.pragma.2011.06.009Search in Google Scholar

van Compernolle, Rémi A. 2014. Sociocultural theory and L2 instructional pragmatics. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.10.21832/9781783091409Search in Google Scholar

van Compernolle, Rémi A. & Ashlie Henery. 2014. Instructed concept appropriation and L2 pragmatic development in the classroom. Language Learning 64(3). 549−578.10.1111/lang.12054Search in Google Scholar

van Compernolle, Rémi A. & Ashlie Henery. 2015. Learning to do concept-based pragmatics instruction: Teacher development and L2 pedagogical content knowledge. Language Teaching Research 19(3). 351–372.10.1177/1362168814541719Search in Google Scholar

van Compernolle, Rémi A., Ashley Weber & Maria Pia Gomez-Laich. 2016. Teaching L2 Spanish sociopragmatics through concepts: A classroom-based study. The Modern Language Journal 100(1). 341−361.10.1111/modl.12318Search in Google Scholar

van der Bom, Isabelle & Sara Mills. 2015. A discursive approach to the analysis of politeness data. Journal of Politeness Research 11(2). 179−206.10.1515/pr-2015-0008Search in Google Scholar

Watts, Richard J. 1989. Relevance and relational work: Linguistic politeness as politic behavior. Multilingua 8(2−3). 131−166.10.1515/mult.1989.8.2-3.131Search in Google Scholar

Watts, Richard J. 2003. Politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511615184Search in Google Scholar

Watts, Richard J. 2005. Linguistic politeness research. Quo vadis?. In Richard J. Watts, Sachiko Ide & Konrad Ehlich (eds.), Politeness in language: Studies in its history, theory and practice, 2nd edn., xi–xlvii Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110199819Search in Google Scholar

Watts, Richard J. 2008. Rudeness, conceptual blending theory and relational work. Journal of Politeness Research 4(2). 289−317.10.1515/JPLR.2008.014Search in Google Scholar

Wolfson, Nessa. 1989. Perspectives: Sociolinguistics and TESOL. New York: Newbury House.Search in Google Scholar

Yu, Kyong-Ae. 2002. Culture-specific concepts of politeness: The Korean concept of gongshonhada is different from the American English concept of polite and from the Japanese concept of teineina. Korean Journal of Applied Linguistics 18(2). 41−60.Search in Google Scholar

Yu, Kyong-Ae. 2011. Culture-specific concepts of politeness: Indirectness and politeness in English, Hebrew and Korean requests. Intercultural Pragmatics 8(3). 385−409.10.1515/iprg.2011.018Search in Google Scholar

Appendix

List of English and German comments used

Kommentare Anderer vom Internet (Comments by Third Parties from the Internet)

Von YouTube und anderen Webseiten (From YouTube and Other Websites)

  1. To any Germans reading this.

    I am so sorry.

    signed America.

  2. (A president ought to know enough not use an expletive in a fairly open meeting) [12] and almost any male alive today knows that you don’t offer uninvited massages to any female, much less the chancellor of Germany.

  3. He’s such an asshole and a bully. It’s just insane that so much of the country would rather have a (mostly fake) “regular guy” as president, rather than someone who knows enough not to make the country a laughingstock on a regular basis.

  4. Bush is a Texan. Texans hug one another, kiss one another, place their hands on other’s shoulders, and give hand squeezes all the time. You libs are always talking about understanding the culture of others and it’s time for you to start understanding Texas culture. We’re not cold and frigid like you Yankees are.

  5. This isn’t a Sigma Chi kegger, it’s the G8 Summit, for hell’s sakes, and these are two heads of state having a meeting, interrupted by the Frat Boy in Chief acting like a juvenile goober.

  6. I just can’t find the words to describe what Bush did with that neck massage. An idiot by true definition of the word.

  7. Speaking as a female, I have to say that I hate being in the position at a party or at a business gathering and there is an obnoxious male who doesn’t know the appropriate boundaries toward other humans. They say inappropriate things or touch inappropriately.

  8. Another thought re the Merkel grope: she was way too fawningly chummy with him in Germany and failed to establish boundaries (doubtless not fully realizing the extent of his true psychopathy). I am sure she now realizes the need for such with this drugged-up psycho and won’t get fooled again (as they say).

    NOT blaming the victim – just sayin.

  9. last night, a commenter had in English what AngieBabes shoulda said to the Preznit — in German it can be loosely rendered as Erhalten Sie Ihren schmutzigen Tatzen das Bumsen weg von mir bevor I cockpunch Sie in folgende Woche und schieben Sie diese Wasserflasche herauf Ihren Esel, Sie betrunken wenig Stichel! [13]

    PS — this the English original: “get your filthy paws the fuck off of me before I cockpunch you into next week and shove this water bottle up your ass, you drunken little prick.”

  10. OMG it was nothing, it’s so sad that being human is becoming “inappropriate”. (I VOTED AGAINST BUSH IN BOTH ELECTIONS TOO!)

  11. Hallo,ich finde, daß George W. Bush einfach nicht weiß, wie man sich benimmt. So etwas Bescheuertes kann auch nur er tun!Aber sexuelle Belästigung ist das noch lange nicht, eher unpassende aber “gut” gemeinte Freundlichkeit zur falschen Zeit am falschen Ort. Ist doch aber ganz gut, daß die Amerikaner immer wieder präsentiert bekommen, wen sie da verdammtnochmal leider gewählt haben!

    Gruß, [Name]

    (Hello,

    I think George W. Bush just doesn’t know how to behave properly. Only he can do something so stupid! But it is not sexual harassment, not by a long shot, rather inappropriate, but “well” intended friendliness at the wrong place at the wrong time. It is however a very good thing that the Americans get to see on a regular basis whom the hell they have voted for unfortunately!

    Greetings, [name])

  12. Weder das eine, noch das andere. Aber man sollte vielleicht Angela Merkel fragen, wie sie es empfunden hat. Für mich war es eine Geste unter Freunden.

    (Neither one nor the other [as a response to the question of whether Bush’s behavior can be seen as an error of judgment or as sexual harassment]. Maybe Angela Merkel should be asked how she felt about it. For me, it was a friendly gesture [literally: a gesture among friends].)

  13. Stimme dem zu. Ich sehe das auch als freundschaftliche Geste. Frau Merkel hätte da nicht so geschockt reagieren brauchen.

    (Agreed. To me it is also a friendly gesture. Ms Merkel didn’t need to react so shocked though.)

  14. …aber eine recht plumpe “Geste” wie ich finde. Frau Merkel sah im übrigen nicht so glücklich aus, wie man beobachten konnte. Schade das sie Bush nicht gleich eine gescheuert hat

    (…but a very insensitive “gesture” I think. By the way, Ms Merkel did not look so happy, as one could observe. Too bad she did not slap Bush at that point)

  15. auf den Gedanken das dass eine Frau sein könnte was uns da regiert bin ich in der Tat noch nicht gekommen.

    Alles eine Geschmacksfrage.

    Auf jedenfall zeigt das Verhalten Bushs das er die Merkel nicht ernst nimmt, geschweige denn Respektiert.

    Beim Schrödi hätte er das nicht gewagt, genau wie er es bei Blair nicht wagen wird

    (so far the thought has indeed not yet crossed my mind that which [de-personalized relative pronoun] is governing us is a woman.

    All a question of taste.

    In any case, Bush’s behavior shows that he does not take Merkel [literally the Merkel, emphasizing the missing title, Chancellor, or address, Frau/Ms.] seriously let alone respect her.

    He would not have dared to do this to Schrödi [nickname for former Chancellor Schröder] just like he won’t dare to do this to Blair.)

  16. ein sexueller übergriff auf frau merkel? soll das ein witz sein? welcher mensch würde vesuchen sich sexuell an frau merkel zu vergreifen? ein gestörter? der amerikanische präsident – ein gestörter? na wenn das so ist…

    (sexual harassment of ms merkel? is that supposed to be a joke? which human would try to sexually harass ms merkel? an insane one? the american president is insane? oh, I see…)

  17. Die Geste war unangemessen, jedenfalls in dem Rahmen in dem sie stattgefunden hat. Wie gut das persönliche Verhältnis zwischen Merkel und Bush ist weiss ich nicht, aber es kann durchaus ein freundschaftliche Geste gewesen sein.

    (The gesture was inappropriate, at least in that context it was. I do not know how good the personal relationship between Merkel and Bush is, but it is quite possible that it was a friendly gesture.)

  18. In kulturspezifischen Verhaltensfragen ist GWB recht unsicher. Um bei Merkel zu punkten, hat er sich gründlich mit den deutschen Ritualen des Frohsinns beschäftigt.

    Dabei konnte ihm das deutsche Standard-Werk der ausgelassenen Heiterkeit, die "Polonäse Blankenese" nicht verschlossen bleiben.

    “Wir ziehen los mit ganz großen Schritten,

    und Erwin fasst die Heidi von hinten an die Ä… Schulter,

    das hebt die Stimmung,

    ja da kommt Freude auf”.

    Leider hat er die Passage mit der Schulter nicht ganz richtig verstanden. Eigentlich schade, sonst hätten wir jetzt bestimmt genügend Stoff, um damit die nächsten 10 Sommerlöcher abzudecken.

    (GWB is quite insecure when it comes to issues of culturally appropriate behavior. To score with Merkel he studied German rituals of cheerfulness quite extensively. In doing so he must have come across the mother of all jolly songs: “Polonäse Blankenese”

    “We set off with very large steps,

    and Erwin is touching Heidi’s … uh shoulder from behind,

    that lightens the mood

    yes, it’s a joy to see.”

    Unfortunately he didn’t quite get the part about the shoulder. Which is actually too bad, or else we would surely have enough material to fill 10 silly seasons.)

  19. Jede Wette, der Kerl hat wieder ordentlich gesoffen. Da er sich dann verbal eh net mehr ordentlich ausdrücken konnte, hat er sich halt gedacht “So jetzt drück ich dich mal so richtig du duftes Mäddel du” … ich versteh nur net, warum Angie da so schüchtern reagiert – während der WM hat sie schließlich noch jeden abgeknutscht, der ihr vor die Schnüss kam 8)

    (I’ll bet you anything that guy was on the booze again. Then he can’t properly communicate anymore and so he just thought to himself “Well I will just hug you tight you smashing gal you” … I just don’t understand why Angie is so shy about it – after all during the World Cup she was canoodling with anyone who came close to her 8)

Published Online: 2018-11-30
Published in Print: 2018-11-27

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  3. The interactional achievement of speaker meaning: Toward a formal account of conversational inference
  4. Emotive misunderstanding within an extended relevance theory
  5. How (not) to be rude: Facilitatingthe acquisition of L2 (im)politeness
  6. Forum
  7. Reconstructing the Politeness Principle in Chinese: A response to Gu’s approach
  8. Book Reviews
  9. Edda Weigand: The Routledge Handbook of Language and Dialogue
  10. Jan Zienkowski Jan-Ola Östman Jef Verschueren: Discursive Pragmatics: Handbook of Pragmatics Highlights
https://doi.org/10.1515/ip-2018-0023
Keywords for this article
L2 politeness teaching; L2 impoliteness teaching; L2 pragmatics; intercultural interaction; relational work; German

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  3. The interactional achievement of speaker meaning: Toward a formal account of conversational inference
  4. Emotive misunderstanding within an extended relevance theory
  5. How (not) to be rude: Facilitatingthe acquisition of L2 (im)politeness
  6. Forum
  7. Reconstructing the Politeness Principle in Chinese: A response to Gu’s approach
  8. Book Reviews
  9. Edda Weigand: The Routledge Handbook of Language and Dialogue
  10. Jan Zienkowski Jan-Ola Östman Jef Verschueren: Discursive Pragmatics: Handbook of Pragmatics Highlights
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 19.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/ip-2018-0023/html?lang=en
Scroll to top button