The Development and Classification of Politeness Theory

The development of politeness theory can be divided into the following stages:

1. Brown and Levenshtein's face theory: In 196s, Irving Goffman put forward the concept of "face", and Brown and Levenshtein put forward the face theory on this basis.

2. Grims's theory of universal language act: In 197s, Grims put forward the theory of universal language act, and he thought politeness was a pragmatic strategy.

3. Brown and Levenshtein's theory of face and politeness: In 198s, Brown and Levenshtein combined face theory with universal speech act theory and put forward face and politeness theory.

4. Paterson's social competence model: In 199s, Paterson thought politeness was a skill that people showed in social interaction.

The classification of politeness theory can be divided into the following categories:

1. Classification of politeness strategies: According to the purpose and effect of language behavior, politeness strategies are divided into positive strategies and negative strategies.

2. Classification of politeness principles: According to different politeness principles, politeness behavior is divided into six principles.

3. Classification of pragmatic functions of politeness strategies: According to different pragmatic functions, politeness strategies are classified into various functions.

4. Cultural differences classification of politeness strategies: According to the differences of politeness behaviors in different cultural backgrounds, politeness strategies are divided into direct and indirect types.