The second edition of this collection of 13 original papers contains an updated introductory section detailing the significance that the original articles published in 1992 have for the further development of research into linguistic politeness into the 21st century.

The original articles focus on the phenomenon of politeness in language. They present the most important problems in developing a theory of linguistic politeness, which must deal with the crucial differences between lay notions of politeness in different cultures and the term 'politeness' as a concept within a theory of linguistic politeness. The universal validity of the term itself is called into question, as are models such as those developed by Brown and Levinson, Lakoff, and Leech. New approaches are suggested.

In addition to this theoretical discussion, an empirical section presents a number of case studies and research projects in linguistic politeness. These show what has been achieved within current models and what still remains to be done, in particular with reference to cross-cultural studies in politeness and differences between a Western and a non-Western approach to the subject.

The publication of the second edition demonstrates that the significance of the collection is just as salient in the first decade of the new millennium as it was at the beginning of the 1990s.

Contents

Preface, Contributors

Linguistic politeness research: Quo vadis? Richard J. Watts

Introduction Richard J. Watts, Sachiko Ide and Konrad Ehlich

Part 1: The Theory and History of Linguistic Politeness

Chapter 1 Intracultural tact versus intercultural tact Richard W. Janney and Horst Arndt

Chapter 2 Linguistic politeness and politic verbal behaviour: Reconsidering claims for universality Richard J. Watts

Chapter 3 On the historicity of politeness Konrad Ehlich

Chapter 4 Literary texts and diachronic aspects of politeness Roger D. Sell

Chapter 5 Politeness in linguistic research Gudrun Held

Chapter 6 Traditional and modern views: The social constitution and power of politeness Konrad T. Werkhofer

Part 2: Empirical Studies in Politeness

Chapter 7 Secondhand politeness Annelie Knapp-Potthoff

Chapter 8 Between matter-of-factness and politeness Judith Stalpers

Chapter 9 Children’s understanding of white lies Sabine Walper and Renate Valtin

Part 3: Politeness in a Non-Western Cultural Setting

Chapter 10 The metapragmatics of politeness in Israeli society Shoshana Blum-Kulka

Chapter 11 The concept of politeness: An empirical study of American English and Japanese Sachiko Ide, Berverly Hill, Yukiko M. Carnes, Tsunao Ogino and Akiko Kawasaki

Chapter 12 Linguistic etiquette in Japanese society Florian Coulmas

Chapter 13 Politeness in Thai Manfred Kummer

References and bibliography, Author index, Subject index