Face, Communication and Social Interaction; Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini; Michael Haugh

Edited by

Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini [+–]

University of Huddersfield

Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Politeness Research and has published articles on face and politeness and politeness in the workplace.

Michael Haugh

University of Queensland

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PAPERBACK EDITION PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2010

It is an enduring theme of humanity that people are concerned about what others think of them. The notion of face has thus become firmly established as a means of explaining various social phenomena in a range of fields within the social sciences, including anthropology, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, and psychology. Yet face has also become increasingly entrenched in the literature as a kind of pre-existing sociocultural construct. This book offers an alternative in focusing on the ways in which face is both constituted inand constitutive of social interaction, and its relationship to self, identity and broader sociocultural expectations.

There are three main themes explored in this volume. Part I, ‘Face in interaction’, encompasses contributions that deal with face as it emerges in interaction in various institutional and non-institutional settings. In Part II, the relationship between self, identity and face is investigated in the context of interpersonal communication. The final part considers various approaches to establishing links between individual interactions (the so-called micro) and broader sociocultural expectations or ‘norms’ that interactants bring into interactions (the so-called macro).

Prelims

Foreword [+–] xi – xii

Yoshiko Matsumoto FREE

Stanford University

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Based on in-depth analyses of Japanese, my research focuses on issues that emphasize the importance of context in understanding the structure, meaning and use of language. I have worked on pragmatics of linguistic constructions (e.g. frame semantics of noun-modifying construction, reference, honorifics, discourse markers) and sociocultural aspects of discourse (e.g. politeness theories, speech acts, bilingualism, relation among language, gender and age, ideology, and identity reflected in Japanese as a second language). Topics of my current research center around conversational narratives (especially of older women), integration of pragmatic factors in construction grammar, and typology of noun-modifying constructions.

PAPERBACK EDITION PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2010 It is an enduring theme of humanity that people are concerned about what others think of them. The notion of face has thus become firmly established as a means of explaining various social phenomena in a range of fields within the social sciences, including anthropology, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, and psychology. Yet face has also become increasingly entrenched in the literature as a kind of pre-existing sociocultural construct. This book offers an alternative in focusing on the ways in which face is both constituted inand constitutive ofsocial interaction, and its relationship to self, identity and broader sociocultural expectations. There are three main themes explored in this volume. Part I, ‘Face in interaction’, encompasses contributions that deal with face as it emerges in interaction in various institutional and non-institutional settings. In Part II, the relationship between self, identity and face is investigated in the context of interpersonal communication. The final part considers various approaches to establishing links between individual interactions (the so-called micro) and broader sociocultural expectations or ‘norms’ that interactants bring into interactions (the so-called macro).

1. Face and interaction [+–] 1 – 30

Michael Haugh £17.50

University of Queensland

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Conversation

Part I: Face in interaction

2. Face as emergent in interpersonal communication: an alternative to Goffman [+–] 31 – 54

Robert B. Arundale £17.50

University of Alaska

Issues in language pragmatics, such as face and facework, that relate to understanding language use in face-to-face interpersonal communication, with particular attention to developing theory that is informed by conversation analysis. Also intercultural communication and communication theory.

Interpersonal communication

3. How to get rid of a telemarketing agent? Facework strategies in an intercultural service call [+–] 55 – 77

Rosina Márquez-Reiter £17.50

University of Surrey

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Rosina Marquez Reiter is currently conducting research into the linguistic practices and ideologies of members of the London and Madrid Latino diaspora communities based on a previous research collaboration funded by the Spanish Government ( P.I.: Pujolar, Joan(2008-2011) New speakers, new identities- linguistic ideologies and practices in a post national era (acr. NEOPHON) Ref.FFI2011-24781- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación -Pan Nacional de I+D+i)

In this chapter, I examine how face is manifested in an intercultural service call between a Uruguayan telemarketing agent and a prospective Argentinean client. By doing so, I aim to contribute to the extensive body of research that has examined face in interaction and to research that has investigated aspects of the interactional behaviour of Spanish speakers in mediated service encounters (Codó Olsina, 2002; Márquez Reiter, 2005, 2006) and thus add to our knowledge of institutional talk in Spanish, a language which until now has received very little attention when compared, for example, to English (Drew and Heritage, 1992; Holmes and Stubbe, 2003), French (Boutet, 2005; Pène, Borzeix and Fraenkel, 2001), Italian (Aston, 1998; Bargiela-Chiappini and Harris, 1997) or German (Müller, 2003), to mention but a few. The interaction I analyse here is a service call in which an institutional representative, from a multi-national company, telephones a client for the purpose of having the client’s membership renewed as it had lapsed for a relatively long period of time. The conversational participants’ contributions are oriented toward the achievement of a task; namely, the institutional representative wants to obtain a sale and, the client wants to obviate any possible avenues for the former to attain her goal.

4. Analysing Japanese ‘face-in-interaction’: insights from intercultural business meetings [+–] 78 – 95

Michael Haugh,Yasuhisa Watanabe £17.50

University of Queensland

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University of Melbourne

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Dr Watanabe’s research interests centres around his teaching. His current research projects analyse the use of Japanese by non-native speakers of Japanese in various communication settings. The research findings are published and presented in the field of Pragmatics and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), as well as being reflected to his teaching.

In this chapter, we undertake an analysis of how face arises in the interactional flow of an intercultural business meeting involving Analysing Japanese ‘face-in-interaction’ 79 Japanese and non-Japanese members of a Japanese firm based in Australia. While this meeting involved a mixture of English and Japanese, we argue that the overall tenor of the interaction is firmly oriented towards Japanese norms of interaction, which are both constitutive of, and enacted through, interaction in the course of this meeting. It is thus suggested that through this analysis we can gain insight into how face in (Modern Standard) Japanese is interactionally achieved, in the conversation analytic sense of the ‘conjoint, non-summative outcome’ of two or more persons (Arundale, 2006: 196). However, it is also acknowledged that projectings or interpretings of face in interaction are not always interactionally achieved. The term ‘face-in-interaction’ is thus proposed to encompass projectings and interpretings, as well as interactional achievings, of face through interaction. The chapter begins with an overview of our understanding of face building upon previous work, before briefly discussing the methodological background of this study. An analysis of four key incidents involving face from our data is then undertaken, before drawing together some implications of this study for theories of face and facework.

5. “ That’s a myth”: Linguistic avoidance as a political face-saving strategy in broadcast interviews [+–] 96 – 114

Eric Anchimbe £17.50

University of Bayreuth

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This paper follows on the heels of many others to reiterate that face within face-to-face communication, contrary to Brown and Levinson’s (1987) premise that social relations are some sort of a natural state of affairs to which interlocutors respond (Chilton, 1990: 201), is not constructed according to fixed socio-cultural or natural states of static relations but is constructed and re constructed in a dynamic and spontaneous way determined by the type of social interaction interlocutors are involved in. The paper tries to show that face-saving, as explained by Brown and Levinson (1987) and their followers, and political face-saving are different phenomena.

6. Two sides of the same coin: how the notion of ‘face’ is encoded in Persian communication [+–] 115 – 133

Sofia A. Koutlaki £17.50

University of Wales

This chapter makes brief reference to Goffman’s and to Brown and Levinson’s ideas by way of locating the present work within previous theories. It then provides an account of the Persian concept of face and an analysis of folk terms and expressions. A brief exposition of the three Persian politeness principles through analysis of conversational extracts demonstrates how Persian ‘face’ is constituted in interaction and how considerations for both aspects and both interlocutors come into play in Persian communication and behaviour. In conclusion, it looks at the implications of this research for Goffman’s views and Brown and Levinson’s theory.

Part II: Face, identity and self

7. Face, identity and interactional goals [+–] 135 – 154

Helen Spencer-Oatey £17.50

University of Warwick

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My main research interests are: – Social pragmatics, especially the interrelationship between language use and the management of interpersonal relations (face theory, politeness theory, rapport management theory). – Intercultural interaction, including cross-cultural pragmatics, intercultural discourse, and the interface between culture, language and behaviour. – Intercultural adaptation and change, including issues of identity and hybridity, culture shock, intercultural competence and development. – Culture and pedagogy.

The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate that the effective study of face needs to take an identity perspective that is action-oriented. This is important because it will help us understand the face concerns that emerge dynamically in interaction as significant to the interlocutors. Much work in face and politeness theory takes an a priori approach to face sensitivity. Brown and Levinson (1987), for example, argue that certain speech acts are intrinsically face-threatening to either the speaker or the hearer, and Leech (2005) maintains that some types of illocutionary goals, such as requests or criticism of a hearer, compete or are at odds with the social goal of maintaining good communicative relations. In this chapter, I argue that such an a priori approach ignores the dynamic aspect of people’s face sensitivities. Furthermore, much work in face and politeness theory has focused on the face concerns of the hearer and has paid less attention to those of the speaker. In this chapter, I argue that a speaker’s own face concerns may emerge as crucially important in authentic interaction, and that a speaker’s self-presentational concerns thus need to be incorporated into the study of face and given equal weighting to those of the hearer.

8. Evoking face in self and other presentation in Turkish [+–] 155 – 174

Ṣükriye Ruhi £17.50

Middle East Technical University

With insights to be gained from the literature on self presentation theory (see also, Spencer-Oatey, this volume, Chapter 7), this chapter explores the inter-relationship between face and self-presentation in naturally occurring spoken discourse in Turkish. The study looks into aspects of interaction that trigger the use of idioms derived from the lexical concept face and describes the role these expressions have in the management of self presentation. Building on Goffman’s (1974) notion of ‘social frame’, the study shows that evoking face in discourse via ‘face’ idioms is a ‘front-stage’ (Goffman, 1959: 22), goal-oriented (linguistic) act that constructs an interpretive frame for representing self and other.

9. Face and self in Chinese communication [+–] 175 – 191

Ge Gao £17.50

San José State University

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The purpose of this chapter is to hone in on the issues of face in the context of Chinese culture, to present findings from survey data collected in Chinese in China, and to examine those findings in the context of previous work on mian zi, lian, and other related concepts.

10. Face, politeness and interpersonal variables: implications for language production and comprehension [+–] 192 – 207

Thomas Holtgraves £17.50

Ball State University

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Face and facework are invaluable concepts for understanding i nterpersonal communication. Their importance derives from the fact that they provide a means of organising the effects of a variety of interpersonal influences on many different aspects of communication. In this chapter I describe some of these effects as a means of demonstrating this organising function. In doing this I will be treating face as an abstract, high-level theoretical construct, a theoretical tool that can be usefully applied to interpersonal communication. I first sketch in broad terms the various shades of meaning given to the concepts of face and facework. Then, I provide a brief overview of Brown and Levinson’s (1978, 1987) politeness theory, as this has been the major vehicle for examining the role of face in interpersonal communication. I then consider the role of face management processes in language production, person perception, impression management and language comprehension. Finally, I consider cultural and individual differences in the manner in which face is manifested in conversation.

11. In the face of the other: between Goffman and Levinas [+–] 208 – 224

Alexander Kozin £17.50

Freie Universität

In sociology, the concept of face is inseparable from the name of Erving Goffman. An intrinsic component of his theory of the situated order, the elementary structure of interaction face-to face has exerted unprecedented influence on human studies, redefining the idea of what should count as the social order as well as the social actor. Originally, Goffman defined face-to face interaction as ‘the reciprocal influence of individuals upon one another’s actions when in one another’s immediate physical presence’ (1967: 15). Two emphases in this quote, reciprocity and presence, are crucial for appreciating the significance of Goffman’s project. The view of the social order as what is already ‘there’ and yet ‘here and now’ helped refocus sociological inquiry from abstract systemic relationality to observable human relations, or ‘moments and their men’ (1967: 2). Approached from the latter perspective, face was defined as ‘a pattern of verbal and non-verbal acts by which the person demonstrates his/her understanding of the encounter and its context in terms of the other’s place in it and, more importantly, his own view of the self’ (1967: 5). In sum, as an intersubjective accomplishment, by instituting the Other as the sufficient and necessary condition for all forms of sociality, Goffman debunks the egological view of individuality in favour of the interpersonal self.

Part III: Face, norms and society

12. Facework collision in intercultural communication [+–] 225 – 249

Stella Ting-Toomey £17.50

California State University

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Dr. Stella Ting-Toomey is a Professor of Human Communication Studies at California State University, Fullerton. Her teaching passions include intercultural communication theory, intercultural communication training and design, and intercultural and interpersonal conflict management.

Her research interests have focused on testing and fine-tuning the conflict face-negotiation theory and the cultural/ethnic identity negotiation theory. She is the author and editor of 17 books (plus 2 Instructor’s Manuals and 2 Interactive Student Study Guides).

This chapter is developed in three sections. The first section offers a synopsis of the two conceptual maps that hold promise in explaining facework collision in intercultural communication. The second section uses the core taxonomies of the two theoretical frames in analyzing a Japanese–U.S. social interaction episode. The third section provides specific recommendations on future theorising efforts concerning facework expectancies in intercultural social discourse.

13. Face in the holistic and relativistic society [+–] 250 – 268

Tae-Seop Lim £17.50

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

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My research focuses upon cross-cultural, international, and global communication processes. I am particularly interested in identifying the most fundamental constructs that bring about cultural differences. Recently, I am working on a theory of culture, that can overcome the limitations of well-known cross-cultural theories such as Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Hall’s theory of context.

In Korea, face is influenced by not only the relationship between the partners but also their relative positions in broader social networks or the whole society. Thus, people of different genders, ages, and statuses have different types and degrees of face need. Furthermore, the concept of face is highly differentiated so that faces of people of different social standings are often referred to with different terms. Che-myun is used for grown-ups or in more formal situations; Naht and Ul-gul are used for young adults or in less formal situations; Mo-yahng-sae is used among people of high status in a formal situation; Che-Mo and Che-Sihn are used for older adults; and Myun-Mohk is used by those who failed to meet the expectations of others. All these terms, however, share the same basic meaning: the dignified public image that one has to sustain to function properly as the occupant of the particular position in the society. To understand Korean concept of face more accurately, one needs to look into the relativistic way of life in Korea, and its ideological basis, the holistic worldview.

14. Finding face between gemeinschaft and gesellschaft: Greek perceptions of the in-group [+–] 269 – 288

Marina Terkourafi £17.50

University of Illinois

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I am a pragmatician with wide-ranging interests in the social parameters that constrain the generation of meanings locally (socio-pragmatics), the psycholinguistic processes by which these meanings are acquired and implemented in real time (experimental pragmatics), and the historical processes that shape the interactional potential of language resources over time (historical pragmatics).

This paper attempts to flesh out an integrated theoretical proposal about the application of the notion of face to different socio-historical settings. Following a new definition of a universalising notion of face, I look to the field of sociology, and in particular to the work of the German sociologist Tönnies about Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, for a principled way to link the proposed abstract, universalising notion of face with its several, seemingly diverging, local interpretations. In the last part of this essay, I explore the explanatory potential of this proposal taking contemporary Greek society as a case-study.

15. Significance of ‘face’ and politeness in social interaction as revealed through Thai ‘face’ idioms [+–] 289 – 305

Margaret Ukosakul £17.50

Payap University

In this paper, I will first present the concept of ‘face’ according to Thai culture. I will then describe the relationship of ‘face’ to shame in the Thai context. I will then discuss how politeness involves maintaining one’s ‘face’. It is necessary to view politeness within a framework of social interaction. Ide (1989: 225) noted that linguistic politeness is realised through the use of intentional strategies that allow one’s message to be favourably received by the addressee and also through the choice of expressions that conform to the norms of speech appropriate to the situation. Norms for social politeness, as well as the underlying value and belief systems, vary across cultures. Therefore, I will discuss some key themes and politeness strategies the Thai use in their social interaction. Finally, this paper will conclude with a discussion of the conceptual framework of shame.

16. Facing the future: some reflections [+–] 307 – 326

Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini £17.50

University of Huddersfield

Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Politeness Research and has published articles on face and politeness and politeness in the workplace.

The ruminations that follow are not intended as a scholarly exposition but rather as provocations that poke at our comfortable (Western or Eastern) ethno-centrism, disturb our confidence in the transparency of the ‘culture’ in which we have grown up, question our knowledge of other ‘cultures’, and unsettle our confidence in the ability to ‘read’ the ‘face’ of the Other in interaction.

Contributors

Contributors and Transcription Conventions [+–] 328 – 329

Michael Haugh,Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini FREE

University of Queensland

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University of Huddersfield

Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Politeness Research and has published articles on face and politeness and politeness in the workplace.

Authors’ bios

Index

Index [+–] 330 – 331

Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini,Michael Haugh FREE

University of Huddersfield

Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Politeness Research and has published articles on face and politeness and politeness in the workplace.

University of Queensland

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Index

Reviews

Bargiela-Chiappini and Haugh do the field a valuable service by putting together a diverse collection of papers that, while built upon these foundational authors, represent current trends and developments in research on face in social interaction.
Journal of Sociolinguistics, 2013

The collection is inspirational and innovative in several senses.
Language in Society 41, 2012

…the book is a trendsetting publication on the study of politeness and face.
Jun Ohashi, Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne, Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, issue 34, 2 (2011)

A number of features worthy of note in this volume are as follows. First, it is of methodological significance. Second, the most salient feature of the volume is its endeavor in new perspectives or new orientations to face and facework. Third, the volume manifests different discourse systems by putting emphasis on the culture-specifity of face. Fourth, it is dynamic in that it keeps abreast of the developments in the field and challenges the traditional through influential theories of face by Goffman and Brown and Levinson by advocating social constructionism, ethnomethodology and communication studies of face. Finally, this volume’s multi-disciplinary characteristics are remarkable. …the volume as an important original intellectual inquiry is a big step forward in studies of face(work) and will surely inspire further advances in this field.
Zhao Ming, China University of Mining & Technology, Discourse and Communication 5 (3), 2011

This is a well-conceptualized edited volume that consists of insightful theoretical and empirical contributions on face, facework, and politeness approached from various interdisciplinary perspectives and methodological frameworks. The rigorous analysis of face and broad scope of this volume will make it an essential tool for researchers, teachers, and students of pragmatics and discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, sociology, and intercultural communication.
César Félix-Brasdefer, Associate Professor, Research Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study, Indiana University

A fascinating collection of research that contests not only the construct of “face”, but also the nature of human interaction. With excellent theoretical discussion and empirical studies, this volume offers insightful analysis and is original in terms of conception and methodology: a great resource for using the notion of “face” to study social interaction, cross-cultural and intercultural communication. Yuling Pan, U.S. Census Bureau

The volume adopts interdisciplinary approaches to the understanding of the notion of face at three interdependent levels – the individual, interactional and socio-cultural, and thus establishes links between individual interactions (the micro) and broader socio-cultural expectations (the macro). As a result, it provides us with a wealth of studies on ‘face’, showing that the insights yielded from multi-dimensions cannot be captured by any single theoretical perspective.
Jing Chen, Zhejiang University, Discourse Studies 2010 12(5)

This excellent volume, as its title exemplifies, represents a small but growing trend in which the study of face and facework is making a bid for genuine independence. The book contains 16 contributions, 14 from an impressively multicultural collection of scholars bracketed by one each from the two editors. These vary in quality, in a range from good to extremely good. This overall high standard is one reason why this is such a valuable volume and, I predict, will become close to indispensable for scholars of interpersonal communication. Another is the above-discussed topical shift in focus towards face which it represents. A third is the exciting variety of methodologies, approaches and datasets which are to be found within it.
Jim O’Driscoll, University of Huddersfield, Journal of Politeness Research 7 (2011)

Overall, the book has lived up to its expectations and is highly recommended. … there seems to be a potential for ‘face studies’ to emerge as a separate specialisation and this book may well be one of the trendsetters in this direction. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 33 (4), 2012

There are books of which people only read the preface; of other books, only the introduction and perhaps the conclusion. The books that people read all the way from cover to cover are the ones that genuinely capture the readers’ attention and interest. Face, Communication and Social Interaction is a book that kept me reading from A to Z.
Pragmatics and Society 4:3

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Books and Journals in Humanities, Social Science and Performing Arts

Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini [+–]

University of Huddersfield

Michael Haugh

University of Queensland

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