Structure and Politeness: A Model for Comparing Discourse-Staging Strategies in Cross-Cultural Speech Encounters, with Special Reference to Japanese Speakers of English and Native Speakers of Australian English

Abstract

This paper argues that there is a fundamental relationship between the manifestation of linguistic politeness and discourse management. It suggests that politeness in English — here specifically in Australian English — is not only a function of the various ways in which a particular speech act may be realised but is also a function of context-specific discourse focussing. It further suggests that politeness dysfunctions which occur between native speakers of Australian English and native speakers of languages other than English (the focus here being on Japanese speakers of English) in specific English-language speech situations could well be the result of differing discourse-staging strategies. Preliminary research findings are cited to examine this hypothesis.