The English politeness marker please in Chinese

Abstract

This study examines the usage of the English politeness marker please on a Chinese microblogging platform, focusing on its functional adaptation and the motivations for its borrowing. The findings reveal that please, as a pragmatically borrowed item (i.e., a pragmatic borrowing), differs from both its English etymon and Chinese equivalents. While it retains the preference for clause-final positions and the politeness-enhancing function of its English etymon, it has become predominantly used with imperatives on the public social media platform, often accompanied by features that indicate a strengthened requesting force. Additionally, please has acquired a new function of marking in-group identity and positive politeness among Chinese youth on social media, a function absent in the native equivalents. This study suggests that the unique function of please motivates its adoption by Chinese young people who seek to balance closeness and politeness in peer communication. The functional adaptation undergone by please exemplifies a common pattern in pragmatic borrowings that compete with native equivalents.