Brown and Levinson's politeness theory

The politeness theory was first developed by acclaimed linguists Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson. It states that in every conversation we adhere to certain language rules depending on the other participant's 'face', in order to assure that everyone feels affirmed in any social interaction. 'Face' is the public self-image that every person aims to protect, and it is vulnerable to 'face-threatening acts'.

Face comes in two forms: positive and negative. By using politeness strategies we can influence a person more effectively by appealing to their different faces.

Positive face - The need to feel appreciated and cared for.
Negative face - The need to not have one's freedom of choice infringed on.

The four different types of politeness:

Positive politeness aims to minimize the threat to a person's positive face, so it will make the participant feel good about himself and his wants.
E.g, "Excuse me, mate - pass the salt?"
The colloquial noun 'mate' causes the other participant to feel wanted and appreciated, thus appealing to their positive face.

Negative politeness aims to minimize the threat to a person's negative face, so it will try to minimize the imposition on the hearer.
E.g, "Could you pass me the salt?"
The epistemic modal auxiliary verb 'could' indicates to the hearer that passing the salt is not a demand - it is a possibility and they have the free choice whether to do so or not.

Bald-on record politeness - This type of politeness doesn't really try to minimize the threat to a hearer's face; it is very direct and most often only used when the speaker has a close relationship with the hearer. E.g, "pass me the salt."

Off-record (indirect) politeness - This type of politeness uses indirect language to hint at its goal, rather than saying it outright. E.g, "god, I'd REALLY love some salt right now."

Article on 'uptalk'

Click here for a Guardian article written on 'uptalk' - the speech-habit that is sweeping the nation.
'Uptalk' is when someone makes every declarative statement they say sound like an interrogative (also known as suffering from 'high-rise terminals'). This article discusses its possible origins and also has opinions from various different linguists on the topic.

Understanding the passive/active voice

Active - The active voice is arguably more commonly used than the passive. In the formula for the active voice, the subject comes first, then the verb followed by the object which is affected by the verb. E.g, "The teacher kicked the chair". In this example, the teacher is the subject that is carrying out the verb ('to kick') on the object (the chair).

Passive - The passive voice is seen across more informal texts, and therefore is common in older examples of writing. The formula for the passive voice is the same as the active only it is effectively reversed. It begins with the object and then the verb, followed by the subject (however the subject is not an integral element to the passive voice and can be excluded). E.g, "The chair was kicked by the teacher" or "The chair was kicked".

A2 exam pointers (language change)

-Because we have an Anglo-Saxon, latinate language a lot of our lexicon is borrowed.
-Never use the word 'word'.
-Always mention AFFIXATION.
-Consider the syntax; is it multi-clausal? Where is the subordinate clause placed?
-Talk about the passive/active voice.
-When writing about standardisation mention the different descriptive/prescriptive attitudes.
-Mention David Crystal's descriptive attitude: "When you've got flowers in a garden you can't say one flower is better than another".

Article on language change and political correctness regarding mental health

Click here for an article from the Guardian regarding the stigma around mental health and how it is fueled by use of certain language.

According to this article, political correctness must be considered when using evaluative adjectives like "nuts" or "bonkers". This kind of mental-health jargon is offensive to those who suffer from mental illnesses when it is used out of context, and we need to end it. Stop describing the weather as "schizophrenic"!