Representation of Politeness in Modern English Literary Discourse
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19547901 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elena Bodnaruk (0000-0003-4405-4513, Northern (Arctic) Federal University), Elena V Bodnaruk (Northern (Arctic) Federal University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 46-57 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-03 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta Serija 2 Jazykoznanije (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1998-9911 • E-ISSN: 2409-1979 |
| Publisher | Volgograd State University (PUBLISHER • RU) |
| DOI | 10.15688/jvolsu2.2025.6.4 |
| OpenAlex | W7135151508 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 9 |
The paper is devoted to a comprehensive study of the linguistic category of politeness. It provides an empirical analysis of means expressing politeness, extracted by continuous sampling from the direct speech of characters in the novel The Only Story written by the English writer Julian Barnes. Systematization of multi-level means involved in producing polite statements is carried out. Their belonging to the conventional and individual type of politeness is determined. The most frequently used linguistic units are identified. The repertoire of linguistic means involved in the expression of politeness includes addresses and etiquette formulas, some interrogative and negative sentences, constructions with modal verbs and propositional verbs (such as think, suppose, mean, etc.), morphological forms of the subjunctive mood (e.g. would + infinitive), imperative forms (including the imperative of the verb let), a number of lexical units (for example, adverbs of measure and degree, adverbs of modality, adverbs of frequency, some pronouns, particles, conjunctions, interjections). It was found that in the analysed novel the individual type of politeness prevails. The belonging of linguistic units to this type can be determined only in the specific context of their usage. Some comments are also given about the relationship between negative and positive politeness in the novel. In particular, the predominance of linguistic means of expressing negative politeness was found
Context (archaeology) · Expression (computer science) · Interrogative · Modal verb · Politeness · Politeness maxims · Pragmatics · Representation (politics) · Vowel · Language, Communication, and Linguistic Studies · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism
| Highly cited | No |
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