Miten tutkia kohteliaisuutta? Käsityksiä suomalaisesta ja ranskalaisesta kohteliaisuudesta

Abstract

How to study politeness? Perceptions of Finnish and French politeness Politeness is a key means by which we maintain interpersonal relationships. This book is the first comprehensive study of politeness in Finnish. Based on linguistic and pragmatic research, the book spans three parts. The first part is theoretical and historical, summarising three waves of politeness research, describing politeness as a cultural and historical phenomenon. The second part is empirical, providing an example of the study of im/politeness from outsiders’ perspectives—that, is French people living in Finland and Finns living or having lived in France. The focus group discussions ranged from definitions of politeness and differences of behaviour, to learning and teaching as well as to changes to politeness norms within society. The third part summarises the conclusions and offers an epilogue. This reader-friendly book includes exercises and recommended readings, and is welcomed by researchers and students working on politeness and, more broadly, relational work.

Evaluations Related to Finger Pointing in a Request: a Multi-method Pragmatic Analysis of an Intercultural Encounter

“…As conventionalisation relates to pragmatic competence, second language speakers may not know what type of behaviour is conventionalised in a specific context (House and Kádár, 2021: 35). My studies showed that when arriving in the target culture and not necessarily speaking the target language, cultural outsiders observed differences related to non-verbal politeness, such as holding doors open for others or not (Isosävi, 2020a;2023b). After spending time in the target culture, cultural outsiders reported adapting to politeness norms, such as greeting less (French participants) or more (Finnish participants), in order to avoid a marked behaviour judged as impolite (Isosävi, 2020b;2023b).…”

“…Yet, her experiences on finger pointing as a marked behaviour contributed to a change in her behaviour (cf. also Isosävi, 2023b) We cannot influence the skills of our interlocutor. We shouldn't make evaluations regarding why we behave a certain way.…”

“…My previous studies on the perceptions of Finnish and French politeness have identified cross-cultural differences in the moral order (space versus rapport) and conventionalised patterns of behaviour in both verbal and non-verbal behaviours (Isosävi, 2020a;2020b;2023a;2023b). These previous studies focused on the etic perspective in focus groups, during which French people living in Finland discussed Finnish politeness, while Finns living or having lived in France discussed French politeness, illustrating how im/politeness is constructed in discourse.…”