Politeness in Computer–Mediated Discourse AND Online Communities

Abstract

Politeness is one of the main topics in the studies of pragmatics. It has been discussed for the last seventy years and yet certain depth can still be added into the body of works. This article is written to connect the classical theories of politeness and the practical applications of politeness in the digital age. Today, we are faced with two kinds of interactions due to technological advancements: face-to-face interaction and cyber interaction. Both interactions seem to use the same mechanism of semantics and pragmatics. However, in reality, they have gaps. With this in mind, I feel the urge to make those gaps explicit.

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