ABSTRACT
Keywords: distance, etiquette, (positive and negative) face, face threat, imposition, model person, (positive and negative) politeness, power, redress, redundancy, universal, usage
9.1 Introduction Imagine that I’ve just given a talk at your university and afterwards we’re chatting over a drink. In the course of our conversation I tell you that I’ll be visiting another university a hundred kilometres away the following morning and then I’ll be returning to your university in the evening. Do you think you’d be likely to say
(1) When will you be back
I guess probably you wouldn’t, because we don’t know each other well enough to ask such questions so directly. But when my wife asks, it’s a natural enough question and I don’t feel threatened by it – in fact it’s positively friendly.
