ABSTRACT

To understand the arguments in this chapter, the reader needs to be familiar with the concepts of Face, Face Threatening Acts (FTAs), Politeness and Community of Practice. Rather than assuming that there is something intrinsically impolite about certain utterances or exchanges, the chapter argues that impoliteness is attributed to a speaker on the basis of assessments of their intentions and motivations, and these assessments are informed by beliefs about gender which may emanate from the Community of Practice or from the wider society. The chapter examines impoliteness in its own terms, rather than in terms of its relation to politeness, considering what factors contribute to the assessment of an act as impolite, and what consequences the judgment of impoliteness has on individuals and Communities of Practice.