3. Politeness Principle of Geoffrey N. Leech and Gu Yueguo 3.1 Geoffrey N. Leech’s Politeness Principle   H. P. Grice, an American philosopher and linguist, proposed the Cooperative Principle (CP). He  argued that  for the sake of achieving specific  purposes,  there is a tacit understanding between the speaker and hearer and they  should  abide by some basic principles, especially “Cooperative Principle”.   The Cooperative  Principle, which  is also  called the Gricean maxims,  is  pided into four maxims: Quantity Maxim, Quality Maxim, Relevance Maxim and Manner Maxim (Yang Xinzhang, 2005:169-170).  Geoffrey N. Leech  considered that “the CP in itself is  not sufficient to explain “(1) why people are often so indirect in conveying what they mean; and (2) what is the relation between sense and force when non-declarative types of sentences are being considered.” (Leech, 1983:80)   In order to rescue the CP from serious troubles, Leech added the Politeness Principle (PP) and pides it into six maxims, each consisting of two sub-maxims. They are as below:   (I) Tact Maxim:(a) minimize cost to other and (b) maximize benefit to other as far as possible.   (II) Generosity Maxim:(a) try to minimize benefit to oneself and (b) maximize cost to oneself.   (III) Approbation Maxim:(a) minimize dispraise of other and (b) maximize praise of other to the best of one’s ability. (IV) Modesty Maxim:(a) try to minimize praise of oneself and (b) maximize dispraise of oneself.   (V) Agreement Maxim:(a) minimize mutual disagreement and (b) maximize agreement between the two parties. (VI)  Sympathy Maxim:(a) try to minimize  mutual  antipathy  and (b) maximize sympathy between them (Leech, from He Zhaoxiong, 2003: 534-535). 
 Leech (1983: 133) also points out, “Not all of the maxims and sub-maxims are equally important.” Of the twinned maxims (I)-(IV), (I) appears to be a more powerful constraint on conversational behavior than (Ⅱ), and  (III)  than  (IV). This,  if true,  reflects a more general law that politeness is focused more strongly on other than on self. Moreover, within each maxim,  sub-maxim  (b)  seems to be less important than sub-maxim  (a),  and this again illustrates the more general law  that negative politeness  源:自*751`%论,文'网·www.751com.cn/ (avoidance of discord)  is a more weighty consideration than positive politeness (seeking concord). Although the Politeness Principle which Leech proposed applies to all kinds of cultures in varying degrees,  the focus that different cultures select from the Politeness Principle is distinct from each other because of various beliefs,  values,  cultural orientations as well as thinking manners. 3.2 Gu Yueguo’s Politeness Principle   Leech’s Politeness Principle is proposed on the basis of British culture. Some of them are not appropriate for Chinese culture, because China has its own culture characteristics. Chinese scholar Gu Yueguo, tracing the origin of the motion of politeness in Chinese culture, proposes four aspects of politeness:   (1) Respectfulness: the speaker praises or appreciates actively in consideration of the face and social status of the other side’s;   (2) Modesty: one way to indicate self-deprecation;   (3) Attitudinal Warmth: the speaker shows friendship, solicitude and enthusiasm for others;   

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