Face, Communication and Social Interaction

The concept of "face" (as in saving or losing face) was first introduced into academic discourse by sociologist Erving Goffman in the 1950s. Bargiela-Chiappini (UK, Journal of Politeness Research) and Haugh (languages and linguistics, Griffith U., Australia) also introduce the idea that a positive public image is not only constructed in a social context through the appropriate use of language but also helps frame that interaction, and Brown and Levinson's model linking face-threat to interpersonal variables. In 16 chapters, international contributors analyze facework in different cultures and intercultural social, political, and business communication contexts from various theoretical frameworks and linguistic politeness research. A name index would be useful. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Francesca Bargiela-Chiappini is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Politeness Research and has published articles on face and politeness and politeness in the workplace. Michael Haugh is a senior lecturer in Linguistics and International English in the School of Languages and Linguistics at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. He has published papers on face in Australian English, Chinese, and Japanese and the relationship between 'face' and 'politeness' in the Journal of Pragmatics, Multilingua, and Intercultural Pragmatics, as well chapters in Asian Business Discourse(s) (Peter Lang, Berlin) and Chinese Discourse and Interaction (Equinox, London). He has also co-edited a number of journal special issues, including "Face in interaction" for Journal of Pragmatics.