science

Politeness maxims

Politeness maxims is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Politeness maxims rather than just read about it. In short: According to Geoffrey Leech, there is a politeness principle with conversational maxims similar to those formulated by Paul Grice. He lists six maxims: tact, generosity, approbation, modesty, agreement, and sympathy.

Key takeaways

Politeness maxims belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Politeness maxims to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Politeness maxims from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

According to Geoffrey Leech, there is a politeness principle with conversational maxims similar to those formulated by Paul Grice. He lists six maxims: tact, generosity, approbation, modesty, agreement, and sympathy. The first and second form a pair, as do the third and the fourth. These maxims vary from culture to culture: what may be considered polite in one culture may be strange or downright rude in another.

The tact maxim The tact maxim states: "Minimize the expression of beliefs which imply cost to other; maximize the expression of beliefs which imply benefit to other." The first part of this maxim fits in with Brown and Levinson's negative politeness strategy of minimising the imposition, and the second part reflects the positive politeness strategy of attending to the hearer's interests, wants, and needs. For example:

Could I interrupt you for a second? If I could just clarify this then.

The generosity maxim Leech's generosity maxim states: "Minimize the expression of beliefs that express or imply benefit to self; maximize the expression of beliefs that express or imply cost to self." Unlike the tact maxim, the maxim of generosity focuses on the speaker, and says that others should be put first instead of the self. For example:

You relax and let me do the dishes. You must come and have dinner with us.

The approbation maxim The approbation maxim states: "Minimize the expression of beliefs which express dispraise of other; maximize the expression of beliefs which express approval of other." It is preferred to praise others and if this is impossible, to sidestep the issue, to give some sort of minimal response (possibly through the use of euphemisms), or to remain silent. The first part of the maxim avoids disagreement; the second part intends to make other people feel good by showing solidarity. For example:

I heard you singing at the karaoke last night. It sounded like you were enjoying yourself! Gideon, I know you're a genius – would you know how to solve this math problem here?

The modesty maxim The maxim of modesty is one of the six maxims proposed by Leech (1983) in his PP (politeness principle) meaning to minimize praise or to maximize dispraise of self. The modesty maxim states: "Minimize the expression of praise of self; maximize the expression of dispraise of self." For example:

Oh, I'm so stupid – I didn't make a note of our lecture! Did you?

The agreement maxim The agreement maxim runs as follows: "Minimize the expression of disagreement between self and other; maximize the expression of agreement between self and other." It is in line with Brown and Levinson's positive politeness strategies of "seek agreement" and "avoid disagreement", to which they attach great importance. However, it is not being claimed that people totally avoid disagreement. It is simply observed that they are much more direct in expressing agreement, rather than disagreement. For example:

A: I don't want my daughter to do this, I want her to do that. B: Yes, but ma'am, I thought we resolved this already on your last visit.

The sympathy maxim The sympathy maxim states: "minimize antipathy between self and other; maximize sympathy between the self and other." This includes a small group of speech acts such as congratulation, commiseration, and expressing condolences – all of which is in accordance with Brown and Levinson's positive politeness strategy of attending to the hearer's interests, wants, and needs. For example:

I am sorry to hear about your father.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Politeness maxims

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Politeness maxims claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Politeness maxims before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Politeness maxims ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Politeness maxims

In research: Politeness maxims appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Politeness maxims in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Politeness maxims is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Pragmatics, Sociolinguistics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Politeness maxims outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Politeness maxims in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Politeness maxims means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Politeness maxims out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Politeness maxims in simple terms?

Why does Politeness maxims matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Politeness maxims?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Politeness maxims.