Politeness / Register
What relationship and tone are we using?
의미
The social layer of language: formal, informal, polite, intimate, respectful, rude, professional, child-directed, or peer-like.
알아보는 방법
Notice whether the wording changes depending on who speaks to whom.
예시
please|sir|formal you|informal you|honorific
Could you please|tu vs usted|Mr. Smith
Could you help me, please?
Visual guide
message: help me
^
social layer:
who talks to whom?
formal / polite / peer / rude
Could you help me, please?
How languages mark E11: pronoun: tu vs usted verb form: polite ending word: sir / Mr. Smith particle: please style: direct -> indirect
언어별 보기
모국어에서는
Politeness and honorifics are central in Korean, affecting endings, particles, nouns, and verbs.
선생님께서 말씀하세요.
The teacher speaks honorifically.
학습 언어에서는
English politeness is often encoded through modal choice, indirectness, intonation, and formulaic phrases.
Could you help me, please?
could you please = polite request
Learners may translate polite forms literally and sound too blunt or too formal.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.