Politeness / Register
What relationship and tone are we using?
Betekenis
The social layer of language: formal, informal, polite, intimate, respectful, rude, professional, child-directed, or peer-like.
Zo herken je het
Notice whether the wording changes depending on who speaks to whom.
Voorbeelden
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
Taaloverzicht
In je moedertaal
Politeness is partly grammatical through u versus jij, plus lexical softeners.
Kunt u dat herhalen?
Can you-formal that repeat?
In de taal die je leert
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.