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The tendency to use positive politeness forms, emphasizing close-ness between
speaker and hearer, can be seen as a solidarity strategy. This may be the principal operating
strategy among a whole group or it may be an option used by an individual speaker on a
particular occasion. Linguistically, such a strategy will include personal information, use of
nicknames, sometimes even abusive terms (particularly among males), and shared dialect or
slang expres-sions. Frequently, a solidarity strategy will be marked via inclusive terms such as
'we' and 'let's', as in the party invitation in [І І].

How to get a pen from someone else

say something say nothing
(but search in bag)

on record off record
('I forgot my pen')

face saving act bald on record
('Give me a pen')

positive politeness negative politeness
How about letting me use your pen?') ('Could you lend me a pen?')

FIGURE 7. 1 How to get a pen from someone else (following Brown and Levinson 1987)

[ІІ] Come on, let's go to the party. Everyone will be there. We'll have fun.
The tendency to use negative politeness forms, emphasizing the hearer's right to freedom,
can be seen as a deference strategy. It can be the typical strategy of a whole group or just an
option used on a particular occasion. A deference strategy is involved in what is called 'formal
politeness'. It is impersonal, as if nothing is shared, and can include expressions that refer to
neither the speaker nor the hearer (for example, 'Customers may not smoke here, sir'). The
language associated with a deference strategy emphasizes the speaker's and the hearer's
independence, marked via an absence of personal claims, as in [12.], an alternative ver-sion of
the party invitation in [ІІ].
[12] There's going to be a party, if you can make it. It will be fun.
These general types of strategies are illustrated here via utter-ances which are actually
central to the speech event (for example, invitation). Face saving behavior, however, is often at
work well before such utterances are produced, in the form of pre-sequences.

Pre-sequences.
As already suggested, the concept of face saving may be helpful in understanding how
participants in an interaction inevitably understand more than is said. The basic assumption,
from the per-spective of politeness, is that face is typically at risk when the self needs to
accomplish something involving other. The greatest risk appears to be when the other is put in
a difficult position. One way of avoiding risk is to provide an opportunity for the other to halt the
potentially risky act. For example, rather than simply make a request, speakers will often first