The Agreement maxim

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 390.

The Modesty maxim

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.' The first part of the maxim avoids disagreement; the second part intends to make other people feel good by showing solidarity.

e.g. "I heard you singing at the karaoke last night. It was, um... different." "John, I know you're a genius - would you know how to solve this math problem here?"

The Modesty maxim states: 'Minimize the expression of praise of self; maximize the expression of dispraise of self.'

e.g."Oh, I'm so stupid - I didn't make a note of our lecture! Did you?"

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.

e.g. "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."