Ñoncept of POLITENESS in comparison of Russian and German language cultures

Skacheva Nina Assistant Professor, Reshetnev Siberian State University of Science and Technology 660037, Russia, Krasnoyaskii krai, g. Krasnoyarsk, Prospekt imeni gazety «Krasnoyarskii rabochii», 31 Sollo_sk@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

Scientists from various fields have been interested in politeness for a long time, starting with the works of R. Lakoff ^[25], H. Grice ^[23], who spoke about speech maxims. Politeness was associated with the norms of etiquette, which include verbal and nonverbal norms of behavior (D. Hume, J.J. Rousseau) ^{[19; 8]}. The spread of the theory of the ethical along with the emic (P. Locher) ^[26] understanding of politeness has become a great contribution to the concept of politeness at the level of utterance (J. Thomas) ^[30].

Since then, the methodology of the study of politeness has only increased. Such authors as E.G. Borisova, I.A. Sharonov, M. Kazodaeva write about politeness as impoliteness in a speech act. R. Ratmayr considers politeness in comparison of Russian and Austrian cultures. Special attention is paid to the understanding of impoliteness and communication styles – T.V. Larina ^[5]. I.V. Karasik writes about politeness and anti-politeness in the network discourse ^[4]. The materials of the scientific conference "Politeness and Anti-politeness in language and communication" edited by I.A. Sharonov show an inexhaustible interest in the topic of polite / impolite and the relevance of research.

 N.I. Formanovskaya spoke about formal politeness, the use of forms and norms of etiquette ^[18]. R. Ratmayr speaks of "new Russian politeness", where it goes beyond the formal, politeness as "caring for another", "frankness", "solidarity" ^[7]. Does this mean that politeness is a cultural component in linguistic semantics, a value concept belonging to the conceptual sphere, reflected in language (E.M. Wolf, N.D. Arutyunova, Y.S. Stepanov, A.D. Shmelev, E. Bartminsky, V.N. Telia, etc.). According to V.N. Telia It is precisely in the ability of language to embody the value categories that form the conceptual sphere of culture that the interaction of culture and language manifests itself ^[14]. Based on the axiological direction in linguistics (V.I. Karasik, S.G. Slyshkin, etc.), we will consider the concept of politeness as a conceptual sphere of culture.

Russian Russian linguo-axiological aspect of the concept of politeness is due to the fact that, by examining the semantics (lexico-semantic group, forms of use, etc.) of this adjective, a fragment of the Russian linguistic picture of the world, which is a value concept in culture, is analyzed. Comparison with German allows us to identify not only the common, but also the difference in the two language pictures of the world, showing the peculiarity of "Russian politeness".

Russian Russian vocabulary and phraseology were analyzed in axiological aspect by the example of the value concept of politeness/impoliteness and its reflection in the Russian language picture of the world in order to comprehend the provisions and research methods existing in the theory. What is necessary for:

1) to make an analysis of the Russian adjective polite / impolite and the German h ? flich / unh ? flich;

2) to investigate Russian and German idiomatic expressions with the semantics of politeness in an axiological aspect.

The analysis of adjectives included a historical and etymological description, a comparison of interpretations in dictionaries considered in a diachronic sequence; a study of the evaluative semantics of adjectives, the denotative field of evaluation was conducted; the forms of use were analyzed, shades of meaning were revealed and cultural interpretation was given. The analysis of phraseological units was focused on the study of stable combinations and etiquette formulas.

Historical and etymological description of the word polite / impolite

Etymology clarifies the origin of the word polite from other-Rus. "knowledgeable, knowledgeable" is a derivative of "vezha" II, modern. ignorant, king.  ignoramus is "unlearned" (according to Fasmer's Dictionary) ^[17].

"as a 'knowledgeable, trained person'. XIV century. (Cf. XI—XVII 2: 51),

v?zha, v?zh ‘knowledgeable, knowledgeable’:

v?zha ‘knowledgeable in something, an educated person’ of the XIV century. (SDRYA XI—XIV 2:291);

We are all living as a peasant, as a priest and as a proselyte, keeping a fast. (The teaching of the right faith). Pon. III, 26. XIV.  

From "prasl. *v?d'a from *v?d?ti (*v?dati), see v?d?ti (to know). The name of the action. (‘knowledge’ in Polish.) transferred to the name of the deed. (‘knowledgeable'), as described for addition with *ne- ‘not’ *nev?d'a, cf. rus. ignorant ‘rude, uncivil’, etc.-rus. ignorant ‘uneducated, ignorant’, rus. Ignoramus (<tslav.) in Polish. niewiedza ‘ignorance, obscurity' (ESA 25:65; ESA. Prosp. 1963: 87)" ^[1]. 

You don't have to... someone, you don't have to. Paterik Sin. XI century.

Yes, about seven to glorify the name of Gne, as rude and ignorant wise philosophers manifest themselves. Usp. sat. 73. XII – XIII centuries.

Ignorance. 1. Ignorance, ignorance. 2. A misdemeanor committed out of ignorance. (1552). 3. Rudeness of feelings, stupidity, incomprehensibility. 4. Impoliteness, brusqueness ^[9]. Yes, cry to the gu, so forgive him for the lawlessness that happened after his absence. Ephr. Feed., 162. XII century.

Later, the derivative of the word "knowledgeable and trained person" ^[10] was "ignorance" or "politeness", which in the XVI and XVII centuries meant "science and knowledge", a second meaning "courtesy" appeared.

The identity is the same as the identity ^[10]. The prophet of the prophet sh, sh TSR tsrya born, videostory all things wise, to increase in Noto SBE cannot fit that me certainly. Sim. Gender. Eagle. Grew. 26, 1667

Community,

1. Science, knowledge. Grammar is a convoluted art of writing and writing. Zizaniy. Gram., 1. 1956. Today's Persian customs are much better than the Turkish and Totarian... children teach their children to read and write and all kinds of reasonable things. Kozm., 340. 1670

2. Courtesy, politeness. Take care of them and take care of their children, provide and educate them in good punishment, and take into account their fear of God, and of God, and of every household, and according to time, according to age, and according to age, take into account their needlework. Dm., 58. XVI century. Nicoli, there is nothing to fulfill a person's desire like that, just polite and smooth words. Pov. about Skanderbeg, 36. XVII century.

That is, in the XVI century, the word polite appears on the basis of the original meaning - ‘knowledgeable, knowledgeable’ meaning - ‘courteous’. And who will come from the yard grumbling, gsdrev nedozor, or gsdrnin, ino vzhivoi servant vzhivo guest will talk. Dm., 49. XVI century. For that, thank you for... keeping the robbers in your hands, so that they were friendly in front of you. Pis. to Matyushkin, 27. 1650

That is, the adjective polite originally comes from the word v?zha, later from v?zhestvo, v?zhestvo, meaning ‘knowledgeable, knowledgeable’, since the XVI century acquires the additional meaning of ‘courteous’. And from the Old Russian ignorance, ignorance, ignorance and Church Slavonic ignorance, the words ignoramus ‘rude, ill-mannered man’ and ignoramus ‘uneducated man' are formed. The suffix -liv-, which also appears since the XVI century, indicates a greater degree of manifestation of the trait, which is expressed by the root.

After the XVII century, polite and impolite are found in dictionaries already with the suffix -liv-.

In the dictionary of the XVIII century, the meaning of ‘courteous, courteous’ is preserved, along with the concepts of ‘civilized, enlightened‘ and 'trained, obedient (about a dog)'. "If you accept that she <greyhound dog> will be happy, the bell from under the hounds will make money on herself, .. then you can take her off the pack. [Ps. oh. 14]" ^[11].

In V. Dahl's dictionary, ignorance is ‘lack of learning, discourtesy, necessity, rudeness, indecency in treatment’ ^[15].

Ushakov's dictionary specifies the meaning of polite – "courteous, well-mannered, decent" Polite person. Polite treatment. Politely (adverb.) ask. Politely (adverb.) to address someone (1935) ^[16].

Polite, -ay, -oy, -a, -O. Observing the rules of decency, courteous, courteous. A polite person. Expressing courtesy. Polite tone. (MAS) ^[12].

Impolite, -aya, -oy, -liv, -a, -O. Violating the rules of politeness, decency, discourteous. An impolite person. Expressing discourtesy. An impolite answer. (MAS) ^[13].

Ignorant, -I. Rude, ill-mannered person. Razg. ignoramus, -s. uneducated, ignorant person; ignorant. ^[3].

Polite, -aya, -oe, -, liv-a, -O. Alien to rudeness, helpful, helpful. Polite seller. With colleagues, he is emphatically polite. Expressing courtesy, full of courtesy. Polite tone, polite address. Talk politely ^[3].

In the XX century, along with the meanings of ‘courteous / uncivil’, the meanings of ‘observing / violating the rules of decency’, ‘alien to rudeness / rude' appear.

According to the etymological dictionaries of the German language, the lexeme h ? flich comes from the word hovelich, which was used in the Middle High German language.

According to the Duden etymological dictionary, the appearance of the word h ? flich dates back to the XV century ^[21].

In addition, the dictionary of the Middle High German hoveh?ric ‘that refers to the yard (from people to things)’ («zu einem Hof geh?rig (von Personen und Sachen)») ^[28].

As noted in Mayer's dictionary, in the XV century the token H?flichkeit had the meaning - 'appropriate behavior at court' ("Hoflichkeit - urspr. das gesittete Benehmen bei No f e") ^[27].

A similar meaning is given in the Brockhaus dictionary ("das rechte Verhalten am F?rst. Hof») ^[0].

The definition of the adjective h ? flich shows the meaning of 'in a noble way, according to the kind of princely court' ("auf hofgem?sze weise, nach art eines f?rstlichen Hofes") ^[24].

The second meaning, also dated in German in the Middle High German period, is 'outward-facing, stately, handsome' ("auf das ?uszere ansehen gewendet, stattlich, ansehnlich") ^[22].

According to the same dictionary of Jacob N. Wilhelm Grimm, a later version of the word h ? flich has another meaning, namely, 'nice, exemplary attitude towards others, in treatment and in conversation' ("das feine, artige Verhalten gegen Andere, im Umgang und Gespr?ch mit Ihnen") ^[24].

That is, lexicographic analysis of the lexeme h ? flich showed that the word originated in the XV century and had the meaning of ‘appropriate behavior at court'. In the same century, the semantics of the word h ? flich develops, it has a second meaning ‘outward-facing, stately, handsome'. Later - ‘nice, exemplary attitude to other people’. It is the third value that the lexeme h ? flich retains to the present, and the first value goes back to the historical past.

Thus, a general definition of the meaning of polite in German and Russian is traced in a diachronic perspective. This is, first of all, the concept of polite as observing the rules and etiquette norms. However, there is a strong difference. In German, the original meaning refers to what is at court (German Hof): behavior, appearance, manners. In Russian, from the word vezha "knowledgeable, knowledgeable".

Evaluative semantics of the adjective polite

The adjective polite in its various grammatical forms in the NKRYA is found in 5175 examples ^[6]. The general assessment (according to N.D. Arutyunova) is awarded according to a set of characteristics ^[2]. What is associated with the word polite, in relation to a certain category of objects. 

1. As a rule, the adjective polite is used in combination with words naming, first of all, speech behavior, speech acts, everything related to speech. Cf.: polite refusal (50 examples), polite letter (19 examples), polite invitation (8 examples), polite phrase (6 examples) and others (NKRYA).

According to the etiquette speech formula, a polite refusal is often presented dryly, coldly. Cf.: "Not because I was afraid to stumble upon a cold polite refusal ..." [Alexander Volkov. Liquidators // "Zvezda", 2001].

A polite refusal is contrasted with rudeness. Cf.: "But instead of fulfilling his legitimate demand, instead of, finally, a polite refusal, he hears abuse, abuse from the mouth of his wife's lover, directed at him, who does not do any offense on his part." [F. N. Plevako. Speech in defense of Georgian (1883)]. Or: "She in the strongest despair, with tears rushed to the commissioner, begged him to release a loved one from such violence, but instead of a polite refusal, he rudely and inhumanly pushed her away from him" [N. E. Heinze. The Impostor (1898)].

A polite letter is also dry and evasive. Cf.: "Finally Wagner did send a short, dry, evasive, polite letter." [Yu. M. Nagibin. Where the table was viands ... (1972-1979)].

The phrase polite request is found in modern authors. Cf.: "Simple polite requests that worked so well with his older brother did not work with him" [R. J. Mackenzie. A stubborn child: how to set the boundaries of what is permissible, 2001].

Polite here acts only as observance of forms of decency and etiquette, determined by a sense of morality, observance of rules and ethical norms.

Polite also qualifies other actions and actions of a communicative nature; cf.: polite bow (79 examples), polite interest (13 examples), polite smile (8 examples), polite way (4 examples) and others (NKRYA). Cf.: "I listened, giving my face an expression of polite interest..." [N. I. Ilyina. Roads and Destinies (1957-1985)]. "A polite smile flashed across the dry face of the young scientist; it could not offend Stims, but, at the same time, emphasized the independence and amiable irony of the scientist." [A. P. Haydock. Something (1924-1934)]. "That's the way it is, Doctor… Not for my own pleasure. ?Ha-ha! I like this polite way of robbing. Yes... not only will they rob, but they will also ask from which end. Everything is according to the law, the main thing..." [D. N. Mamin is a Siberian. Bread (1895)].

2. As a consequence, the external manifestation of politeness is not equal to the internal content. A polite person (111 examples) in the NKRJ is one who has good manners. Cf.: "The postmaster was angry, but, as a polite person, he said: "After all, you are an assistant, you should come before me."" [F. M. Reshetnikov. Between people (1864)].

A polite man is educated. Cf.: "Your father was a polite man who understood a lot about cloth and other materials." [M. A. Bulgakov. The half-witted Jourdain. Moleriana in Three Acts (1932)].

A polite person is cultured. Sr.: "I have heard about them, and they told me that there are many very cultured and polite people among them." [F. I. Chaliapin. To my children (1932)].

A polite person – worthy. Wed: "Do your best to tell your boy the border, where it ends dignified politeness and where begins obsequious servility, and make it a complete consciousness of your own virtues, gentle man, kotorago will appreciate all, and caution him ot obsequious servility, which disgusts vs? NB." [A. K. Sheller-Mikhaylov. Letters of a man who has gone mad (1886)].

 3. Typical examples of usage reflect the opposition of good manners to "bad" content, which is served in a polite form; cf.: politely, but firmly (49 examples) in the meaning of a polite, but firm refusal. Cf.: "I also offered to leave the country. Alexander Markovich politely but firmly refused." [Masha Traub. Bad Mother (2010)]. "It was getting crowded, and the flag officer politely but firmly asked the audience not to interfere with him, as the matter is very serious." [M. M. Filippov. Besieged Sevastopol (1889)].

A polite but decisive refusal (6 examples). Cf.: "I don't remember why, but this firm stubbornly did not want to deal with Arkos, and it always answered all requests from him with a polite but decisive "no"." [G. A. Solomon (Isetsky). Among the Red Leaders (1930)].

4. Ironic contexts of use and frequent use in the form of a comparative degree of politeness (based on observations in the NCRR) indicate the grading of the assessment, the relativity of the norm with respect to politeness and the subjectivity of the assessment. Cf. examples: "Do you know, captain, the cleaner the prison and the more polite the jailers, the closer you are to death" [A. I. Aldan-Semenov. Red and White (1966-1973)]; "This g[ospodin] is a police officer, really, no more polite than Kyrgyz riders." [F. V. Bulgarin. Ivan Ivanovich Vyzhigin (1829)].

Cf. also an example with the derivative politely (66 examples): "I hear: I began to snore ? yes, so gently, in the old-fashioned way, politely." [I. S. Turgenev. Dog (1847-1852)].

Politely borders on rudeness and irony. Cf.: "Wash your hands, rinse your mouth and sit politely, because porridge is a tricky thing: it can get into the mouth, it can blindfold the eyes." [M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Satires in prose (1859-1862)].

In German, h ? fliche Bitte, h ? fliche Anfrage, h ? flicher Ton, h ? fliche Weise h ? fliche Umgangsformen (polite request, polite address, polite tone, polite way, polite manners) (Schweizer Textkorpus (CHTK)).

Almost all the examples found in the German corpus referred to the rules of polite tone:

Der h?fliche Gast wird sich immer bem?hen, p?nktlich zu sein. [Oheim, Gertrud: Einmaleins des guten Tons, G?tersloh: Bertelsmann 1957 [1955], S. 204]. - A polite guest will always try to arrive on time.

Auch wenn man manchmal nerv?s wird, sollte man h?flich bleiben. [Giesder, Gabriele: Gutes Benehmen, D?sseldorf: Econ-Taschenbuch-Verl. 1991 [1986], S. 193]. - Even if you are nervous sometimes, you have to remain polite.

The analysis of the semantics of the adjective polite reveals the conceptualization of ethical and etiquette assessments in this adjective. The analysis of examples of the use of the adjective and its synonyms represents the opposition of the essence of the Russian mentality - appearance, what is covered by polite behavior, manners, etc., and what constitutes the essence of a person, his inner qualities, attitude to people, intentions, etc. The concept of politeness, according to a stereotypical view, is combined with the concepts of kindness, gentleness of character, etc.

Synonymous rows of polite/impolite

The synonymous series of the adjective polite consists of the following units: courteous, correct, respectful courteous, helpful, amiable, gallant (Dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language - edited by A.P. Evgenieva, 2003).

In German, the synonymous series of the adjective h ? flich are: anst ? ndig, artig, aufmerksam, entgegenkommend, fein, formgewandt, freundlich, galant, gef ? llig, geschliffen, kavaliersm ig, kultiviert, manierlich, pflichtschuldigst, ritterlich, r ? cksichtsvoll, taktvoll, umg ? nglich, verbindlich, vornehm, wohlerzogen, zuvorkommend (decent, well-mannered, attentive, amiable, sweet, well-mannered, friendly, gallant, helpful, cultured, well-mannered, obliging, chivalrous, delicate, tactful, courteous, helpful, aristocratically noble, well-mannered) (E. und H. Bulitta. Das Kr?ger Lexikon der Synonyme, 1993). Cf. kind, friendly and German freundlich, entgegenkommend.

In addition to the ethical and etiquette assessment, there is an aesthetic evaluative component in the adjectives of politeness (see the works on the adjectives of aesthetic assessment by N.D. Arutyunova, V.Z. Demyankov, N.G. Bragina, M.L. Kovshova). Cf., for example, Russian gallant. Gallantly doing something means not only observing the norms of decency, the rules of etiquette, but doing it beautifully.

In German, aesthetic evaluation is conceptualized in the lexemes: herzlich, einf ? hlsam, ritterlich, galant, kavalierm ig (cordial, sensitive, like a knight, gallant, like a cavalier) (Duden. Sinn- und sachverwandte W?rter, 1997). Cf. rus.: polite as a king. (Everywhere and with everyone he was equally cordial and polite, like a king. [S. N. Yesin. Diary (2006)]). Polite as a knight. (So I won't be as polite as a sir and a knight should be. [Anna Karabash. Sir Pavel Kuznetsov (2002) // "Brownie", 04.12.2002]).

In stable comparisons: Rus. behave like a knight, like a king; German. sich ritterlich zu verhalten (behave chivalrously), ein Kavalier der alten Schule (cavalier of the old school) embodies the standards of politeness, the image of a knight concentrates the ethical, etiquette and aesthetic aspects of evaluation. We can talk about a scale of politeness that moves from the norm towards aesthetic significance.

The idiomatics of politeness

The term "politeness" is embedded in its origin. As we found out, polite in German refers to the place of its origin - "yard" (German. Hof) and is a living reminder of the conditions in which it originated. There are rarely words in the language that display such a direct sign.

It remains to be seen whether the everyday expression of "politeness" will continue to exist in the sense that it follows current social changes in communicative behavior and changes its meaning, its meaning, or whether native speakers continue to use it exclusively in the "old language".

Instead of remote, dry politeness, which is increasingly "going out of fashion", they are looking for a new expression for "new politeness". In this case, you can see if the term "politeness" will become obsolete along with the status of the old model of politeness.

Nothing will ever fix the concept of a polite person once and for all. Since "the varieties of human behavior and the meanings of the terms used to describe it are constantly changing" ^[29].

Politeness as a value concept is close to the normative ideal; the ethical and etiquette assessment of "polite" is subjective, politeness has an external manifestation, can hide essential relationships and therefore can be used as a euphemism (cf. the new idiom that appeared in 2014, polite people). Cf.: "Putin seized Crimea. Polite people appeared in the east of Ukraine. The ruble was falling." [A. A. Botev. Limitrophic man // "Volga", 2014].

Politeness as a property of a person manifests itself, as a rule, in a specific situation; constant or excessive, excessive politeness in the language is reinterpreted as flattery, obsequiousness, etc. Cf. rus.: honey sugar, ice and molasses, as honey (Phraseological Dictionary of Phraseological synonyms 1997).

 In German, it manifests itself as insincere politeness – the politeness of a fox (Fuchs H?flichkeit). Cf.: Bald hernach verm?hlete sich Hertzog Augustus mit de? K?nigs von Dennemarck Christiani tochter / und resignirete das Bischoffthum de Weyhbischoff von Meintz / Michaeli Sydonio, derselbige war ein rechter h?fflicher und gelehrter fuchs / konte sich bey jederman gar h?fflich insinuiren / zanckete nit wider das Evangelium... [Arnold, Gottfried: Unpartheyische Kirchen- und Ketzer-Historie. Bd. 2 (T. 3/4). Frankfurt (Main), 1700.]. - Shortly after that, Duke August married the daughter of King Dennemark Christiani / and refused the bishopric of Weichbischoff von Mainz / Michaeli Sidonio, he was a very polite and learned fox / could politely hint at everyone / did not argue with the gospel…

There are few idiomatic expressions reflecting the concept of politeness in both language cultures. But such expressions show an exception to the rule. Something that goes beyond describing the semantics of an adjective.

Conclusion

The fact that so much attention has been paid to the issues of politeness and good behavior over the past 30 years is probably due to the abuse of polite phrases in German. The rules of good form have been formed here for centuries, as shown by the semantics of the adjective polite/h ? flich. But to behave chivalrously meant to be cordial and sensual (herzlich, einf ? hlsam). Now there is more and more talk about sincere politeness – from the heart (H?flichkeit muss von Herzen kommen). Therefore, in the German language picture of the world, the question now arises that not every form of proper interaction (etiquette) with each other is polite.

In the Russian language, the adjectives polite have an etiquette, ethical, and aesthetic assessment (let's recall an example: it's gallant to do something). But unlike the German language, we see a different origin of the adjective itself. In German, from the word yard – Hof, in Russian from vzha - knowledgeable, knowledgeable. Which served as a different development of the concept of politeness in both language cultures. Politeness in the Russian language culture manifests itself in a specific situation and often does not depend on etiquette formulas.