Jana Sopf
As Schnurr & Zayts (2017) outline, the basic premise of language and workplace research is that when members from different cultural backgrounds interact, the differences in culture will inevitably result in misunderstanding or even conflict (p. 23). This claim is slightly problematic because it presupposes the emergence of conflict, or misunderstanding at the very least, in intercultural business interactions.
The basic principles related to intercultural (im)politeness – face and culture – are both dynamic and constantly evoked in intercultural interactions. As a result, there is no definite list of inherently impolite or face-threatening behaviours as they are negotiated between interlocutors as the interaction unfolds.
Zhu & Bao (2010) offer some advice for navigating the world of cross-cultural communication: “people should do their best to use the correct politeness principle [and] avoid the cultural conflict” (p. 851). However, this can prove slightly challenging; what happens when you have no knowledge of the ‘correct’ politeness principle?
E-mails: a different dimension of politeness
Although we can’t pinpoint exactly why, e-mails seem to be a universal pain for those in any intuitional setting, which is why many of us resort to a) procrastinating with replies or b) drafting hoards of passive-aggressive e-mails. However, since we are separated from our ‘interlocutor,’ it is actually not surprising that more effort is required to adapt our written dialogue to clearly reflect its illocutionary purpose (presuming that is the communicative goal). To anyone who has ever had to write a professional e-mail, this process of drafting and re-writing, procrastinating and contemplating whether you have accurately translated your tone of voice into an email is all too familiar. You might agonize over each word, your grammar, the amount of information you’ve included, whether you’ve gotten to the point and if you’ve hedged any face-threatening acts (e.g. requests, refusals) enough. Don’t forget your fair share of over-the-top pleasantries (e.g. ‘Thank you very much in advance!’) and deciding on the appropriate number of exclamation points to indicate that the text is not hostile! While we may all take too long mulling over our e-mails, it may indicate that we are struggling to transform and condense conversational politeness into one simple e-mail. Reading out loud can help getting a feel for how rude your e-mail sounds, or using tone-recognition software that can help your soften your language. However, if you are aiming for a passive aggressive tone, by all means – go for it!
“I live outside the UK so when I say ‘With all due respect’ nobody realises I’m insulting them”
Source: BuzzFeed British Problems
While being polite, or rather avoiding being rude, is always the clever choice, watch out for excessive apologies or timid language. Striking the right balance is tricky, especially since there are many ways to achieve an intended illocutionary force with linguistic forms. While it may seem a stereotypical British no-no, being direct and overt does not have to be inherently impolite. E-mail etiquette is slightly different from conventional interaction, cutting to the chase is a star quality to have because really – do we really want to sift through a web of eloquent grammatical constructions just to find the main idea?
Studies have shown that positive and negative politeness are equally frequent in the early stages of business contact, but negative politeness dominates in later stages (Pilegaard 1997). The theory behind this is that once common ground is established, there is less of a need to positive politeness as a “social accelerator” as the power dynamic becomes clearer (Pilegaard 1997, p. 241). Think of your correspondence with a professor – while the first e-mail typically opens with ‘Dear Professor X’ and end with a sincere closing such as ‘Best regards’, which heavily contrasts the typically less formal and rigid reply. Your professor might even not bother with a closing remark, resorting to a ‘sent from my iPhone’ instead of a ‘regards / cheerio / thanks’.
Intercultural Politeness 