The second edition of this collection of 13 original papers contains an updated introductory
section detailing the significance that the original articles published in 1992 have for the
further development of research into linguistic politeness into the 21st century.The original
articles focus on the phenomenon of politeness in language. They present the most important
problems in developing a theory of linguistic politeness which must deal with the crucial
differences between lay notions of politeness in different cultures and the term 'politeness'
as a concept within a theory of linguistic politeness. The universal validity of the term
itself is called into question as are models such as those developed by Brown and Levinson
Lakoff and Leech. New approaches are suggested. In addition to this theoretical discussion an
empirical section presents a number of case studies and research projects in linguistic
politeness. These show what has been achieved within current models and what still remains to
be done in particular with reference to cross-cultural studies in politeness and differences
between a Western and a non-Western approach to the subject. The publication of this second
edition demonstrates that the significance of the collection is just as salient in the first
decade of the new millennium as it was at the beginning of the 1990s.
