A Pragmatic Study Of Politeness In Doctor-patient Oral Interaction In Outpatient Departments

Politeness, as a universal phenomenon. can be observed in all languages and cultures, therefore politeness principle, which is regarded as an important principle guiding human interaction, has drawn much attention from scholars and researchers. Both in the West and in China, much general study of politeness has been made on ordinary interaction but less is associated with institutional interaction. Doctor-patient interaction is also an important institutional interaction and closely related to our daily life. thus this paper mainly examines the politeness issue in doctor-patient interaction.This paper mainly targets at doctor-patient oral interaction in outpatient departments of Chinese hospitals. Basing on the transcription and translation of twenty doctor-patient interactions tape-recorded in natural setting in three hospitals, under the framework of pragmatic politeness theory, this paper aims to examine the politeness phenomena in doctor-patient interaction. more specifically, trying to analyze the violation and compliance of some politeness principles on both parts of doctor and patient as well as the current doctor-patient relationship reflected in the politeness phenomena.This paper mainly follows the framework of face theory proposed by Brown &Levinson and the distinguishing of positive face and negative face. analyzing the impolite phenomena on both parts of doctor and patient from the aspect of the face threatening acts on positive and negative face, and the polite phenomena from aspect of redressive acts on positive and negative face. According to careful analysis of the collected linguistic data of doctor-patient interaction, the study has found:1. Owing to the goal-oriented feature of doctor-patient interaction, both participants pay less attention to politeness yet show much concern about the solution to medical issue.2. Comparatively speaking, patients hold much politeness, giving great respect and obedience to doctors while doctors hold less politeness with utterance in a top-down and businesslike manner.3. The general features of politeness in doctor-patient interaction display the unequal position of doctors and patients in medical information, institutional power and interpersonal relationship.Basing on the politeness features in doctor-patient interaction and the current doctor-patient relationship reflected in it, this paper moves forward to propose some politeness strategies, ten for doctors and seven for patients, which are expected to be applicable to doctor-patient interaction and promote the equal and harmonious doctor-patient interaction.