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Article published In: Historical (socio)pragmatics at present
Edited by Matylda Włodarczyk and Irma Taavitsainen
[Journal of Historical Pragmatics 18:2] 2017
► pp. 195–213

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The influence of Italian manners on politeness in England, 1550–1620

 | Lancaster University
Published online: 9 February 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jhp.00002.cul
Abstract
This paper focuses on the influence of Italian conduct manuals, as translated into English, in the second half of the sixteenth century and early seventeenth century. I approach this task in two ways. One is to trace the rise of the term manners, and also to examine the words with which it typically cohabited, thus giving a sense of the discourses of which it was a part. The analysis reveals a dramatic rise in usage of the term in the period 1550–1624, and its role in discourses to do with social regulation, negative evaluation and moralizing. The other is to undertake a detailed comparison of Della Casa’s Galateo and, in particular, Brown, Penelope and Stephen C. Levinson. 1987. Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar. The major finding here is the close similarity between the two. Along the way, the paper also airs some theoretical distinctions relating to notions of politeness, notably the distinction between first- and second-order politeness, and touches on some of the features of the social context of Early Modern England.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Politeness: the academic view and the non-academic view
  • 3.Italian manners manuals: the impact in England
    • 3.1The social context
    • 3.2The impact
  • 4.Della Casa’s Galateo (1558) and present-day politeness theories
    • 4.1Aspects of positive politeness
      • Avoid disparagement of the other, speak kindly
      • Show others that we love them and value their love, greet them, treat others as friends
      • Avoid topics that may give offence
      • Don’t question, contradict, rebuke, or correct
      • Share a fault
      • Be interested in others
    • 4.2Aspects of negative politeness
      • Show respect, don’t use ridicule
    • 4.3Aspects of off-record politeness
      • Use “sweete” talk
    • 4.4Aspects only covered by Leech (1983)
      • Don’t talk too much or too little
    • 4.5Aspects of the Galateo not clearly covered by modern classic theories
      • Avoid indelicate, vulgar, or coarse words
      • Guard against being too fastidious or sensitive
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
References (34)
References
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