Cover not available

Article published In: Politeness in and across Historical Europe
Edited by Annick Paternoster, Gudrun Held and Dániel Z. Kádár
[Journal of Historical Pragmatics 24:1] 2023
► pp. 198–216

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

Historical changes in politeness norms

Are Finnish and French conceptions of politeness moving closer to each other?

ORCiD logo with link | University of Helsinki
Published online: 8 March 2023
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jhp.00062.iso
Abstract
Although French courtly models spread to Europe, little research has compared the development of politeness in France with more remote European linguacultures. To fill this gap, I examine folk understandings of historical politeness in Finnish and French linguacultures. Concentrating on cultural outsiders’ own understandings – that is, French people living in Finland and Finns who live or have lived in France – my study lies within the framework of a discursive approach, and draws upon data from five focus-group discussions and their dialogical discourse analysis. My study shows that the different forms of government, levels of urbanisation and branches of Christianity reportedly influenced differences in Finnish and French politeness. Yet, during participants’ stays in these respective countries, an affinity towards politeness was described as stemming from globalisation. Future research should examine if the frames of expectations of politeness in Europe are generally moving closer towards one another.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Societal changes and their influence on historical politeness practices in Finland and France
  • 3.Theoretical framework, data and methods
  • 4.Analysis
    • 4.1Reports of historical causes resulting in differences between Finnish and French politeness
    • 4.2Perceived recent changes in Finnish and French politeness
      • 4.2.1Perceived recent changes in Finnish politeness
      • 4.2.2Perceived recent changes in French politeness
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
References (30)
References
Alfonzetti, Giovanna. 2023. “A European Model of Polite Conversation? Della Casa, Gioia and Knigge”. Special issue of Journal of Historical Pragmatics 24 (1): 105–123. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Burke, Peter. 1996. The Fortunes of the Courtier: The European Reception of Castiglione’s Cortegiano. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Danblon, Emmanuelle, Bernard de Clerck, and Jean-Pierre van Noppen. 2005. “Politeness in Belgium: Face, Distance and Sincerity in Service-Exchange Rituals”. In Leo Hickey and Melinda Stewart (eds), Politeness in Europe, 45–57. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
France, Peter. 1992. Politeness and its Discontents: Problems in French Classical Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Garcés-Conejos Blitvich, Pilar, Nuria Lorenzo-Dus and Patricia Bou-Franch. 2010. “A Genre Approach to Impoliteness in a Spanish Television Talk Show: Evidence from Corpus-Based Analysis, Questionnaires and Focus Groups”. Intercultural Pragmatics 7 (4): 689–723. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hofstede, Geert. 2011. “Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context”. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture 2 (1): 1–26. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Holttinen, Tuuli. 2016. “Stratégies de requête dans un bureau de tabac et dans son équivalent finlandais R-kioski”. In Congrès Mondial de Linguistique Française (CMLF), 1–17. Accessed 10 February 2020 at: [URL]
Isosävi, Johanna. 2020. “Cultural Outsiders’ Evaluations of (Im)Politeness in Finland and in France”. Journal of Politeness Research: Language, Behaviour, Culture 16 (2): 249–280. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Isosävi, Johanna and Hanna Lappalainen. 2015. “First Names in Starbucks: A Clash of Cultures?” In Catrin Norrby and Camilla Wide (eds), Address Practice as Social Action: European Perspectives, 97–118. London: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kádár, Dániel Z. and Michael Haugh. 2013. Understanding Politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kádár, Dániel Z., Gudrun Held and Annick Paternoster. 2023. “Introduction: Politeness in and across Historical Europe”. Special issue of Journal of Historical Pragmatics 24 (1): 1–15. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kerbrat-Orecchioni, Catherine. 1992. Les Interactions Verbales [‘Verbal Interactions’]. (Volume II1.) Paris: Armand Colin.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2005. “Politeness in France: How to Buy Bread Politely”. In Leo Hickey and Miranda Stewart (eds), Politeness in Europe, 29–44. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Larjavaara, Matti. 1999. “Kieli, kohteliaisuus ja puhuttelu” [‘Language, Politeness and Forms of Address’]. Kielikello 21: 4–10. Accessed 14 September 2017 at: [URL]
Lacroix, Michel. 1990. De la politesse: Essai sur la littérature du savoir-vivre [‘About Politeness: Essay of the Literature of Good Manners’]. Paris: Juilliard.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Locher, Miriam A. and Richard J. Watts. 2005. “Politeness Theory and Relational Work”. Journal of Politeness Research 1 (1): 9–33. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2008. “Relational Work and Impoliteness : Negotiating Norms of Linguistic Behaviour”. In Derek Bousfield and Miriam A. Locher (eds), Impoliteness in Language: Studies on Its Interplay with Power in Theory and Practice, 77–99. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marková, Ivana, Per Linell, Michèle Grossen and Anne Salazar-Orvig. 2006. Dialogue in Focus Groups: Exploring Socially Shared Knowledge. London: Equinox Publishing Ltd.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Montandon, Alain. 1997. Politesse et Savoir-vivre [‘Politeness and Good Manners’]. Paris: Anthropos.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Paternoster, Annick. 2023. “The Codification of Nineteenth-Century Etiquette: On Politeness, Morality, Rituals and Discernment”. Special issue of Journal of Historical Pragmatics 24 (1): 160–178. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Picard, Dominique. 1995. Les rituels du savoir-vivre [‘Rituals of Good Manners’]. Paris: Seuil.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Revel, Jacques. 1986. “Les Usages de La Civilité” [‘Usages of Civility’]. In Philippe Ariès and Georges Duby (eds), Histoire de La Vie Privée. De La Renaissance Aux Lumières [‘History of Private Life: From the Renaissance to the Enlightenment’], 169–209. (Volume 31.) Paris: Seuil.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rouvillois, Frédéric. 2006. Histoire de La Politesse de 1789 à Nos Jours [‘History of Politeness from 1789 to the Present’]. Paris: Seuil.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Salmi, Hannu. 2005. “Erasmus Rotterdamilainen ja hyvien tapojen historia” [‘Erasmus of Rotterdam and the History of Good Manners’]. In Heli Paalumäki and Hannu Salmi (eds), Erasmus Rotterdamilainen. Kultainen kirja. Nuorten hyvistä tavoista [‘Erasmus of Rotterdam. Golden Book. Of Good Manners of Youngsters’], 96–122. Turku: Faros.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sinnemäki, Aino. 1988. Käytösoppaat tutkimuksen kohteena. Lähikuvassa suomenkieliset käytösoppaat 1886–1986 [‘Good Manners’ Guides as an Object of Research. Focus on Finnish Good Manners’ Guides 1886–1986’]. (Master’s dissertation.) University of Helsinki.
Sorjonen, Marja-Leena, Liisa Raevaara and Hanna Lappalainen. 2009. “Mä otan tän. Käynnin syyn esittämisen tavat kioskilla” [‘I Will Take This. Ways of Presenting the Reason for the Encounter’]. In Hanna Lappalainen and Liisa Raevaara (eds), Kieli kioskilla. Tutkimuksia kioskiasioinnin rutiineista [‘Language at the Convenience Store: Studies of Routines in Convenience Store Service Encounters’], 90–119. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Suolahti, Gunnar. 1993. Vuosisatain takaa. Kulttuurihistoriallisia kuvauksia 1500–1800-luvuilta [‘Since Hundreds of Years. Descriptions of Cultural History from 16th to 19th Century’]. Edited by Matti Klinge. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Unceta Gómez, Luis. 2023. “Facetus and the Birth of ‘European’ Politeness”. Special issue of Journal of Historical Pragmatics 24 (1): 32–48. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (4)

Cited by four other publications

Fremer, Maria
2023. The informalisation of address practice in Swedish in a historical perspective. Journal of Historical Pragmatics 24:1 ► pp. 179 ff. DOI logo
Isosävi, Johanna
2023. L’emploi de formes d’adresse dans les interactions interculturelles – perceptions et discussions authentiques entre francophones et finnophones. Discours :33 DOI logo
Kádár, Dániel Z., Gudrun Held & Annick Paternoster
2023. Introduction. Journal of Historical Pragmatics 24:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Paternoster, Annick
2023. The codification of nineteenth-century etiquette. Journal of Historical Pragmatics 24:1 ► pp. 160 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue