Variables affecting face threat

Brown and Levinson argue that an assessment of the amount of face threat of a particular act involves three sociological variables, the first two of which are much-discussed social relations: (1) the social distance between participants, (2) the relative power of the hearer over the speaker, and (3) the absolute ranking of the imposition involved in the act (see, in particular, 1987: 74–78). For example, Brown and Levinson would predict that asking a new colleague for a cup of tea is more face-threatening than asking a long-standing colleague (the distance variable); asking one’s employer for a cup of tea is more face-threatening than asking a colleague (the power variable); and asking for a glass of vintage port is more face-threatening than asking for a glass of water (the ranking variable). They claim that these three variables subsume all other factors that can influence an assessment of face threat, and also that numerical values could be attached to each variable, so that the degree of face threat can be summed according to a formula (ibid.: 76). The point of calculating face threat, according to Brown and Levinson, is that it will lead to “a determination of the level of politeness with which, other things being equal, an FTA will be communicated” (ibid.). They do not, however, attempt to apply this formula in a quantitative analysis of face threat.