Teorias de im/polidez linguística: revisitando o estado da arte para uma contribuição teórica sobre o tema

Abstract

Taking into consideration the importance of research on linguistic politeness since the 1970s, in this paper we will proceed a review and a discussion of the theories of im/politeness. Based on Culpeper, we understand that the theories encompassing the area can be grouped into two “waves” or phases. The first phase incorporates the approaches responsible for consolidating the field of politeness studies, such as Brown and Levinson, Lakoff and Leech. The second phase puts together the views emerging in the 90s and 2000s that scrutinized the controversies stemming from earlier studies. We also discuss some relatively novel approaches employed in politeness research in Brazil: Culpeper, Watts and Terkourafi. Finally, we intend to highlight the growing interest in the studies on linguistic politeness, while we also show how contemporary theories attempt to overcome the controversies left by the pioneering studies, as well as how they promote advances in this field of language studies.