Politeness and the History of English

Historical pragmatics, the domain of this last chapter, has developed strikingly in the past twenty years, especially with reference to English. Signs of politeness in Old English are limited, but in Middle English, the era of courtly love brings prominence to “courtesy” between man and woman; the Approbation, Generosity, Tact, and Modesty maxims are all in play. In the centuries preceding the seventeenth, the great strength of the vertical distance factor in a highly hierarchical society is manifest in honorific language showing extreme deference to aristocrats and other powerful people; but during the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries this was in decline, reaching an extreme egalitarian avoidance of status distinguishers in the present democratized society. At the same time, the Tact Maxim, reflecting the individual’s right to privacy and self-determination, has gained in power. Despite these radical changes in the Modern era, it is difficult to substantiate the claim that politeness is on the decline.