Face and Face Practices in Chinese Talk-in-interaction

Book excerpt: The main purpose of this book is to address the knowledge-gap in the field by focusing on the importance of emic conceptualizations (face1) in theorizing face, since existing research on face to date has tended to rely on the etic perspective (face2) in theorizing and conceptualizing face. However, in applying an interactional pragmatics approach instead of simply describing Chinese in a normative, and thus potentially stereotypical manner, through drawing only on folk notions and discourse, this book contributes to face research and pragmatics research in general. It builds on an analysis of original face-to-face interactional data and employs a combination of methodological approaches to analyze face in business setting. Moreover, this work is the very first study to examine face and face practices in Chinese employing Face Constituting Theory (FCT) as the theoretical framework. In doing so it provides empirical support for the importance of examining the cognitive and the interactional aspects of face practices, as well as providing insightful perspectives on the complex interactional moves that participants employ in managing their interpersonal relationships in the process of attaining significant interactional goals in business interactions and mediations. In this way, the book addresses key current debates regarding how face should be conceptualized and theorized. It also demystifies Chinese communication through the detailed analysis undertaken, and thereby illuminates some unidentified face practices, both culture-general and cultural-specific.