Favor‐Seeking Styles in Japan and the United States

Abstract

Favor‐seeking is a directive type of speech act that attempts to impede the freedom of action of the hearer. Expressing apologies or thanks in conjunction with favor‐seeking can be viewed as a politeness strategy used to reduce the face threats associated with favor‐seeking. Since Japanese and Americans use apologies and thanks differently when seeking favors, understanding their differences is useful for effective intercultural communication.