Linguistic politeness in Polish social media – an overview of the problem

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to formulate the principles of linguistic politeness that are operative in Polish social media (SM). The analysis focuses on the most popular SM in Poland – Facebook. The research has shown that the form of linguistic politeness operative in SM depends on: technical functionality; talking about oneself and using indirect speech acts is a commonly accepted behaviour in SM; verbal and non-verbal messages are considered equivalent acts of linguistic politeness; the most important cultural principles underlying linguistic politeness in SM are an orientation towards sincerity of conversation and a ridiculing attitude towards reality. Although the manifestations of the traditional and the social media model of linguistic politeness differ, both use the same communication script: conforming to the expectations of the recipient.