Awareness and the Practice of Politeness among Malaysian Youths: Assessing the Applicability of Brown Levinson’s Politeness Theory

This paper discusses the relationship between awareness and politeness among Malaysian secondary school students with reference to initial findings gathered from a preliminary study involving the applicability of Brown Levinson’s Politeness Theory (1987). It argues that this theory needs to be modified and restructured to be applicable to the Malaysian contexts. This is crucial given that religious and traditional moral values are an integral part of the Malaysian youths’ way of life and should not be dislodged. They provide acceptable bearings on Malaysia’s multiculturalism, and by implications, on the formation of the youths’ self identity.