Discursive Construction of Asian Responses towards Impoliteness

This study investigates the responses of Asian speakers towards impoliteness they received. Using conversations between participants of the reality TV show ‘The Amazing Race Asia’ from Season Two and Season Four (Lau & White, 2007, 2010) as our data, we investigated how participants responded when their ‘face’ (sense of dignity) was being threatened or attacked. We explored the response options proposed by Bousfield (2008) and applied them to this Asian context. Findings of the study indicate that most of the participants responded to impoliteness by denying responsibility by offering an account or explaining their respective mistakes in order to reduce face damage. Those who avoided argument tended to either accept the face-threatening act or remain silent. Additionally, obeying a command was a response found in the study, which may be included under response strategies of accepting a face-threatening act.