Curso Gratis OM First Certificate-Preparacion Gratuita del examen FCE First Certificate-Cursos de Ingles Gratis

ASKING WITH POLITENESS

Look at these two questions. Which of them seems more polite?

a.	'What does that mean, being a football trainee?'
b.	'Could you tell us what that means, being a football trainee?'

The second question seems more polite because of the structure used: indirect question.

One of the many ways of signalling politeness in British English is to use indirect rather than direct questions: these have the effect of making the sentence longer and less direct, both of which are usually interpreted as a sign of politeness.

PITCH IN BRITISH ENGLISH

Pitch is the property of sound that changes with variation in the frequency of vibration, that is, how the level of your speech is set.

Now, pay close attention to the following basic points about the implication of pitch in British English:

USE OF THIS VOICE:		IMPLIES THESE ATTITUDES:
middle range	►	neutral / normal
low range	►	rude / bored / aggressive
high range	►	polite / uncertain

Note that some nationalities will need to pay more attention to this phonological feature than others, especially if the normal range usually used in the mother tongue is the low range.

AUDIO EXAMPLES

And now let us check the following ten examples. Just click on the speakers and listen carefully. After listening to each audio file, repeat it aloud trying to imitate the intonation:

ACQUAINTANCE TO ACQUAINTANCE

What does that mean, being a football trainee?

REPORTER TO STRANGER TO APPEAR POLITE

Could you tell us what that means, being a football trainee?

JOB APPLICANT TO INTERVIEWER

Could you tell me what the salary is?

FRIEND TO FRIEND

What's the salary?

PARENT OR TEACHER TO CHILD

Shut the door.

COLLEAGUE TO COLLEAGUE

Could you please shut the door?

CLASSMATE TO CLASSMATE

Can you repeat that?

STUDENT TO TEACHER

Do you think you could possibly repeat that, please?

FRIEND TO FRIEND

Do you know where the lifts are?

10.

STRANGER TO STRANGER

Do you know where the lifts are?

FINAL ADVICE

For teaching purposes only, we think these two basic rules simplify complex linguistic and social behaviour:

RULE 1. When people want to show politeness in spoken British English they tend to use a higher pitch and longer sentences. This is particularly true when talking to strangers or superiors.

RULE 2. When speaking to people they know well or strangers they want to seem friendly towards, they tend to use shorter sentences and a lower pitch.

In the exercise below you can practise this grammar.

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