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Face is a class of behaviors and customs practiced mainly in
Asian culture The culture of Asia encompasses the collective and diverse customs and traditions of art, architecture, music, literature, lifestyle, philosophy, politics and religion that have been practiced and maintained by the numerous ethnic groups ...
s, associated with the
morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of co ...
,
honor Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...
, and authority of an individual (or group of individuals), and its image in
social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...
groups. Face refers to a sociological concept in general linked to the
dignity Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable ...
and
prestige Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.) Prestige may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films * ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...
that a person has in terms of their social relationships. This idea with different nuances is observed in many societies and cultures such as Chinese,
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n,
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n, Laotian,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n, Japanese,
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
ese,
Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
, Thai,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n and other Slavic cultures. Face has more meanings within the context of
Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
.


Definitions

Although Chinese writer
Lin Yutang Lin Yutang ( ; October 10, 1895 – March 26, 1976) was a Chinese inventor, linguist, novelist, philosopher, and translator. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generati ...
claimed "face cannot be translated or defined", these definitions have been created: * Face is an image of
self The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhoo ...
delineated in terms of approved social attributes. * Face is the respectability and/or deference which a person can claim for themself or from others. * Face is a quality that can be lost, maintained, or enhanced, and must be constantly attended to in interaction. * Face is a sense of worth that comes from knowing one's
status Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to: * Status (law) ** City status ** Legal status, in law ** Political status, in international law ** Small entity status, in patent law ** Status confere ...
and reflecting concern with the congruence between one's performance or appearance and one's real worth. * "Face" means "sociodynamic valuation", a lexical hyponym of words meaning "prestige; dignity; honor; respect; status".


By culture


Chinese

In China, in particular, the concepts of , and play an extremely important role in the fabric of society. In
Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
, "face" refers to two distinct concepts, although linked in Chinese social relations. One is (), and the other is (), which are used regularly in everyday language although not so much in formal writing. Two influential Chinese authors explained face. The Chinese writer
Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. ...
referred to the American missionary Arthur Henderson Smith's interpretation.
Lin Yutang Lin Yutang ( ; October 10, 1895 – March 26, 1976) was a Chinese inventor, linguist, novelist, philosopher, and translator. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generati ...
considered the psychology of "face". () "face; personal esteem; countenance; surface; side" occurs in words like: * () "face; side; reputation; self-respect; prestige, honor; social standing" * ( zh, labels=no , s= 面目 , l=face and eyes) "face; appearance; respect; social standing; prestige; honor (only used in ancient Chinese prose. Now it only means
appearance Appearance may refer to: * Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light * Human physical appearance, what someone looks like * ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp * Appearance (philosophy), or p ...
)" * ( zh, labels=no , s=面皮 , l=face skin) "facial skin; complexion; feelings; sensitivity; sense of shame" * ( zh, labels=no , s= 體面 , l=body face) "face; good looking; honor; dignity; prestige" * ( zh, labels=no , s=情面 , l=feelings face) "face; prestige; favor; kindness; partiality" Hsien-chin Hu says, () "face; countenance; respect; reputation; prestige" is seen in several face words: * ( zh, labels=no , t=臉上 , l=face on/above) "one's face; honor; respect" * ( zh, labels=no , t=臉面 , l=face face) "face; self-respect; prestige; influence" * ( zh, labels=no , t=臉皮 , l=face skin) "face; sensitivity; compassion" Hu contrasts ( zh, labels=no , t=沒有臉 , l=without face) "audacious; wanton; shameless" as "the most severe condemnation that can be made of a person" and ( zh, labels=no , t=不要臉 , l=don't want face) "shameless; selfishly inconsiderate" as "a serious accusation meaning that ego does not care what society thinks of his character, that he is ready to obtain benefits for himself in defiance of moral standards". ) "face; prestige; reputation; honor" occurs in the common expression and the words: * (( zh, labels=no, t=顏厚, l=face thick) or "thick-skinned; brazen; shameless; impudent" * ( zh, labels=no, t=顏面, l=face face) "face; honor; prestige"


English

Several American newspapers from 1874 listed the concept in a column of "Chinese Proverbs" or "Facts & Fancies" stating "The Chinese, be it observed, are great sticklers for propriety and respectability, and are very much afraid of what they term "losing face"." ''Loss of face'' occurs in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' (August 3, 1929): "Each wishes to concede only what can be conceded without loss of 'face'". ''
Save face Face is a class of behaviors and customs practiced mainly in Asian cultures, associated with the morality, honor, and authority of an individual (or group of individuals), and its image in social groups. Face refers to a sociological concept in ...
'' was coined from ''lose face'' applying the semantic
opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
between '' lose'' and '' save'' ( zh, s=保面子, p=bǎo miànzi, l=guard/save face; when successful, it's called zh, s=保住面子, p=bǎozhu miànzi, l=saved/guarded face, labels=no). ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'' (OED) defines Save 8 as: "To keep, protect or guard (a thing) from damage, loss, or destruction", and elaborates, Among the English words of Chinese origin, ''lose face'' is an uncommon
verb phrase In linguistics, a verb phrase (VP) is a syntactic unit composed of a verb and its arguments except the subject of an independent clause or coordinate clause. Thus, in the sentence ''A fat man quickly put the money into the box'', the words ''q ...
and a unique
semantic loan A semantic loan is a process of borrowing semantic meaning (rather than lexical items) from another language, very similar to the formation of calques. In this case, however, the complete word in the borrowing language already exists; the change i ...
translation. Most Anglo-Chinese borrowings are
noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, ...
s, with a few exceptions such as '' to kowtow'', '' to Shanghai'', '' to brainwash'', and ''lose face''. English ''face'', meaning "prestige" or "honor", is the only case of a Chinese
semantic loan A semantic loan is a process of borrowing semantic meaning (rather than lexical items) from another language, very similar to the formation of calques. In this case, however, the complete word in the borrowing language already exists; the change i ...
. Semantic loans extend an indigenous word's meaning in conformity with a foreign model (e.g., the French , , used in the sense of English ''realize''). The vast majority of English words from Chinese are ordinary loanwords with regular phonemic adaptation (e.g., ''
chop suey Chop suey () is a dish in American Chinese cuisine and other forms of overseas Chinese cuisine, consisting of meat (usually chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or fish) and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery a ...
'' < Cantonese ). A few are
calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language w ...
s where a borrowing is blended with native elements (e.g., ''chopsticks'' < Pidgin ''chop'' "quick, fast" < Cantonese + ''stick''). ''Face'' meaning "prestige" is technically a loan synonym, owing to semantic overlap between the native English meaning "outward semblance; effrontery" and the borrowed Chinese meaning "prestige; dignity". When ''face'' acquired its Chinese sense of "prestige; honor", it filled a
lexical gap In linguistics an accidental gap, also known as a gap, paradigm gap, accidental lexical gap, lexical gap, lacuna, or hole in the pattern, is a potential word, word sense, morpheme, or other form that does not exist in some language despite being t ...
in the English lexicon. Chan and Kwok write, Carr concludes,


Russian and other Slavic

Russian Orthodox concept of face () is different from the Chinese concept of face in regards to different emphasis on sacricety and
individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...
, and in regards to different understanding of the opposites. However, both Russian and Chinese concepts of "face" are close to each other in their focus on person being, first and foremost, part of larger
community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...
. In contrast to co-existence of personal individualism with their simultaneous participation in community affairs within
Western culture Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
, individuality is much more toned-down in both Russian and Chinese cultures in favour of communality; both Russian and Chinese cultures are lacking in stark Western dichotomy of "internal" vs. "external", and also lacking in Western focus on
legal framework A legal doctrine is a framework, set of rules, procedural steps, or test, often established through precedent in the common law, through which judgments can be determined in a given legal case. A doctrine comes about when a judge makes a ruling ...
s being foundation for individualism; and instead of it, in both Russian and Chinese cultures ritualism in
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...
is much more highly regarded than in Western culture, where in the West ritualism is thought of to be mostly dull and empty of content. The importance of the concept of face in Russia may be seen imprinted into amassment of proverbs and sayings, where the word is used as a reference to one's character or
reputation The reputation of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity typically as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. Reputation is a ubiquitous ...
, for instance () meaning "to lose reputation", () denoting a negative trait, , similarly to , but stronger, meaning to "lose reputation or social standing", and meaning both "face" and at the same time "the essence", when being used to describe a person, showing that there is high expectation of "inner self" and "outer self" of a person being in high accord with each other, looking from the framework of Russian culture. Among
South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...
, especially in
Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...
and Bulgarian, the word () is used as a traditional expression for
honor Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...
and the sociological concept of face. Medieval Slavic documents have shown that the word has been used with various meanings, such as form, image, character, person, symbol, face, figure, statue, idol, guise and mask. The languages also have a derived adjective ( ), used to associate
shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...
to a person.


Arabic

In
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
, the expression (, , is used to mean ''save face''. The entire
Arab culture Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. The various religions the Arab ...
of social and family behavior is based around Islamic concepts of dignity, or "face". For Shia Islam, face is based on the social and family ranking system found in the Treatise of Rights,
Al-Risalah al-Huquq Risalat al-Huquq ( ar, رسالة الحقوق, , ) is a work attributed to Ali ibn al-Husayn, the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and the fourth Shia Imam, also known by the honorific title Zayn al-Abidin (). According to C ...
, Shia Islam's primary source for social behaviors.


Persian

In
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, expressions like "" (, ), is used to mean ''save face'' and "" (, ), "" (''nq'', ) meaning "ashamed and embarrassed" and "" (, ) meaning "proud" (opposite of ) are used. In Iranian culture the meaning of linguistic face is much closer to the meaning of character. So Persian speakers use some strategies in saving the face or character of each other while they communicate.


Thai

The Thai word for face is (, ). There are basically two main ways of expressing loss of face: One, (), translates literally as 'lose face.' Another term, () means 'sale of face'. The actual connotation of is that the person who lost face did so through fault of self or through the thoughtless action of another. As in China and other regions where loss of face is important, the Thai version involves sociodynamic status.


Khmer (Cambodia)

The Khmer word for face is (, ). () translates literally as 'lose face'. () translates literally as 'save face' or 'preserve face'. This concept is understood and treated much the same in Cambodia as elsewhere in Asia.


Korean

The concept of "face" or ( , ) is extremely important in Korean culture.


Academic interpretations


Sociology

"Face" is central to
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
and
sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including cultural Norm (sociology), norms, expectations, and context (language use), context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on languag ...
. Martin C. Yang analyzed eight sociological factors in losing or gaining face: the kinds of equality between the people involved, their ages, personal sensibilities, inequality in social status, social relationship, consciousness of personal prestige, presence of a witness, and the particular social value/sanction involved. The sociologist Erving Goffman introduced the concept of "face" into
social theory Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena.Seidman, S., 2016. Contested knowledge: Social theory today. John Wiley & Sons. A tool used by social scientists, social theories rel ...
with his 1955 article "On Face-work: An Analysis of Ritual Elements of Social Interaction" and 1967 book ''Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face-to-Face Behavior''. According to Goffman's dramaturgical perspective, face is a
mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and pra ...
that changes depending on the audience and the variety of social interaction. People strive to maintain the face they have created in social situations. They are emotionally attached to their faces, so they feel good when their faces are maintained; loss of face results in emotional pain, so in social interactions people cooperate by using politeness strategies to maintain each other's faces. Face is sociologically universal. People "are human", Joseph Agassi and I. C. Jarvie believe, "because they have face to care for – without it they lose human dignity." Hu elaborates: The sociological concept of face has recently been reanalyzed through consideration of the Chinese concepts of face ( and ) which permits deeper understanding of the various dimensions of experience of face, including moral and social evaluation, and its emotional mechanisms.


Face saving in collective action

The value of "saving face" has been seen in application of a Confucian form of protest and collective action. Evidence of face saving has been seen in a labor strike by Chinese railroad worker in 1867 in the construction of the
Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...
, where Chinese workers protested peacefully and negotiated for an outcome in a way that demonstrated face-saving behavior.


Marketing

According to Hu, mianzi stands for "the kind of prestige that is emphasized...a reputation achieved through getting on in life, through success and ostentation", while face is "the respect of a group for a man with a good moral reputation: the man who will fulfill his obligations regardless of the hardships involved, who under all circumstances shows himself a decent human being". The concept seems to relate to two different meanings, from one side Chinese consumers try to increase or maintain their reputation () in front of socially and culturally significant others (e.g. friends); on the other hand, they try to defend or save face. is not only important to improve the consumer's reputation in front of significant others, but rather it is also associated with feelings of dignity, honor, and pride. In consumer behaviour literature, has been used to explain Chinese consumer purchasing behaviour and brand choice and considered it as a quality owned by some brands. Some consumers tend to favour some brands (and their products and services) because of their capacity to enable them to gain , which does not mean simply increase their reputation but also to show achievements and communicate these achievements to others in order to be more accepted in social circles, especially upper class circles. Chinese consumers tend to believe that if they buy some brands it is easier to be accepted in the social circles of powerful and wealthy people. Connections are particularly important in Chinese culture as people use social connections to achieve their goals. However, has also an emotional facet. Consumers feel proud, special, honoured, even more valuable as individuals if they can afford to buy brands that can enhance their . Therefore, some branded products and services, especially those that require conspicuous consumption (e.g. smartphones, bags, shoes), are chosen because they foster feelings of pride and vanity in the owner. A brand that enables an individual to achieve such goals in life, in branding literature, it is labelled as 'brand ', which is the capacity of a brand to provide emotions and self-enhancement to its owner. Scholars have proved that brand affects consumer purchase intentions and brand equity. In summary, is a cultural concept that relates to the social, emotional and psychological dimension of consumption and has an impact on consumers’ perception of their self and purchase decisions. Purchase and consumption of brands (but also other activities, like choosing a specific university), in Chinese culture, are profoundly affected by and different brands can be more or less apt to enhance or maintain , while others can cause a loss of face.


Politeness theory

Penelope Brown Penelope Brown (born 1944 in Summit, NJ) is an American anthropological linguist who has studied a number of aspects of cross-linguistic, sociolinguistic, and cross-cultural studies of language and cognition. Education and career Brown earned ...
and
Stephen C. Levinson Stephen C. Levinson FBA (born 6 December 1947)LEVINSON, Prof. Stephen Curtis
(1987) expanded Goffman's
theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be ...
of face in their
politeness theory Politeness theory, proposed by Penelope Brown and Stephen C. Levinson, centers on the notion of politeness, construed as efforts on redressing the affronts to a person's self-esteems or effectively claiming positive social values in Social inter ...
, which differentiated between positive and negative face (p.61). * Positive face is "the positive consistent
self-image Self-image is the mental picture, generally of a kind that is quite resistant to change, that depicts not only details that are potentially available to an objective investigation by others (height, weight, hair color, etc.), but also items that h ...
or '
personality Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, m ...
' (crucially including the desire that this self-image be appreciated and approved of) claimed by interactants" * Negative face is "the basic claim to territories, personal preserves,
rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...
to non-
distraction Distraction is the process of diverting the attention of an individual or group from a desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information. Distraction is caused by: the lack of ability to pay attentio ...
—i.e., to freedom of action and freedom from imposition" In human interactions, people are often forced to threaten either an addressee's positive and/or negative face, and so there are various politeness strategies to mitigate those face-threatening acts.


Communication theory

Tae-Seop Lim and John Waite Bowers (1991) claim that face is the public image that a person claims for himself. Within this claim there are three dimensions. "''Autonomy face''" describes a desire to appear independent, in control, and responsible. "''Fellowship face''" describes a desire to seem cooperative, accepted, and loved. "''Competence face''" describes a desire to appear intelligent, accomplished, and capable. Oetzel et al. (2000) defined "facework" as "the communicative strategies one uses to enact self-face and to uphold, support, or challenge another person's face". In terms of
interpersonal communication Interpersonal communication is an exchange of information between two or more people. It is also an area of research that seeks to understand how humans use verbal and nonverbal cues to accomplish a number of personal and relational goals. Inter ...
, Facework refers to an individual's identity in a social world and how that identity is created, reinforced, diminished, and maintained in communicative interactions.


Facework

Facework represents the transition from the real self of the individual to the image he or she represents to society for the communicative or
leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...
purposes. This concept is all about presentation of the dignified image which soon will become as an authority for other individuals. Facework is a skill of constantly maintaining the face in order to deserve the respect and honor from it. For instance, Individualistic cultures like
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
are standing for the position of protecting the self-face of the individual while collectivist cultures such as China,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, and Japan support the idea of maintaining the other-face for self-dignity and self-respect There are also exist other facework strategies not always basing on the culture strategies like face-negotiating, face-constituting, face-compensating, face-honoring, face-saving, face-threatening, face-building, face-protecting, face-depreciating, face-giving, face-restoring, and face-neutral.


Intercultural communication

Face is central to intercultural communication or
cross-cultural communication Cross-cultural communication is a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves, and how they endeavor to communicate across cultures. Intercultural communic ...
.
Bert Brown Bert Brown (March 22, 1938 – February 3, 2018) was a Canadian senator and retired farmer and development consultant who resided in Balzac, Alberta. Early life Brown farmed in Kathyrn, Alberta, from 1969 to 1999, after which they sold their fa ...
explains the importance of both personal and national face in international negotiations: In terms of Edward T. Hall's dichotomy between high context cultures focused upon in-groups and low context cultures focused upon individuals, face-saving is generally viewed as more important in high context cultures such as China or Japan than in low-context ones such as the United States or Germany.


Face-negotiation theory

Stella Ting-Toomey developed Face Negotiation Theory to explain cultural differences in communication and conflict resolution. Ting-Toomey defines face as


Psychology

The
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
of "face" is another field of research.
Wolfram Eberhard Wolfram Eberhard (March 17, 1909 – August 15, 1989) was a professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley focused on Western, Central and Eastern Asian societies. Biography Born in Potsdam, German Empire, he had a strong ...
, who analyzed Chinese "
guilt Guilt may refer to: *Guilt (emotion), an emotion that occurs when a person feels that they have violated a moral standard *Culpability, a legal term *Guilt (law), a legal term Music * ''Guilt'' (album), a 2009 album by Mims * "Guilt" (The Long Bl ...
" and "
sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
" in terms of literary psychology, debunked the persistent myth that "face" is peculiar to the Chinese rather than a force in every human society. Eberhard noted The Chinese University of Hong Kong social psychologist Michael Harris Bond observed that in Hong Kong,


Political science

"Face" has further applications in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
. For instance, Susan Pharr stressed the importance of "losing face" in Japanese
comparative politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the ''comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relatin ...
.


Semantics

Linguists have analyzed the
semantics Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and comp ...
of "face". Huang used prototype semantics to differentiate and . George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's '' Metaphors We Live By'' emphasizes "the face for the person" metonymy. Keith Allan (1986) extended "face" into theoretical semantics. He postulated it to be an essential element of all language interchanges, and claimed: "A satisfactory theory of linguistic meaning cannot ignore questions of face presentation, nor other politeness phenomena that maintain the co-operative nature of language interchange."


See also

*
Dignitas (Roman concept) ''Dignitas'' () is a Latin word referring to a unique, intangible, and culturally subjective social concept in the ancient Roman mindset. The word does not have a direct translation in English. Some interpretations include "dignity", which is a ...
* Shame society vs guilt society *
Honor killing An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of ...
*
Izzat (honor) Izzat ( hi, इज़्ज़त; ur, ; bn, ইজ্জত) is the concept of honour prevalent in the culture of North India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It applies universally across religions (Hindu, Muslim and Sikh), communities and genders. ...


References

* Keevak, Michael. (2022). ''On Saving Face: A Brief History of Western Appropriation''. Hong Kong University Press. https://newbooksnetwork.com/on-saving-face-brief-history-western-hb * Mauss, Marcel. (1954)
''The Gift''
tr. by Ian Cunnison. Cohen & West. * Orr, John. (1953). ''Words and Sounds in English and French''. Oxford University Press.


External links


A metalinguistic approach to deconstructing the concepts of 'face' and 'politeness' in Chinese, English and Japanese
Michael Haugh and Carl Hinze
Learning About "Face" – "Subjective Theories" as a Construct in Analysing Intercultural Learning Processes of Germans in Taiwan
Doris Weidemann
Facework as a Chinese Conflict-Preventive Mechanism – A Cultural/Discourse Analysis
Wenshan Jia
What does our face mean to us?
Ning Yu
Face in Chinese, Japanese, and U.S. American cultures
Akio Yabuuchi
Face Negotiation in Conflict Resolution in the Chinese Context
Li Xiaoshi and Jia Xuerui
Politeness, Face and Facework: Current Issues
Liisa Vilkki
The Concern of a Nation's Face: Evidence in the Chinese Press Coverage of Sports
Karina Lam Wai-ling
The Chinese Concept of Face: A Perspective for Business Communicators
Qiumin Dong and Yu-Feng L. Lee
How Does Culture Influence Conflict Resolution? A Dynamic Constructivist Analysis
Michael W. Morris and Ho-Ying Fu

Conflict Research Consortium
Face
Sarah Rosenberg * {{cite encyclopedia , last= Lincoln , author-link= Bruce Lincoln , first=Bruce , title= ČEHR , encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica , access-date=2016-05-31, url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cehr-av Chinese culture Chinese words and phrases Confucianism in China Confucianism in Japan Cross-cultural psychology Human communication Interpersonal relationships Japanese culture Korean Confucianism Korean culture Taiwanese culture Honor de:Reputation#Bedeutung in Asien