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 cond ...
,
honor, and
authority
In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...
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 that a person has in terms of their
social relationships
A social relation or also described as a social interaction or social experience is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more individuals ...
. This idea with different nuances is observed in many societies and cultures such as
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
,
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, 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 ...
,
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,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese,
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
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
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 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 ''selfhood ...
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 and reflecting concern with the congruence between one's
performance
A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function.
Management science
In the work place ...
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. W ...
referred to the American missionary
Arthur Henderson Smith
Arthur Henderson Smith (July18, 1845August31, 1932) (Chinese name: 明恩溥; pinyin: ''Ming Enpu'') was a missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions noted for spending 54 years as a missionary in China and writing boo ...
's interpretation.
Lin Yutang 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)"
* ( 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
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 cond ...
".
[
) "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'' (fou ...
'' (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 Comed ...
between ''lose
Lose may refer to:
* ''Lose'' (Cymbals Eat Guitars album), the third studio album by American indie rock band Cymbals Eat Guitars
* "Lose" (song), by KSI and Lil Wayne, 2021
*"Lose", a song by Travis Scott from his 2016 album ''Birds in the Trap ...
'' 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 com ...
'' (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 ''quic ...
and a unique semantic loan 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, d ...
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. 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
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because the ...
with regular phonemic adaptation (e.g., '' chop suey'' < 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 wh ...
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
Rudeness (also called effrontery) is a display of actual or perceived disrespect by not complying with the social norms or etiquette of a group or culture. These norms have been established as the essential boundaries of normally accepted beha ...
" and the borrowed Chinese meaning "prestige; dignity".
When ''face'' acquired its Chinese sense of "prestige; honor", it filled a lexical gap in the English lexicon
A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Koine Greek language, Greek word (), neuter of () ...
. Chan and Kwok write,
Carr concludes,
Russian and other Slavic
Russian Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
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, tow ...
. 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
A dichotomy is a partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be
* jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and
* mutually exclusive: nothing can belong simulta ...
of "internal" vs. "external", and also lacking in Western focus on legal frameworks 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. P ...
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, 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, Hu ...
, 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 and ...
and Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
, the word () is used as a traditional expression for honor 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 languages, 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 ...
, 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 Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic 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 Chi ...
, 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
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
. 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
The traditional culture of Korea is the shared cultural and historical heritage of Korea and southern Manchuria before the division of Korea in 1945. Manchuria refers to the ancient geographical and historical region in Northeast Asia, includ ...
.
Academic interpretations
Sociology
"Face" is central to sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
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
Erving Goffman (11 June 1922 – 19 November 1982) was a Canadian-born sociology, sociologist, Social psychology (sociology), social psychologist, and writer, considered by some "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth ...
introduced the concept of "face" into social theory 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
Dramaturgy is a sociological perspective commonly used in micro-sociological accounts of social interaction in everyday life.
The term was first adapted into sociology from the theatre by Erving Goffman, who developed most of the related termin ...
, 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 practic ...
that changes depending on the audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...
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 interaction
A social relation or also described as a social interaction or social experience is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more individuals ...
s people cooperate
Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal a ...
by using politeness strategies to maintain each other's faces.
Face is sociologically universal. People "are human", Joseph Agassi
Joseph Agassi (; he, יוסף אגסי; born May 7, 1927 in Jerusalem) is an Israeli academic with contributions in logic, scientific method, and philosophy. He studied under Karl Popper and taught at the London School of Economics.
Agassi ta ...
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 and Stephen C. Levinson (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 s ...
of face in their politeness theory, which differentiated between positive and negative face (p.61).
* Positive face is "the positive consistent self-image 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, mos ...
' (crucially including the desire
Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...
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 the ...
to non- distraction—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, Facework refers to an individual's ]identity
Identity may refer to:
* Identity document
* Identity (philosophy)
* Identity (social science)
* Identity (mathematics)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film
* ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...
in a social world
Social reality is distinct from biological reality or individual cognitive reality, representing as it does a phenomenological level created through social interaction and thereby transcending individual motives and actions. As a product of huma ...
and how that identity is created, reinforced, diminished, and maintained in communicative interactions.
Facework
Facework represents the transition from the real self
The true self (also known as real self, authentic self, original self and vulnerable self) and the false self (also known as fake self, idealized self, superficial self and pseudo self) are a psychological dualism conceptualized by English psychoa ...
of the individual
An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own Maslow ...
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 view ...
purposes. This concept is all about presentation of the dignified image
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
which soon will become as an authority
In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...
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 culture Individualistic cultures are characterized by individualism, which is the prioritization or emphasis of the individual over the entire group. In individualistic cultures people are motivated by their own preference and viewpoints. Individualistic cu ...
s 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 territorie ...
, 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
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, and Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
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
Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication. It describes the wide range of communication processes and problems that naturally appear w ...
or cross-cultural communication. Bert Brown explains the importance of both personal and national face in international negotiations:
In terms of Edward T. Hall
Edward Twitchell Hall, Jr. (May 16, 1914 – July 20, 2009) was an American anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher. He is remembered for developing the concept of proxemics and exploring cultural and social cohesion, and describing how ...
's dichotomy between high context cultures focused upon in-groups and low context culture
In anthropology, high-context culture and low-context culture are ends of a continuum of how explicit the messages exchanged in a culture are and how important the context is in communication. The continuum pictures how people communicate with ...
s 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 betwe ...
of "face" is another field of research. Wolfram Eberhard, who analyzed Chinese " guilt" 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 Susan J. Pharr (born March 16, 1944) is an academic in the field of political science, a Japanologist, and Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics, director of Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies and the Program on U.S.-Japan Relati ...
stressed the importance of "losing face" in Japanese comparative politics.
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
Philosophy (f ...
of "face". Huang used prototype semantics
Prototype theory is a theory of categorization in cognitive science, particularly in psychology and cognitive linguistics, in which there is a graded degree of belonging to a conceptual category, and some members are more central than others. I ...
to differentiate and . George Lakoff
George Philip Lakoff (; born May 24, 1941) is an American cognitive linguistics, cognitive linguist and philosopher, best known for his thesis that people's lives are significantly influenced by the conceptual metaphors they use to explain comple ...
and Mark Johnson's ''Metaphors We Live By
''Metaphors We Live By'' is a book by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (professor), Mark Johnson published in 1980. The book suggests metaphor is a tool that enables people to use what they know about their direct physical and social experiences to ...
'' 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)
* Shame society
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 ...
vs guilt society
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 ...
* 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 t ...
* Izzat (honor)
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