Understanding Impoliteness in Interaction: Social Structure and Power Dynamics in Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day

By drawing on theoretical models proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987), Culpeper (1996, 2011), Bousfield (2008), Mills (2013) and Bourdieu's (1979) sociological theory of practice, this paper explores the continuum of politeness and impoliteness within the framework of linguistic pragmatics. It examines how class hierarchies, cultural capital, and power asymmetries manifest in interpersonal interactions, particularly between the characters of Mr. Stevens and Miss Kenton through a close textual analysis of Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day (1989). After problematizing the notion of ‘(im)politeness' it proceeds towards foregrounding the relational nature of im/politeness by using a discursive approach, and emphasizes the role of context, intentionality, and face management in the interpretation of speech acts. The analysis illustrates how impoliteness is not merely a deviation from politeness norms but a situated, strategic act that reflects and potentially disrupts social structures and creates social disharmony. The paper integrates linguistic theory with socio-cultural analysis to offer a nuanced understanding of how politeness functions as both a communicative and ideological practice within class-conscious societies.