Face

One of the three dimensions of Spencer-Oatey’s ‘Rapport Management’ is that of ‘face’.

Most languages and cultures have proverbs and sayings with the word ‘face’, for example ‘saving face’ and ‘loss of face’.

Loss of face is usually associated with being embarrassed, not being accepted by others or being pushed into a tight corner. For example, someone may point out that you have made an error, or someone may ask you to do something that you don’t want to do.

One of the most frequently quoted definitions of ‘face’ is that by Erving Goffman, who defines ‘face’ as:

The positive social value a person affectively claims for himself by the lines others assume he has taken during a particular contact . (Goffman, 1967:5)

In other words, face is about the self-image people project, and want to have acknowledged by others.

Helen Spencer-Oatey defines ‘face’ as:

People’s sense of worth, their dignity and identity, and associated with issues such as respect, honour, status, reputation and competence.
(Spencer-Oatey, 2008:14)

In other words, face is linked to the identities that people want others to acknowledge, and the personal qualities they value. For example, if I am a teacher, I associate with certain role manifestations (e.g. being listened to) and qualities (e.g. integrity). If these role manifestations and qualities are attacked or not acknowledged by others, the result is loss of face.

People usually use strategies to soften the loss of face to themselves and others. For example, when you criticise someone, you might say something positive first, e.g. “This is a really good idea, but ….” or you might try to divert attention from yourself by shifting responsibility to others. The use of modal verbs (may, might, could), politeness markers such as ‘please’, and mitigators such as ‘kind of’ and ‘sort of’ are also very common in acts that are very face-threatening.