This book explores the pragmatic concept of interactional explanation (IE) in linguistic (im)politeness research.

The volume establishes a working understanding of IE, understood as the response to a perceived appeal for information in an interaction. The book considers how IE is pragmatically sought, given, interpreted, and evaluated in interactions, processes which give rise to linguistic (im)politeness. The book highlights two case studies on Chinese linguacultural nuances, building on the work of Brown and Levinson (1987) and more recently, Chen (2001, 2023). In showcasing this particular context, Ning not only extends Chen’s work on self-politeness theory, in which the desire to “save face” impacts what and how one speaks, but underscores the importance of studying linguacultural variations in order to deepen our understanding of the connections between IE and linguistic (im)politeness research.

This book will appeal to students and researchers interested in interactional phenomena, in such areas as pragmatics, language and communication, and second and foreign language and teaching.