HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 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.''T ...
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, inaliena ...
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 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,
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 Gui ...
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 ...
n,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
n, Laotian,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
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 n ...
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 ...
ese, Filipino, 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-ei ...
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 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. ...
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 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)" * ( 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'' ( ...
'' (August 3, 1929): "Each wishes to concede only what can be conceded without loss of 'face'". '' Save face'' 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 c ...
'' (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 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. 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 th ...
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 ...
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 Greek word (), neuter of () meaning 'of or fo ...
. 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, t ...
. 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 simul ...
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, 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 Austri ...
, 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 Ara ...
of social and family behavior is based around
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
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, 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 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 norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on language. It can overlap with the sociology of ...
. 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 sociologist, social psychologist, and writer, considered by some "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century". In 2007 '' The Times Higher Ed ...
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 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"), o ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
of face in their politeness theory, 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, ...
' (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 ...
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—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 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), an ...
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 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 need ...
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 v ...
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-dimensio ...
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.''T ...
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 ...
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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
,
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 to ...
, 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 betwee ...
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 List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
,
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 n ...
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 ...
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 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 science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...
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" and " sin" 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 ...
. 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 comput ...
of "face". Huang used prototype semantics to differentiate and .
George Lakoff George Philip Lakoff (; born May 24, 1941) is an American cognitive linguist and philosopher, best known for his thesis that people's lives are significantly influenced by the conceptual metaphors they use to explain complex phenomena. The con ...
and Mark Johnson's ''
Metaphors We Live By ''Metaphors We Live By'' is a book by George Lakoff and 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 understand more abstract ...
'' 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 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 B ...
*
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)


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