Conceptualizing face and relational work in (im)politeness: Revelations from politeness lexemes and idioms in Turkish

This article addresses two issues: the conceptualization of face and related aspects of self in Turkish, and the implications of the conceptualization of face and the self in interaction in Turkish for understanding relational work at the emic and the etic levels. The paper analyses two root lexemes and idioms derived from the lexemes in Turkish, which are posited as being crucial to understanding (im)politeness and relational work in Turkish culture, and discusses the implications of the analysis for conceptualizing relational work. It maintains that cultures may foreground different aspects of self toward which people show sensitivity in relational work, and that concerns over transactional issues are a major component of relational work.