When meeting another person, it is likely that
polite phrases such as “How are you” are used. These are not to be taken
literary, but they are to show that the person is interested in the other
party. It is a social normality and also an individual goal to create good
first impressions, so by using this polite communication method, it formats a
proper basis to build a relationship upon it.
Polite speech can be traced back to culture. For
example, in Asian culture such as Korean or Chinese, speech is devised into two
categories: formal and informal. The value of the formal speech is to show
respect towards the older adults. The difference between “hey what’s up” and
“hello ma’am” has vastly different interpretations and can be potentially
insulting if the forms are used incorrectly.
People often worry about their image and first
impressions are important. It’s observed that people tend to hide their
uniqueness to strangers or acquaintances so they can be viewed as “normal”.
They fall back to the go-to phrases, the politeness, so they have a change to
learn more about the other person. It is also a part of social normality to not
go cursing at a coworker at a workplace or a stranger at school.
But of course, the person initiating the polite
conversation might have other intentions in mind other than forming
relationships. In fact, they might just be using the polite words to falsely
give hope to the other party because the person simply is not interested in the
person they are talking to. They say “let’s get in touch” or “let’s grab lunch
together sometime” but do they really mean that? This supports how these
phrases are not taken to be literal intents, but rather of an act of pity
almost.
