Being polite is a handicap: Towards a game theoretic analysis of polite linguistic behavior

Authors
Publication date 2003
Host editors
  • M. Tenneholz
Book title Proceedings of the 9th Conference on Theoretical Aspects of Rationality and Knowledge
Book subtitle TARK 2003, University of Indiana, Indiana, June 20-22, 2003
ISBN
  • 1581137311
  • 9781581137316
Event 9th Conference on Theoretical Aspects of Rationality and Knowledge, TARK 2003
Pages (from-to) 45-58
Publisher New York: Association for Computing Machinery
Organisations
  • Interfacultary Research - Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC)
Abstract In this paper I argue for a broad game theoretical perspective on language use. Polite linguistic behavior, in particular, should be taken as rational interaction of conversational partners that each come with their own beliefs and preferences. I argue that the function of making a request in a polite way is to turn a situation in which preferences are not well aligned to one where they are by assuming that to utter polite expressions is costly. This idea will be formalized by making use of Lewisean signaling games and the biological handicap principle.
Document type Conference contribution
Note pagina's,. uitgever? plaats?
Language English
Published at https://doi.org/10.1145/846241.846248
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