bookface (n.)

In PRAGMATICS and interactional SOCIOLINGUISTICS, a term used in the analysis of POLITENESS PHENOMENA. Positive face is the desire to show involvement with others; negative face is the desire not to offend others. These factors can be used to analyze the kind of rapport which exists in an INTERACTION: for example, a speaker may choose to phrase something differently in order not to offend. Face helps to account for different types of interactive STYLE – for example, associated with the expression of distance, deference, or friendliness – whose proposed UNIVERSALITY is a topic of current research.