Höflichkeit im Mikrokosmos eines Sanatoriums. Vergleich Russland-Österreich

Abstract

Summary In the context of contrastive pragmatics, some expressions of politeness in the special environment in a sanatorium are dealt with in this article. In particular these three forms: addressing and greeting known or unknown people, communicativeness, i. e. the convention of entering into a conversation with strangers or avoiding it, and gallantry, i.e. courteous non-verbal actions like holding a door open for those who follow, pushing a chair into position, clearing a place. The study is based on participant observation during a 10-day stay in a health resort in the North Caucasus in the summer of 2018 and in Austrian facilities. Oral communication between the medical and other staff with the spa guests and communication between themselves, as well as written announcements and inscriptions of various kinds were analysed. Austria in its self-image is a very polite and hospitable country, Russia perceives itself as very hospitable, but not particularly polite. The comparison of politeness in the microcosm of a sanatorium in the North Caucasus and similar institutions (health resorts / facilities) in Austria did not confirm the assumption of low politeness in Russia. In both cultures, a high level of courtesy and respect could be observed among the staff and among or towards the spa guests. It should also be noted that even if one hears repeatedly of the condescending or even suppressive treatment of members of Caucasian nationalities, in the microcosm of the sanatorium there was an equally respectful attitude towards everyone and no discrimination whatsoever was observed. Whether the findings in a spa facility in another part of Russia would be different still has to be the subject of further investigation.