Women, men and politeness . By Janet Holmes. (Real language series.) London: Longman, 1995. Pp viii, 254.

Sex, politeness and language: Sex and language, What is politeness?, Why do women and men interact differently?, Analysing linguistic politeness, Social dimensions and linguistic analysis, Cross-cultural contrasts, What's in store Who speaks here? Interacting politely: Who's got the floor?, Who's asking questions?, Who's interrupting and why?, Back-channeling - a female speciality?, Agreeable and disagreeable responses, Conclusion Soft and low-hedges and boosters as politeness devices: Hedges and boosters, Hedges and boosters and 'women's language, Tag questions, Pragmatic particles- you know, I think, sort of, of course, The pragmatic tag eh, A prosodic hedge - the HRT, How typical are these politeness patterns?, Conclusion What a lovely tie! Compliments and positive politeness strategies: Paying compliments, Who pays most compliments?, How do women and men pay compliments?, What do women and men compliment each other about?, Can a compliment be a power play?, Compliment responses, What about other speech acts?, Conclusion Sorry! Apologies and negative politeness strategies: Why apologise?, Who apologises most, How do women and men apologise?, What deserves an apology?, Offending the boss is a serious matter, Friends and forgiveness, How do people respond to an apology?, Why apologise? Some answers, Speech acts and politeness - what next? Why politeness matters: Patterns of politeness, Being polite in class, Peer interaction in professional contexts, Strategies for change, Conclusion.