摘要：The present study examines whether the (in)directness of requests correlates with the degree of politeness and whether the use of honorifics influences the degree of directness of linguistic forms in requests, in Hindi. Since honorifics play a significant role in expressing politeness, using honorifics appropriately is integral to effective communication; yet, indirectness contributes to the mitigation of a face-threatening act (Brown & Levinson 1987). Taking Blum-Kulka's (1989) theory on categorization of requests, the study attempts to describe how a language with an inbuilt honorific system uses direct and indirect request forms. The study is based on three kinds of data gathered from respondents: (1) the responses to an open-ended question aimed to gather the canonical request forms in the language in different request situations; (2) responses to a closed question in which the respondents indicated their choice of the level of politeness they would use with addressees in different role-relationships; (3) respondents' ranking of the forms from the most polite to the least polite. The results show that direct and conventionally indirect forms of request are used frequently in Hindi. Further, the need for clarity determines the degree of directness of requests, as honorifics serve the purpose of indicating politeness.
