Change, Conventionality, Resistance as Localised Practice

This book offers a localised cultural approach to understanding (im)politeness behaviour in Mexico, thereby making a meaningful contribution to the study of pragmatics. It combines theory and practice to examine contextualised relational conduct, with the aim of moving away from essentialist approaches that stem from national perceptions. Taking Guadalajara, Mexico as its example, the book underscores the extent to which localised practices align with, or diverge from, broader patterns of (im)politeness, also serving as a case study for extrapolation to other locations. It critically examines the concepts of conventional and nonconventional politeness, how politeness changes according to societal and generational norms, and forms of resistance or opposition to politeness. It will be of interest to researchers and scholars in the fields of Mexican Spanish-language education and linguistics, specifically applied linguistics, including pragmatics, sociolinguistics, and second language acquisition.

Gerrard Mugford is a lecturer in pragmatics, discourse analysis and sociolinguistics at la Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico. His most recent publications include Agency and Pragmatic Independence in Foreign-language Communication: Culture, Conformity and Critical Choices (2025) and Critical Foreign Language Teaching: Centring Student Agency in Foreign Language Pedagogy (2025).