[Research Note] Reconsidering Urgency and Efficiency in Bald-on-Record Utterances

Implications for English Language Education

Abstract

This paper reexamines the conditions under which Bald-on-Record (BOR) utterances are acceptable in Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory, focusing on the phrase “in the interests of urgency or efficiency.” While the original model treats urgency and efficiency as universal factors, this study redefines them as culturally shaped dimensions: urgency as the lack of temporal leeway, and efficiency as the optimal prioritization of discourse organization. Drawing on Hall’s (1983) concept of Monochronic (M-time) and Polychronic (P-time) time orientations, it argues that the perceived legitimacy of directness differs cross-culturally. In M-time cultures such as English-speaking contexts, explicit and prompt BOR utterances are often viewed as cooperative and efficient, whereas in P-time cultures such as Japanese, relational harmony constrains directness even under urgency. A two-dimensional model illustrates how thesefactors interact to determine the social acceptability of direct expression. Pedagogically, the study proposes integrating this model into English education through (1) time-pressured speaking activities, such as FPS-based simulations, and (2) writing tasks that involve rewriting texts with different discourse priorities. These activities aim to help learners understand how degrees of politeness and directness shift depending on temporal and relational conditions, promoting context-sensitive pragmatic awareness rather than formulaic politeness use.