Politness in the Presentation of Doctors – Analysis on the Example of Doctor Profi les on Doctor Rating Portals

Abstract

Doctors' profiles on doctor rating portals help doctors to present themselves online and to create a certain picture of themselves in the eyes of the Internet users - potential patients. The focus of this article is on a special aspect of the self-portrayal of doctors, namely the linguistic forms of politeness in their presentation. Courtesy acts on doctor profiles are analyzed against the background of the discussion of some self-portrayal and courtesy approaches. The aim of the study is to show how doctors present themselves as text producers and how they position their potential patients as text recipients. The analysis shows which forms of linguistic realization on doctor profiles can be classified as polite.