Pan, ZiwenZiwenPanDr. YANG Yike2026-05-182026-05-182026Linguistics Vanguard, 2026.2199-174Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11861/27183<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p> Despite the significant role of politeness markers in managing interpersonal communication, relatively little attention has been paid to the modal forms <jats:italic>could you</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>would you</jats:italic> , particularly regarding their functional differences and sociolinguistic variation. This corpus-based study investigates these two politeness markers in contemporary British English using data from the Spoken British National Corpus 2014, a large collection of conversational British English across regions and social groups. Furthermore, the study examines how social variables (gender, age, and social class) influence the use of these expressions. The findings reveal significant functional differences between the two markers: <jats:italic>could you</jats:italic> is often used for checking possibilities, while <jats:italic>would you</jats:italic> is more commonly employed for making suggestions or offering something. Gender was found to have little impact on the use of <jats:italic>could you</jats:italic> , whereas <jats:italic>would you</jats:italic> was more frequently used by females. Age and social class also showed variation in the use of these markers, with younger speakers preferring <jats:italic>could you</jats:italic> for seeking information and middle-aged individuals using <jats:italic>would you</jats:italic> for making requests. This study contributes to the understanding of how politeness strategies vary across social contexts, offering new insights into how linguistic markers serve as tools for social negotiation and interpersonal communication.<br> </jats:p> 禮貌標記在調節人際互動和建構社會關係中起著至關重要的作用。然而, 相較於其他禮貌表達, 對情態結構 “could you” 和 “would you” 的研究仍相對不足, 尤其在其功能差異及社會語言變異方面。本文以語料庫語言學的方法, 基於 Spoken British National Corpus 2014 的真實口語數據, 探討這兩種禮貌標記在當代英式英語中的使用特徵。研究重點在於檢視性別、年齡與社會階層等社會變項對 “could you” 和 “would you” 使用頻率與功能分佈的影響。結果顯示, 這兩種形式在語用功能上有顯著差異: “could you” 主要用於探詢可能性, 而 “would you” 更常用於提出請求或提供建議。性別因素對 “could you” 的影響較小, 但女性說話者使用 “would you” 的頻率較高。年齡和社會階層同樣呈現顯著差異: 年輕群體傾向於使用 “could you” 來獲取信息, 而中年群體更偏好使用 “would you” 來表達請求。本文的研究結果有助於深化對禮貌策略社會分佈規律的理解, 並揭示語言形式在社會互動中的調節功能。enPoliteness MarkerCould YouWould YouCorpusBritish English禮貌標記語料庫英式英語Peer Reviewed Journal Article10.1515/lingvan-2025-0154