Judy,
well, I wasn't confused and I think you are pointing to something very
important when you write:
"When the cop who is giving me a ticket starts to chat
>about the weather or the book on the seat next to me, he is in my view
>stretching the parameters of what it means to be a cop giving a ticket. "
First let me say I have seen all varieties of behavior from law enforcement.
Individual behavior to genre is probably akin to the problem of locating the
position of a subatomic particle at the same time as measuring its velocity.
But I do wonder whether culturally general patterns, such as what is
considered polite, what rude, what neither but appropriate, can be said to
constitute a genre at all. And if so what is the community to which it
corresponds.
Politeness, even friendliness, as genres in their own right might seem to
pervade all the specific communities that make up a given socio-cultural
system. What counts as politeness might even be considered an indicator of
other intersecting sub-communities within the system that have more clearly
bounded genres and the corresponding identities. If we consider the genre
in relationship to the community which it pervades (for whom it is
appropriate, natural, etc.) politeness might even be seen to be one of the
least malleable of genres.
Paul H. Dillon
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