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Ritual and style across cultures 179

emotionally moving, festiveness, with emotionally excessive reception and the
uneasy feeling of being all too close to kitsch. In Germany the keying of pathos
has fallen into especially deep disfavor, undoubtedly owing to its excessive use
in the Nazi period. By contrast, in Caucasian Georgia pathos has a fixed place
in everyday communicative genres. No meal takes place, even among good
acquaintances, without several elaborate and festive toasts to guests, their
families and shared values (Kotthoff 1995, 1998). In Germany the peculiar
danger of falling into pathos-laden speech is often avoided with irony and
humor, while in other cultures, like that of Georgia, it continues to be practiced
in an undiluted way. Responses that nearly lead to tears or to the invocation of
religious formulas are not only entirely acceptable, but in some contexts indeed
desired.

4. Formality vs. informality

Particular chosen styles serve, among other things, to mark situations or rela-
tionships as formal or as informal. We use a wide variety of forms of expression
to negotiate the degree of formality or informality (Irvine 1979). In most situ-
ations this degree is in fact negotiable – and not already set, as in institutional
discourse, for example, in a court of law. In this sense, stylistics goes beyond the
verbal realm, including for example the use of space and body expression. In the
West, in general, strong efforts to de-formalize interactions can be observed
(Collins 2004). Nowadays in Germany people take leave of one another in
nearly any situation with the familiar and informal “tschüss” (an even more in-
formal leave-taking than “bye”). While twenty years ago it would have been un-
thinkable for German newscasters to leave the television screen using this ex-
pression, today it is more or less the rule. Likewise, people can be greeted nearly
anywhere with “hallo”, (which in formal situations would have been felt as rude
a generation ago). In internet chats there is almost a prohibition against formal
style, at least in those areas where young people set the tone. To be sure, there is
an accepted “netiquette,” which, however, mainly concerns gross indecency and
tabu words.
In the business world, too, a progressive deformalization is taking place. In
smaller information technology firms the familiar address with “Du” is often the
rule (Menz 2000) regardless of how well employees in fact know one another.
The traditional formal business dinner is giving way to a less formal “enriched
apero,” as it is called in Switzerland. Much the same can be observed at aca-
demic meetings, where appetizers are passed around on trays to guests who,
standing at high tables, attempt to engage in relaxing smalltalk in all directions.
The ability to make friendly conversation on inconsequential topics is increas-
ingly prized, and a plethora of books offer advice on how best to go about it.