Each other's face

[irmamar]

Interlocutors beave politely to one another, since people respect each other's face.

I guess that this sentence means that people behave politely when other interlocutors are present. Something like: se respetan cuando están presentes/delante/enfrente. As I would say, more or less: "a la cara". Am I wrong?

Thanks.

[Perikles]

I'm not quite sure what you are asking, but yes I think the sense is that people respect each other when face to face. I don't quite see how an interlocutor can be otherwise than face to face.

Or perhaps you are asking whether it means that people are polite to each other when a third party is present.

[irmamar]

Thanks a lot.

Well, I don't call into question that there are at least two interlocutors , I was asking about the meaning of 'each other's face', since this is surprisingly similar to the Spanish one "a la cara", but not because of being similar, they must have the same meaning. And I'm not sure if we are polite because there are another one in fron of us or not. But well, that's another question.

Creo que me estoy liando.

But thank you.

[Perikles]

I have not heard that expression "each other's face" and it does not appear in the BNC. I would use something like "when face to face". You do seem to be reading some obscure texts.

[poli]

to respect someone's face=to respect their dignity.---but now I see that Pericles already answered you correctly. So this
just confirms what Pericles wrote.

More commonly we may say: to save face.
Hacer algo para coartar un delito o crimen que hizo.

Puede ser inventar una buena historia, pero tambien puede una buena
acción. Después que fue acusado de robar billones de su compañia, to save face, el gestor en un acto voluntario, enseñó lo otros reos de la cárcel leer Shakespeare.

[irmamar]

Thanks you both.

But I'm not reading obscure texts.

[poli]

Quisiera saber si hay un dicho así en español. ?salvar apariencias

[JPablo]

Normally you say "guardar o cubrir las apariencias"... también "cubrir [o Guardar] las formas" = Disimular o encubrir cierta situación o cierto estado de ánimo, para no escandalizar o dar que hablar.
(Not totally sure if this matches the concept you describe above... doesn't seem like, ie., not the good connotation you mention, as the Spanish gives the idea of "pretending/hiding/disguising...")

[Tomisimo]

To me guardar las apariencias means to pretend nothing is wrong or to go on as if nothing is wrong, which is not quite the same as saving face. I would translated to save face as something like rescatar tu dignidad, no quedar mal, no perder prestigio, etc. Of course, guardar/cubrir las apariencias may also have this same meaning. Now that I think about it, I think I've also heard salvar las apariencias as well.

[JPablo]

Thank you.
Salvar las apariencias, cuidar la imagen, proteger la imagen (pública), mantener la imagen, quedar bien...
Incluso "salvar la cara" (aunque pueda ser un calco del inglés) lo he visto usado en ese sentido.
Salvar la dignidad, el prestigio.