This study examines the use of face threatening acts and politeness of the Iraqi EFL learners in their conversations. The study reviews a theoretical background to the theory and the data are analysed according to an eclectic model. The study applies the model to one hundred of Iraqi university students’ conversations. The study tries to detect, analyse and discuss the type and the number of politeness strategies and face threatening acts used by the students and to testify the four hypotheses that are postulated in the study. The hypotheses of the study include that the most politeness strategy used by the students is negative politeness and there is a misuse of the face threatening acts by Iraqi EFL learners.
"Face" is a linguistic term that is used in semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, as well as sociology, psychology, and political science. The term is now used in different cultures in a metaphorical sense to mean the reputation or the standing in the society. Goffman defines the term as "the positive image you seek to establish in social interactions". Brown and Levinson believe that in performing a particular speech act in a particular context, the face-wants of the participants are threatened and politeness takes place to modify these face threatening acts. Furthermore, the counteractions that the participants make when they fail to perform a self-image competently are called "face-work". J. Thomas indicates that politeness makes an equality in any social interaction. Politeness is a pragmatic theory that means "saying the socially correct thing…(and) is developed by societies in order to reduce friction in personal interaction". Brown and Levinson's theory of politeness is still the basis for the latter theoretical and empirical works on this theory.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Politeness
4. Face- Threatening Acts
5. Research Methodology
6. The Selection of Informants
7. Data Analysis and Discussion
8. Conclusion
9. References
Research Objectives and Topics
This study aims to perform a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of politeness strategies and face-threatening acts (FTAs) employed by Iraqi EFL learners in university conversations. It investigates how social variables like distance, power, and the ranking of imposition influence the choice of specific politeness strategies.
- Application of the Brown and Levinson politeness model in an Iraqi EFL context.
- Analysis of the relationship between expected politeness and observed politeness.
- Examination of social variables (distance, power, imposition) on conversational choices.
- Comparison of politeness behaviors in formal versus informal social interactions.
- Identification of dominant politeness strategies among advanced Iraqi EFL students.
Extract from the Book
Face- Threatening Acts
Face Threatening Act (FTA) refers to the communication act that causes a threat to the individual's expectations regarding self-image (Yule, 1996: 61). Goffman (1955:215) uses different terms to describe such situations; for instance, ''in the wrong face'', ''to be out of face'', ''shamefaced'', and ''threats to face''.
Brown and Levinson (1987: 65) mention that these acts are used as a keynote for the politeness theory. They define these acts as '' acts that by their very nature run contrary to the face wants of the addressee and/or the speaker '' (ibid.). Depending on the hearer's perception, the act itself forms a threat that violates both, hearer’s and speaker’s face (Murakami, 2011: 7).
Such acts can also be threats not only to the hearer's face ,but also to the speaker's face if the speaker performs acts that are opposites to his or her wants and desires (Nasution and Ariyanti, 2013: 3).
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Defines the concept of 'face' and 'face-work' within sociolinguistics and pragmatic theory, establishing the foundation for the study.
Literature Review: Explores theoretical approaches to politeness, focusing on the management of face and strategies proposed by Brown and Levinson.
Politeness: Examines various definitions of politeness as a mechanism for reducing social friction and maintaining cooperation.
Face- Threatening Acts: Details how specific communication acts threaten individual self-image and addressee face-wants.
Research Methodology: Outlines the eclectic model and the mathematical variables used to quantify politeness strategies.
The Selection of Informants: Describes the cohort of one hundred advanced Iraqi EFL university students who provided the conversational data.
Data Analysis and Discussion: Applies the theoretical equation to analyze specific conversation items and evaluates the findings against the study's hypotheses.
Conclusion: Summarizes the key findings, including the preference for negative politeness in formal contexts and the disparity between expected and observed politeness.
References: Lists the academic works and sources utilized to support the study.
Keywords
Face-Threatening Act, Politeness, Negative Politeness, Positive Politeness, Iraqi EFL learners, Pragmatics, Sociolinguistics, Brown and Levinson, Conversational Analysis, Social Distance, Power, Imposition, Face-Work, Speech Acts, Linguistic Politeness.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this research?
The study examines the usage of politeness strategies and face-threatening acts within the conversations of Iraqi students learning English as a foreign language.
What are the central thematic areas?
The core themes include linguistic politeness theory, the impact of social distance and power on interaction, and the pragmatic analysis of face-wants.
What is the primary research goal?
The study seeks to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze how Iraqi EFL students manage politeness and whether their language use aligns with established models like Brown and Levinson's.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The research employs an eclectic analytical model, using a mathematical equation involving distance, power, and the ranking of imposition to measure expected versus observed politeness.
What topics are covered in the main body?
The main body covers the theoretical definitions of face and politeness, the methodology of identifying speech strategies, and an empirical analysis of 1,500 utterances.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include Face-Threatening Act, Politeness, Iraqi EFL Learners, Social Distance, and Pragmatic Theory.
How do Iraqi EFL learners differ in their politeness based on the social status of the addressee?
The data suggests that students use more polite strategies with teachers in formal settings, while using different strategies, such as bald-on-record, more frequently with colleagues in informal settings.
What conclusion does the author draw regarding the misuse of face-threatening acts?
The author concludes that there is a misuse of FTA and politeness strategies, largely attributed to a lack of specific training in balancing these strategies across different social scenarios.
How is the concept of 'expected politeness' measured?
It is calculated using an equation where numeric values are assigned to social distance, power differences between speaker and hearer, and the ranking of the imposition.
- Citar trabajo
- Hussien Salah (Autor), 2019, Politeness and Face Threatening Acts in Iraqi EFL Learners' Conversations. English as a Foreign Language, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/503307
