Politeness Strategies and Address System in Igbo and Isoko

Abstract

This study aims at investigating politeness strategies in Igbo and Isoko with a view to finding out how these two speech communities handle the various strategies, honorific as well as address format in kinship relationships. Brown and Levinson’s face-saving view of politeness which draws heavily from Goffman’s concept face and interaction order will be used as the theoretical frame work. The researcher finds out that the two speech communities under study are both conscious of negative face and affronts to politeness, favours indirectness and off-record strategies better than bald-record strategies. Also, the speech communities use culture-specific honorific and address terms specifically in relation with parent, elders, spouses, age mates and siblings. Furthermore, it is observed from the findings that contrary to what the modern age may de-culturize people into especially in the use of first names, the two speech communities under study still maintain the inbuilt cultural respect in observing and or maintaining politeness strategies, honorific and address system.