Exploring the Universality of Politeness Strategies in Conjunction with Taboo Topics in Manenberg in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Universal politeness has been investigated across multidimensional disciplines with anthropologists, ethnomethodologists, interactional sociolinguists, social psychologists, focusing on subcategories such as; linguistics politeness, the performance of socially pre-endorsed polite behavior and so forth. According to Brown & Levinson (1987), politeness strategies, face and face threatening acts (FTA’s) are universal, a claim that has been criticized by many (Shi-Xu 2005-2007; Holmes 2006; Eelen, 2001). This article intends to critique Brown and Levinson’s (1987) sentiment, in relation to the universality of their politeness theory, by investigating the Kaaps speech community that domiciles on the Cape Flats- a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa. Methodologically, qualitative research methods purely underpinned this study, allowing the author to collect primary data, by employing one-onone and focus group interviews. Randomly selected participants comprised of twenty (20) males and twenty (20) females between eighteen (18) and sixtyfive (65) years. Data analyses employed insights from Eggins and Slade’s (2006) conversational analysis, Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006), Iedema (2003) and Kress (2010) notions of multimodality. Results highlighted that Brown and Levinson’s politeness strategies and FTA’s, are not universally applicable concurring with Shi-Xu (2005-2006), Holmes (2006) and Eelen (2001). Additionally, politeness strategies were exemplified to be an ensemble of different codes, used concurrently when discussing challenging subjects. Furthermore, additional research on this subject is required, in order to ascertain the cultural applicability of politeness strategies as well as a cultural group indicator, in order to eradicate the misconstrue of politeness universality. Ultimately, research of this nature would inform government and public notice policy-makers to contextualize their messages to attract and retain the attention of their target audience.