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(Im)politeness as a tool to categorize interactive discourse markers of Arabic in radio shows

  • Marwan Jarrah

    Marwan Jarrah is an Associate Professor at the University of Jordan. He got his PhD from Newcastle University in 2017. He is a specialist in language typology and syntactic theory. His scholarly work appears in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, Folia Linguistica, Studia Linguistica, Lingua, Word, The Linguistic Review, Journal of Linguistics, Canadian Journal of Linguistics, etc.

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    , Sharif Alghazo

    Sharif Alghazo is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics in the School of Foreign Languages at the University of Jordan. He received his PhD degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia. His scholarly research has appeared in journals such as System, Journal of Politeness Research, Journal of Pragmatics, European Journal of Applied Linguistics, Heliyon, Sage Open, Ampersand, Interchange, Lingue e Linguaggio, and Open Linguistics.

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    and Arwa Asad

    Arwa Asad holds an MA in Linguistics from the University of Jordan. She worked on discourse markers in Arabic.

Published/Copyright: October 7, 2022

Abstract

Little research has related DMs to (im)politeness, and none in Jordanian Arabic (JA). This study provides evidence that (im)politeness can categorize interactive DMs into polite DMs and impolite DMs in JA. It aims to explore the use of DMs in JA in relation to (im)politeness dichotomy. Twenty-two episodes of three different Jordanian radio shows which use vernacular JA were recorded and transcribed. With the help of prosodic cues and native speakers’ judgement and comprehension of the relevant utterances, this study finds that DMs can be categorized into polite DMs and impolite DMs. For instance, ʕafwan عفوا ‘excuse me’ and ja:si:di: يا سيدي ‘sir’ are exclusively used as mitigating polite DMs whilst wbaʕdi:n maʕak وبعدين معك ‘hey stop!’ and eṯlaʕ min ra:si: اطلع من راسي ‘get out of my head’ are impolite DMs which are primarily used in complaints and expressions of state of anger. This is all interpreted as evidence that interactive DMs can be strongly flavored by politeness which regulates their distribution and manifestation. The study contributes to research on DMs by presenting a categorization based on (im)politeness and thus strengthening the link between discourse and pragmatics.


Corresponding author: Sharif Alghazo, English Language and Literature, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan, E-mail:

About the authors

Marwan Jarrah

Marwan Jarrah is an Associate Professor at the University of Jordan. He got his PhD from Newcastle University in 2017. He is a specialist in language typology and syntactic theory. His scholarly work appears in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, Folia Linguistica, Studia Linguistica, Lingua, Word, The Linguistic Review, Journal of Linguistics, Canadian Journal of Linguistics, etc.

Sharif Alghazo

Sharif Alghazo is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics in the School of Foreign Languages at the University of Jordan. He received his PhD degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia. His scholarly research has appeared in journals such as System, Journal of Politeness Research, Journal of Pragmatics, European Journal of Applied Linguistics, Heliyon, Sage Open, Ampersand, Interchange, Lingue e Linguaggio, and Open Linguistics.

Arwa Asad

Arwa Asad holds an MA in Linguistics from the University of Jordan. She worked on discourse markers in Arabic.

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Received: 2021-04-02
Accepted: 2022-03-28
Published Online: 2022-10-07
Published in Print: 2023-02-23

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