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Article published In: Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict
Vol. 12:2 (2024) ► pp.289–317

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“A history lesson, perhaps, for my novice counterpart”

The analysis of (im)politeness in political Twitter (X)

ORCiD logo with link | Allameh Tabataba’i University | Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS)
ORCiD logo with link | Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS)
ORCiD logo with link | University of Wollongong
Published online: 22 December 2023
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlac.00091.mor
Abstract
In this paper, we explore how (im)politeness and face are managed by two top diplomats of the US and Iran amidst an ongoing conflict where both claim to occupy moral high grounds. To that end, 360 relevant tweets posted on the Iranian Foreign Minister and US Secretary of State’s official accounts over one year were selected and analyzed qualitatively through the theoretical lens of . 2011. Impoliteness: Using Language to Cause Offence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar impoliteness formulae and implicational impoliteness framework. Three overarching pragmatic functions were identified: criticizing the adversary, giving directives, and showing solidarity with allies while projecting a significant amount of face-threat to the adversary. We also identified three main strategies that they used to justify their impoliteness, namely, appeal to the moral order, appeal to common sense, and appeal to international conventions and regulations. These findings can contribute to impoliteness literature by providing insights into the pragmatic functions and justifications in political communication, where the speakers have to balance their face needs and their communicative goals.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The context of the study
    • 2.1Im/politeness, diplomacy and face
    • 2.2Impoliteness and the moral order
    • 2.3Twitter, (im)politeness and politics
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Data collection
    • 3.2Theoretical framework
    • 3.3Analytical procedure
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • 4.1Pragmatic and political functions of the tweets
    • 4.2Impoliteness in the tweet
      • 4.2.1Criticism
      • 4.2.2Directives
      • 4.2.3Solidarity
    • 4.3Justifications
  • 5.General discussion and conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
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