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Article published In: Pragmatics and Society
Vol. 8:4 (2017) ► pp.571–600

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Performing acts of impoliteness through code-switching to English in colloquial Jordanian Arabic interactions

 | Jordan University of Science and Technology
 | Jordan University of Science and Technology
 | Jordan University of Science and Technology
Published online: 19 January 2018
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.8.4.05bad
Abstract
This article investigates how English is exploited in naturally occurring interactions in colloquial Jordanian Arabic to perform acts of impoliteness, drawing on impoliteness model by Culpeper, Jonathan. 1996. “Towards an anatomy of impoliteness.” Journal of Pragmatics 25 (3): 349–367. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, its subsequent modifications in Culpeper, Jonathan, Derek Bousfield and Anne Wichmann. 2003. “Impoliteness revisited: With special reference to dynamic and prosodic aspects.” Journal of Pragmatics 351: 1545–1579. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar and . 2005. “Impoliteness and entertainment in the television quiz show: The Weakest Link .” Journal of Politeness Research 1 (1): 35–72. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, and its alignment with . 2002. “Managing rapport in talk: Using rapport sensitive incidents to explore the motivational concerns underlying the management of relations.” Journal of Pragmatics 341: 529–545. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar concept of rapport-management. Attack on face, specifically Quality Face, Social Identity Face, and Association Rights, through code-switching to English were identified in the data. Positive impoliteness and negative impoliteness strategies were employed through using English, sometimes in conjunction with Arabic impoliteness resources. Furthermore, English was used as an indirect impoliteness strategy to do off-record impoliteness to convey impolite beliefs about a third party or a particular state of affairs. These acts of impoliteness were mainly countered defensively by ignoring the attack or offensively through countering the implied face attack with face attack.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1From politeness to impoliteness
    • 2.2Code-switching and conflict
  • 3.Impoliteness studies in Arabic
  • 4.Analytical framework
  • 5.Data
  • 6.Analysis
    • 6.1Performing positive impoliteness
    • 6.2Performing negative impoliteness
    • 6.3Performing off-record impoliteness
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (68)
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