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Article published In: Spanish in Context
Vol. 14:1 (2017) ► pp.1–27

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Greeting and leave-taking in Texas

Perception of politeness norms by Mexican-Americans across sociolinguistic divides

 | The University of Texas at Austin
Published online: 4 May 2017
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/sic.14.1.01mic
Abstract
The present study reveals how 16 Mexican-Americans residing in Texas perceive and follow politeness norms (e.g. Brown, Penelope, and Stephen C. Levinson. 1987. Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Locher, Miriam A., and Richard J. Watts. 2005. “Politeness Theory and Relational Work.” Journal of Politeness Research 1 (1): 9–33. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Scollon, Ron, and Suzanne Scollon. 2001. Intercultural Communication (2nd edn.). Malden, MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) related to greetings and leave-takings in different cultural and linguistic contexts. Data from online questionnaires identify a significant difference in perceived level of social expectation (i.e. politeness) for employing the speech acts with Spanish- versus non-Spanish speakers. The data support previous research in identifying a sense of solidarity among Mexican-American extended families, but also suggest that this bond extends to other Spanish-speaking acquaintances. Better understanding of these norms should facilitate inter-cultural exchanges between linguistic in- and out-group members.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Greetings and leave-takings and politeness
    • 2.2Politeness and cultural variation
    • 2.3Intra- and Inter-lingual variation in greetings and leave-takings
    • 2.4Speech acts in U.S. bilingual/bicultural settings
    • 2.5Research questions
  • 3.The present study
    • 3.1Methodology
      • 3.1.1Participants
      • 3.1.2Instruments
      • 3.1.3Data analysis
    • 3.2Results
      • 3.2.1Rating scales tool: Presence versus absence of greetings and leave-takings
      • 3.2.2DCT: Types of greetings and leave-takings
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
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