Politeness Strategies Employed towards Linguistic Taboos in Tlemcen Society

Abstract

The current research paper tends to shed light on the use of politeness strategies to avoid the harmonious power of some taboo topics and expressions. In this sense, the present research work provides an in-depth look on the position of these strategies in Tlemcen culture and language use. To this vein, the focal point of this paper revolves around the polite forms that Tlemcen speakers resort to use them in order to express their respect and request for something or to avoid face threatening act when discussing certain taboo themes. To this end, an investigation of politeness strategies in Tlemcen society was made through the help of a questionnaire and a focus group interview. Thus, the outcomes of this study showed that politeness constitutes an indelible part in Tlemcen culture. Tlemcen speakers employed politeness strategies in both family and society to show respect and protect their faces. The results also revealed that they had re-course to polite forms to euphemise sexual matters that are considered to be the most tabooed subject in Tlemcen culture.