INVESTIGATING POLITENESS AND FACE THREATENING ACTS IN CLASSROOM DISCOURSE AMONG SELECTED STUDENTS OF UNIZIK, AWKA.

Resumen

This research focuses on investigating politeness and face threatening acts in classroom discourse. The purpose of the study is to investigate different face threatening acts in classroom discourse and how politeness strategy is used to escape the effect of face threatening acts done by three hundred (300) level students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The researchers make use of one hundred and fifty-six (156) students of 300 level of Department of English Language and Literature of which a total of (30) politeness and face threatening acts were purposively identified and sampled by the researchers through observation method for the purpose of this analysis. Through the analysis, the researchers bring out the different face threatening acts in classroom discourse using six (6) maxims as formulated by Leech which are: tact, generosity, approbation, modesty, agreement, and sympathy. The study suggests that lecturers in classroom discourse should generate politeness strategies to make their utterances more comfortable and appreciated inside the classroom.