Politeness Techniques in Gîkũyũ: The Case of Chiefs’ Courts in Gatanga Sub-County, Murang’a County

Abstract

Politeness refers to the behaviour that is mindful of other individuals' face wants. It is used by people to reduce conflicts in their interactions. It also allows them to interact in a manner that does not threaten their faces and those of fellow interlocutors. The present study is in the universal field of pragmatics. This study sought to find out the politeness techniques employed in chiefs’ courts in Gatanga Sub-County, to establish how gender and social distance influenced the choice of politeness techniques in chiefs’ courts and how the various politeness techniques helped in conflict resolution in those courts. The motivation for the study was the centrality of polite language use in conflict resolution in chiefs’ courts. It was against this context that the present study was timely. The study used descriptive research design, which was ideal because it would help to establish the politeness techniques employed in chiefs’ courts during conflict resolution. The location of the study was Gatanga sub-county, Murang’a County. The choice was ideal because most of the inhabitants are Gîkũyũ speakers, who value and use politeness. The target population comprised of adult male and female Gîkũyũ speakers involved in conflict resolution in chiefs’ courts. Purposive sampling was used to obtain the sample. Purposive testing is a non-likelihood test that is chosen in view of qualities of a populace and the objective of the study. Data containing utterances with various politeness techniques was collected using video recording and observation. The study was guided by Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory. The study established that four politeness techniques namely positive politeness techniques, negative politeness techniques, off-record and bald-on record techniques were used by chiefs and disputants in resolving conflicts. It was also established that gender and social distance influenced the choice of politeness techniques employed and that the four politeness techniques employed in chiefs’ courts contributed to conflict resolution in the selected courts. The study recommended that disputants embrace the use of politeness in resolving their conflicts and that males make more effort in using polite language in conflict resolution. It was therefore anticipated that the results of the proposed study may help to encourage the use of chiefs’ courts by the public in resolving their disputes