Politeness Strategies in Imran Khan’s Maiden Speech as Prime Minister of Pakistan
Abstract
The aim of the present investigation is to conduct pragmatic analysis of the maiden speech delivered by Imran Khan to Pakistanis immediately after becoming 22nd Prime Minister of the country. The study was based on two research objectives i.e. to ascertain what type of politeness strategies Imran Khan employed in his speech and to find out what functions these strategies served. The research design used is qualitative nature. English transcript of the address, taken from internet sources, is considered as the data the investigation. The data, in the form of transcribed text of the speech, were analyzed qualitatively using Brown and Levinson’s theory of politeness. The analyzed data revealed that the addresser used different kinds of politeness strategies namely positive politeness strategies, negative politeness strategies, bald on record strategies, and bald off record strategies. However, positive politeness strategies have been used more frequently than negative politeness strategies which show respect to others as well as satisfy the listener(s).
Authors
Dr. Ashiq Hussain
Associate Professor, Department of English, Higher Education Department, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Nadeem Anwar
Assistant Professor, Department of English, Government Graduate College of Science, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Zahid Mian
Assistant Professor, Department of English, Higher Education Department, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Keywords
Bald on and Bald off, Face Saving Acts, Face-Threatening Acts, Negative, politeness, Politeness, Positive Politeness, Strategies