A Sociopragmatic Study of Politeness Strategies in Leadership Speech Employed by the Staff of English Departments at Selected Iraqi Universities

Abstract

This research focuses on the politeness strategies employed in speeches by leaders. One of the most significant theories in the study of language use is the theory of politeness. Politeness is regarded as the core of the pragmatic analysis. The purpose of the study is to fill a knowledge gap because, to the best of the researcher's knowledge, politeness strategies have not yet been examined in the speech of leadership, specifically heads of departments and their subordinates in Iraqi universities. The aim of the study is to determine whether subordinates and English department heads function with politeness strategies that are similar or dissimilar in an academic environment. The researcher used Leech's (2014) politeness maxims to accomplish this objective. The study aims to examine how politeness strategies are similarly or differently functioned by subordinates and heads of the English Department in the academic setting. To achieve this objective, the researcher adopted Leech's (2014) politeness maxims. The researcher hypothesized that there are no significant differences in the use of politeness strategies between Subordinates of English Department  and Heads of English Department. However, the data that is gathered from the participants via a link-based questionnaire sent to them via WhatsApp is analyzed quantitatively. Displaying the frequencies and percentages of different politeness maxims effectively requires a quantitative approach. According to the stated hypothesis, the findings revealed significant differences between the SDEs and HDEs’ use of four maxims of politeness (Generosity, Tact, Obligation of S to O and Obligation of O to S).