An Exploratory Emic Investigation into Politeness in Persian

Abstract

This study aims to investigate cultural schemas and sociocultural norms underlying politeness conceptualization in Persian through a 14-item Likert-scale questionnaire which was completed by 150 Persian Native Speaker participants. The questionnaire also included three open-ended questions, which surveyed participants' conceptualization of politeness and required them to impart their views of politeness and ostensible politeness. The results indicate that Persian participants observe rules of politeness in order to appreciate social and cultural norms. They also tend to enhance their own as well as their interlocutor's face. Politeness for Persian speakers is mainly to be approved of and appreciated by their community and to avoid imposition on the hearer in order to maintain and enhance rapport. The results of the study can provide in-depth insights into intercultural and cross-cultural issues by raising awareness in cross-cultural studies.