(Im) Politeness Strategies in the Open Letters of Ex-nigerian Presidents

Abstract of (Im) Politeness Strategies in the Open Letters of Ex-nigerian Presidents

 

The study examines (im) politeness strategies in the open letters of ex-nigerian   presidents. The analysis of findings in this study revealed certain facts about the construction of (im)politeness strategies in Ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo’s (OBJ’s) and Ex-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s (GEJ’s) open letters. Analysis of the sentences in both open letters have elicited certain facts about the speakers’ use of Leech’s maxims; speech acts, FTA and Politic/polite.

This study adopted a qualitative and descriptive research design. The study engaged the three hundred and forty-eight (348) sentences in OBJ’s open letter.

Findings in this study revealed that the most frequent illocutionary acts adopted by OBJ are the representative/assertive act with 54.023% and directive act with 25.86%; 83% of the sentences are meant to damage the face of the addressee (GEJ). 4.31% of the sentences are meant to damage the face of the addresser (OBJ) and 12.36% of the sentences are meant to save the face of the addressee (GEJ). 24.43% of the sentences are politic that is appropriate, 68.97% of the utterances are impolite that is not appropriate while 6.61% of the utterances are polite that is beyond appropriate.            

This study therefore concludes that the pragmatics of language use in both open letters is obvious in the contexts of the letters. OBJ and GEJ adopt both tactics of politeness and impoliteness which is mutually comprehensible to both parties to convey their inherent views and motives. The study further recommends that linguistic and political thinkers or analysts should try to identify the underlying context of the socio-economic or socio-political issues of political discourse before proper analysis is attempted.