LINGUISTIC POLITENESS

This research examined how face threatening acts (FTAs) are mitigated with politeness strategies and mitigation devices during postgraduate seminar presentations in the University of Benin. The data for this study were collected using field notes, and an audio recorder to capture the seminar presentations in five faculties. These faculties were randomly sampled from the fifteen faculties in the University, and they include Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Physical Science, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Management ciences, and Faculty of Engineering. From these five faculties, the following departments were selected: English and Literature, History, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Accounting, Business Administration, Mass Communication, Production Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Pharmacy, Banking and Finance, Economics, Marketing, Statistics, and Linguistics. Also, the data for the study are analysed using the Brown and Levinson Politeness Theory. Focusing on four types of politeness superstrategies and itigation devices, the study has found that regardless of the power-distance relationship between students and lecturers, lecturers tend to be cognisant of the face wants of the presenters as evidenced by the use of negative politeness and off record superstrategies, which both occur as the most used face threat mitigating strategies in the postgraduate seminar presentations.