POWER AND CULTURE

Impoliteness is believed to be pervasive in human interactions contrary to the claim of Geoffrey Leech that it is marginal (103). The aim of this study, therefore, is to examine the use of conflictive verbal illocutions in interpersonal interactions, particularly among couples and peer groups. The study also attempts to show the underlying forces of power and culture as two major factors that goad the enactment of negative behaviours in face to face communication. Hinged on the theory of impoliteness, which encapsulates the intentional, incidental and accidental use of negative verbal illocutions to cause offence, the study equally draws on the fields of interpersonal pragmatics and interpersonal communication to show the relationship between these concepts and human interactions. The study adopts both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. Data collection is based on questionnaires that were administered to 200 undergraduate students in the University of Benin and 100 married individuals in Edo and Delta States. The questionnaires administered comprise both figures and written aspects. Quantitative analysis is used to account for frequencies of impoliteness
perceptions by participants and the written aspects are analysed using impoliteness strategies. Findings from the study reveal that cultural expectations constrain the action space of some participants in interaction while empowering others. It also demonstrates that in asymmetric relationships, particularly, men freely employ conflictive linguistic strategies
against their wives because they believe that they are the head of the home. The research also affirms the claim that men use more harsh remarks than women do. Finally, the study reveals that complaint is one of the major strategies used by interactants to damage the face wants of
other participants in interaction