The Iraqi EFL University Learners’ Recognition of the Politeness Principle

Abstract

This study deals with the investigation of the Iraqi EFL university learners’ recognition of Leech’s politeness principle. The study aims at: determining whether the Iraqi EFL learners observe or flout the maxims of politeness principle, assessing the mastery of the maxims of politeness principle by the Iraqi EFL learners, and identifying which maxim(s) of politeness principle is/are usually observed and/or flouted. It is hypothesized that the modesty maxim is the most observed maxim and the generosity maxim is the most flouted one of the Iraqi EFL learners’ recognition of politeness principle, and the Iraqi EFL learners’ flouting of the maxims of politeness principle is more than their observance of such maxims at the recognition question. The sample of the current study is one hundred Iraqi EFL learners at the fourth year at University of Thi-Qar, College of Education for Humanities, Department of English. A test is the data elicitation tool that is designed to test the learners’ ability to recognize which maxims of politeness principle which are observed depending on the context of conversation in which they are indulged. It arrives at some conclusions: the most observed maxim of the Iraqi EFL learners’ recognition of politeness principle is the feeling-reticence maxim and the most flouted one is the modesty maxim. The Iraqi EFL university learners’ flouting of those maxims in the recognition question is more than their observance.