(Im)politeness as a tool to categorize interactive discourse markers of Arabic in radio shows

Abstract Little research has related DMs to (im)politeness, and none in Jordanian Arabic (JA). This study provides evidence that (im)politeness can categorize interactive DMs into polite DMs and impolite DMs in JA. It aims to explore the use of DMs in JA in relation to (im)politeness dichotomy. Twenty-two episodes of three different Jordanian radio shows which use vernacular JA were recorded and transcribed. With the help of prosodic cues and native speakers’ judgement and comprehension of the relevant utterances, this study finds that DMs can be categorized into polite DMs and impolite DMs. For instance, ʕafwan عفوا ‘excuse me’ and ja:si:di: يا سيدي ‘sir’ are exclusively used as mitigating polite DMs whilst wbaʕdi:n maʕak وبعدين معك ‘hey stop!’ and eṯlaʕ min ra:si: اطلع من راسي ‘get out of my head’ are impolite DMs which are primarily used in complaints and expressions of state of anger. This is all interpreted as evidence that interactive DMs can be strongly flavored by politeness which regulates their distribution and manifestation. The study contributes to research on DMs by presenting a categorization based on (im)politeness and thus strengthening the link between discourse and pragmatics.