The Iranian practice of Taarof has been defined as “the active, ritualized realization of differential perceptions of superiority and inferiority in interaction” (Beeman, 1968:56-57). So far,...Show moreThe Iranian practice of Taarof has been defined as “the active, ritualized realization of differential perceptions of superiority and inferiority in interaction” (Beeman, 1968:56-57). So far, linguistic research on taarof has presented it as a homogenous cultural practice (Koutlaki, 2002; Miller et al., 2014), however, Izadi (2015) shows that the same use of taarof might be evaluated differently by different people. This suggests that the use of taarof may not be so homogenous as it has been presented before. People who over-use taarof are classified as ‘taarofi’ (Izadi, 2016:21), a term that is generally used to indicate that somebody uses taarof, but can now also be used with a negative connotation. Beeman (1986:57) mentioned how young Iranians complain about taarof, although they do not feel they can change this cultural practice, and Izadi (2016) writes that people who use taarof to a lesser extent are evaluated more positively in a professional context. Nanbakhsh (2011:187-188) demonstrated how the use of honorifics by young and middle-aged people has changed. Although he linked the use of honorifics to taarof, it is of course not possible to generalize his findings to other forms of taarof, beyond honorifics. Based on these observations, the aim is to take his research one step further, by researching the attitudes of young people (18-37 years old) towards taarof, first exploratively by means of interviews, followed by questionnaires.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
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This thesis focuses on the relation between preference and particles. It researches the modal particles 'even', 'maar' and 'misschien', used in informal telephone conversations. I analyse all...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the relation between preference and particles. It researches the modal particles 'even', 'maar' and 'misschien', used in informal telephone conversations. I analyse all occurrences of these particles in a second pair part that answers a question, to be able to see if these mitigating particles are used to mitigate the non-preference, as expected.Show less
Since Brown and Levinson (1987) published their work on politeness, many studies have been carried out on the use of politeness strategies in discourse. The Late Modern English period is known as...Show moreSince Brown and Levinson (1987) published their work on politeness, many studies have been carried out on the use of politeness strategies in discourse. The Late Modern English period is known as the age of politeness and therefore the use of politeness markers should be particularly present in works of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The dialogues in Fanny Burney's journals and letters offer the best possible access to the Late Modern English spoken language, which is of interest to us, because still little is known about the spoken language of this period. This thesis has tried to establish what politeness markers, both positive and negative, can be found in Fanny Burney's language and in that of her addressees. Moreover, this thesis has tried to determine whether the use of politeness strategies resembles someone's social class, social role and their social relationship with the addressee. Furthermore, this thesis has tried to show whether language use can be taken to reflect the different social roles of the members of Fanny Burney's social network.Show less
