The Role of Address Terms in Expressing Politeness in Social Interaction in Sukuma

Abstract

This paper examined the role of address terms in expressing politeness in social interaction in Sukuma, a language spoken in the North Western Tanzania. In the course of investigation, a total of fourteen conversations were recorded, and seven cases were observed. Data were transcribed and analysed through the Thematic Coding Approach. The findings revealed that address terms play a significant role in expressing politeness in social interaction in Sukuma. Specifically, both positive and negative politeness strategies were revealed through the use of address terms. Positive politeness strategies were revealedthrough the use of terms of endearment like love, dear, homey, and friend while negative politeness strategies were revealed through the use of honorifics like father, mother, father-in-law, motherin- law, and village head. The study recommends studies on individual languages on address terms in particular and politeness in general in order to come up with plausible generalisation.

Keywords: Address terms, face threatening acts, politeness, socialinteraction, Sukuma