Yalın Hayır ve İncelik(sizlik) Derecesi

• Main Author: Çiler Hatipoğlu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BÜTEK Boğaziçi Eğitim Turizm Teknopark Uygulama ve Dan. Hiz. San. Tic. A.Ş. 2010-07-01
• Series: Dilbilim Araştırmaları Dergisi
• Subjects: Turkish; (im)politeness; NO; bald-on-record expressions; (im)politeness and hearer’s evaluation; gender; distance
• Online Access: http://dad.boun.edu.tr/download/article-file/224699
• ISSN: 1300-8552; 2587-0939

This paper examines how the bald-on-record refusal ‘NO’ of a request is evaluated by male and female native speakers of Turkish. It also tries to uncover whether or not the distance between the interlocutors and the gender of the individual refusing the request affect the way refusals are classified on the polite-rude continuum. The data analysed in the study were gathered in three steps from 240 university students using natural observations, questionnaires and interviews. The analyses of the data were done using SPSS and CLAN CHILDES programs. Results of the study show that the relationship between the variables social distance, gender and the interpretation of the level of politeness of the refusals is multifaceted and dynamic. Therefore, instead of claiming universality for the politeness rules,it is advisable to try to uncover the politeness rules that are validin different contexts for the different interlocutors taking part in the interaction. The study also shows that evaluating only the data produced by the speakers and ignoring the evaluations of the hearers may lead to misinterpretations of the politeness data. Therefore, if the aim is to uncover the ‘real rules of politeness’, it is suggested that the hearer’s evaluations of the utterances should be taken into consideration too.