A pragmatic analysis of diminutives in Palestinian society

Abstract

This study explores the pragmatic functions of diminutives as used in Palestinian Arabic. Brown and Levinson's model of linguistic politeness is considered as a theoretical framework of the study. Discussion and analysis of naturally occurring data of diminutive use shows that, as an extension of their central use with children, diminutives in Palestinian Arabic have taken on the pragmatic functions of minimizing imposition, “hedging an utterance, expressing a pejorative attitude, showing affection and endearment, intensifying the speaker's emotions, showing modesty and avoiding bragging”, and expressing intimacy and connectedness (Badarneh, 2010, P. 153). The diminutive in Palestinian Arabic is thus used both as a positive politeness strategy, oriented toward showing solidarity, expressing affection and endearment and establishing a friendly context for the interaction, and as a negative politeness strategy aimed at minimizing imposition and softening negative statements. These functions reflect the role of diminutives in Palestinian colloquial discourse as a device utilized by Palestinians to mark, establish, or assert social relationships including connectedness and solidarity. It is noted that the diminutive is mainly hearersupportive, boosting the force of the utterance in positive politeness contexts while mitigating the force of the utterance in negative politeness contexts (cf. Badarneh, 2010).