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).
