Politeness in Iraq

This study examines the use of face threatening acts and politeness strategies of the Iraqi EFL learners in their conversations. The study reviews a theoretical background to Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory and the data are analyzed according to an eclectic model which consists of Brown and Levinson (1978) and Hoebe (2001). The study applies a test to one hundred of Iraqi university students’ conversations. The study tries to detect, analyze and discuss the type and the number of politeness strategies and face threatening acts used by the students and to testify the four hypotheses that are postulated in the study.