Abstract:
Language is one of the most powerful tools. The way individuals use language through their accent, choice of words, among others, is the through reflection of their sociocultural background. Religion, as part of culture, has become an integral part of human life. Scholars of many faiths have the responsibility of preaching to impart the message of their own religions. By the use of the Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness model and Culpeper’s (1996) impoliteness models as analytical frameworks, the study investigated politeness and impoliteness strategies that were employed by interlocutors in the question and answer (Q&A) sessions of Islamic public lectures by Dr. Zakir Naik, renowned scholar on Islam and comparative religion. Using the descriptive qualitative approach, the study sampled three videos of his lectures and analysed them. The study revealed that all the politeness strategies and impoliteness strategies, as suggested by Brown and Levinson (1987) and Culpeper (1996) respectively, were employed, albeit to various degrees. It was also revealed that the choice of politeness and impoliteness strategies was influenced by the cultural background and the different social power and rank between the interlocutors. The preacher frequently used of Positive politeness and Positive impoliteness strategies, while the questioners profusely used Negative politeness and a few Negative impoliteness strategies. The moderator frequently used of Bald on-record politeness strategies and no impoliteness strategy. This study contributes significantly to the scholarship and understanding of politeness and impoliteness, especially in the Islamic religious discourse.
