A Pragma-Stylistic Analysis of Ceremonial Congratulatory Correspondences in English and Arabic

Politeness strategies are of significant importance to maintain the face addressee. Senders of formal congratulatory letters attempt to draw a positive image in the eyes of the addressees through performing specific illocutionary acts and face saving acts (FSAs) in the form of written texts. The current qualitative-quantitative study aims to investigate the pragmastylistic aspects of illocutionary acts and FSA Politeness Strategies in some selected English and Arabic ceremonial congratulatory correspondences written by English and Arabic high officials. Therefore, the study is aimed to answer the following questions: (1) What types of illocutionary acts are most frequently used in English and Arabic ceremonial congratulatory correspondences? (2) What types of FSA Politeness Strategies are most frequently used in English and Arabic ceremonial congratulatory correspondences? and (3) What types of stylistic devices are most frequently used to express politeness in English and Arabic ceremonial congratulatory correspondences?

Autorentext

Muna Yas Khuddir received her B.Sc. degree in English Language from the University of Baghdad/College of Languages/ Department of English in 1999. She also received her MA degree from the same university and college in 2021. Her research interests include Pragma-Stylistics, General Linguistics.