Body Parts Idioms as Linguistic Tool for Polite Communication among the Nzema

Abstract

The paper examines body parts idioms as politeness strategy in Nzema communication. Figurative devices such as proverbs and euphemisms have received quite an appreciable amount of study in connection with verbal politeness in Nzema. Little or no attention however has been given to idioms, particularly their communicative functions in the language. This paper seeks to discuss the communicative functions of some body parts related idioms in Nzema with special focus on idiomatic expressions involving the limbs, the body/skin, the heart/chest and the stomach that are used in daily discourse. The analysis is based on primary data obtained through participant and non-participant observation. The data comprise audio recordings of traditional arbitration and everyday conversations among the Nzema. The paper demonstrates that, these culturally constructed body parts related idioms are deliberately employed to avoid any straightforward language that seeks to undermine and threaten the face of an addressee and also serve as politeness device for the speaker. The paper draws on Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory.