(Im)Politeness in Igbo Novel: A Case of Ọja Dufuo Dike

Theories of (im)politeness have over the years focused on examining howcommunicative techniques are used to promote and also maintain socialharmony. Earlier studies on how politeness is portrayed in Igbo literaturepatronised Igbo works of literature of English expression. There is a dearthof research on how the Igbo language is used to portray (im)politeness inIgbo literature of Igbo expression. The aim of this study, therefore, is toidentify various verbal (im)politeness strategies portrayed in the Igbonovels using ỌjaDufuo Dike (ỌDD) as a case study and to also add to theavailable literature on the pragmatic study of Igbo literature. Purposivesampling was used in the selection of the text ỌDD, and data obtainedfrom the text were analysed using (im)politeness strategies. The studyfound more impolitic verbal expressions in the text than politeexpressions, such as bald on record, negative, positive, and mockimpoliteness. The only positive politeness strategy in the text is negative politeness, which is manifested in ordering.