Linguistic Ethnographic Investigation of Face Negotiations in Interaction

Abstract

This article focuses on face negotiation as an interaction management strategy in teacher-student interactions. The article viewed both linguistic and non-linguistic items as crucial components of face construction and meaning in interaction. The research was designed as a linguistic ethnographic study where the recording of naturally occurring interactions of 30 participants (28 students and two lecturers) in a Nigerian university was performed and analysed using micro discourse analysis. The interactional data was further supported by participant observation and stimulated recall sessions in order to account for the actual intentions of the interactants. The results of our analysis showed that face is the interactional architecture through which various social and interactional variables are manifested, accounted for and negotiated in talk. The study found the asymmetrical nature of the relationship between the teacher and the students as signifi cant variables in the nature of the face negotiations that take place in the school setting. Ethnographic resources have also revealed face consideration as a relational and omnipresent entity in interaction.