Politeness without routines: a case study in Hobongan and implications for typology

Abstract

In a partial report on field work conducted among the Hobongan in Indonesia during 2012–2015, I note that the language has very few idiomatic politeness routines (a couple of greetings with which to send people on their travels are notable exceptions). However, the language has many other ways to indicate politeness and impoliteness. One such strategy is lexical items to indicate curses; there are three lexical items that often combine with other terms to form idiomatic curses in the language, which suggests, in comparison to the idiomatic expressions of farewell, that impoliteness is more important than politeness, at least with regard to idiomatic expressions. Another strategy to maintain politeness is to participate in social rituals that can be observed but that do not necessarily co-occur with politeness routines. Although there are incantations, often associated with social rituals, they are too extensive to be considered politeness routines in the usual sense; impoliteness is indicated by a refusal to participate in the rituals. These rituals thus provide a fully pragmatic way to conduct politeness and impoliteness, not requiring stated terms. Perhaps the most common way to indicate politeness is through the use of many euphemisms, including ways to talk to and about people without using their given names (the use of given names is avoided in order to prevent evil spirits from being able to identify individuals); such euphemisms also include terms to avoid speaking directly about bodily functions and sexual activity that are not considered acceptable for polite Hobongan society. It has been noted that although a range of possibilities exist for politeness, including behavioral and pragmatic possibilities (