Gender and Politeness/Hedging Strategies in English among Igbo Native Speakers in Nigeria - Journal Article

Oct 15, 2026

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The study investigates politeness and hedging strategies in English conversations used by Igbo native speakers in Nigeria, and examines whether men’s and women’s conversational styles differ. Using a cross-sectional questionnaire and interview-based survey, ten-item discourse completion tasks and structured interviews were administered at seven universities across Nigeria’s South-East and South-South zones. Data were analysed with quantitative and qualitative tools. Findings show politeness and hedging are essential sociolinguistic elements and that female respondents adhere more closely to linguistic politeness principles than males across contexts, indicating gendered conversational style shaped by factors such as age, culture, hierarchy, disposition, and religion.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time17 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Gender in conversation

Politeness and politeness theory

Research context and communication strategies

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 [www.alls.aiac.org.au](www.alls.aiac.org.au) | Gender and Politeness/Hedging Strategies in English among Igbo Native Speakers in Nigeria: A Difference in Conversational Styles
Chinomso P. Dozie1*, Chioma N. Chinedu-Oko2, Patricia N. Anyanwu3, Ijeoma C. Ojilere4, Richard C. Ihejirika1, Emeka J. Otagburuagu5 1 Use of English Language and Communication Unit, Directorate of General Studies, Federal University of Technology P.M.B. 1526 Owerri, Nigeria
2Department of Humanities, Federal Polytechnique Nekede, Owerri
3Department of English and Communication Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria
4Department of Languages/Literary Studies/Linguistics//Theatre Arts, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo, Nigeria 5Department of English and Communication skills, School of General Studies, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nsukka Campus, Nigeria Corresponding Author: Chinomso P. Dozie, E-mail: [chinomso.dozie@futo.edu.ng](chinomso.dozie@futo.edu.ng) | | | --- | --- | | ARTICLE INFO | ABSTRACT
Gender and language studies in general have not been fully explored in most parts of the globe particularly in Nigeria. The objective of the study therefore was to examine the politeness and hedging strategies in the English language conversation of Igbo native speakers in Nigeria as well as establish whether men and women’s conversational styles have been gendered As across-sectional questionnaire and interview-based survey, the sample population was studied by means of ten-item questionnaire in the form of Discourse Completion Task and structured interview at seven Universities systematically selected from the South-East and South-South geo-political zones in Nigeria. The study instruments were completed, returned, transcribed and statistically analysed using the quantitative and qualitative tools for analysis of production and perception data respectively. Results showed that politeness and hedging are indispensable sociolinguistic elements in the conversational English of the study sample. Also, results revealed that to accomplish a communicative goal, the samples adopted different politeness/hedging strategies given the discourse situation. Also, findings showed that the female respondents were found to adhere more to linguistic politeness principles than their male counterparts considering the context hence demonstrating a difference in conversational style. The study found evidence to establish that females are more polite than males in conversations. In conclusion, findings of this study showed that respondents yielded to certain sociolinguistic factors such as age, culture, hierarchy, disposition and religion as they were believed to inform the use of a particular strategy or another. | | Article history
Received: March 02, 2020
Accepted: May 20, 2020
Published: June 30, 2020
Volume: 11 Issue: 3
Advance access: June 2020 | | | Conflicts of interest: None
Funding: None | | | Key words:
Gender, Politeness, Hedging, Strategies,
Igbo Native Speakers, Conversational styles, Nigeria | | INTRODUCTION The concept of gender in conversation has generated so much attention nay controversy among researchers in sociolinguistics. This assertion appears to stem from an understanding that there exists a dichotomy in the speech/conversational style of men and women, the complexities of which involve not only the understanding of the language in use but also appreciation of the context of use. A fundamental aspect of this assumption is that there is always need to communicate efficiently in all spheres of human existence and it is indeed within the confines of communication that the theory of the difference in conversational style of men and women often arise. Gender has often been referred to as a social construct within the fields of cultural and gender studies as well asthe social

FAQs

What is the main objective of the study?

The study aims to examine politeness and hedging strategies in English conversations among Igbo native speakers in Nigeria and determine whether conversational styles differ by gender.

How was the research conducted?

It used a cross-sectional design with a ten-item questionnaire in the form of Discourse Completion Tasks and structured interviews at seven universities selected from Nigeria’s South-East and South-South zones.

What do the results show about politeness and hedging?

Politeness and hedging are indispensable sociolinguistic elements in the participants’ conversational English, and speakers use different politeness/hedging strategies depending on discourse situations.

Oct 15, 2026

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