EXPLORING ON RECORD & OFF RECORD STRATEGIES IN PRAGMATICS OF SIALKOT SOCIETY

Abstract

In pragmatics, study of how context influences interpretation of meaning, "on record" and "off record" strategies play crucial roles in communication. These strategies are part of the politeness theory developed by Penelope Brown and Levinson. This study uses Brown & Levinson's Politeness Theory to study politeness tactics used in familial interactions in Sialkot, Pakistan. Thus, surveying 40 families from urban and rural areas, the research uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the effects of gender, socioeconomic status & cultural norms. The results show complex communication dynamics where politeness techniques are shaped by societal and gendered factors. Rural families take a diversified approach, whereas urban families tend to communicate on-record. The study revealed that effective communication involves a balance between on record and off record strategies, depending on context, the relationship amid speaker and listener, and potential face-threatening nature of communication. The study provides significant and leading outcomes about pragmatics and further highlights the significance of realizing cultural subtleties in familial interaction & proposes directions for future studies that will use multimodal analytic approaches & examine regional variances.