(Im)Politeness and interactions in Dialogic Literary Gatherings

Abstract

This article examines the interactions that occur in Dialogic Literary Gatherings (DLG), a cultural activity in which low literate adults read and debate classic literature. To respect the principle of egalitarian dialogue, participants agree on how to communicate and reflect on their communicative patterns. We analyse the actual interactional behaviour of participants and the pragmatic traits that evidence how this principle is implemented by identifying dialogic and power interactions in connection to (Im)politeness. This study shows the influence of the situated genre (DLG) over status in the prevalence of politeness and how the participants use polite mitigation strategies that favour dialogue in the conversation, regardless of the participants’ position.