A Socio-Pragmatic Analysis of Politeness Strategies in Whats App Instant Messaging Communication among Palestinian University Students and Lecturers in post 2023-2025 Gaza War

Abstract

In  the aftermath of the 2023-2025 Gaza war, academic  environment has increasingly relied on online learning rather than face-to-face education. Interaction between Palestinian students and their lecturers has shifted to instant messaging through various digital platforms. This informal means of communication was thought to transcend the classroom etiquette. The current qualitative study presents a socio-pragmatic analysis of language politeness in interactions between students and lecturers on WhatsApp groups where using politeness expressions in such contexts is crucial. The study aims to investigate the politeness strategies adopted by Palestinian lecturers and their students on  the WhatsApp  groups designated  for academic  interactions.  It employs a qualitative approach grounded in Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory. Nine exchanges between students themselves and with their lecturers were randomly selected from different WhatsApp groups as the data of the current study in the first semester of the academic year 2025/2026. The data were analyzed in light of the five politeness strategies proposed by Brown and Levinson. The findings indicate that both Palestinian lecturers and students employ complex array of politeness strategies in order to maintain social harmony and to foster positive communication despite stress, anxiety and depression they experienced throughout wartime. Student-student interactions favour positive, negative and bald-on record politeness strategies; however, in student- professor interactions, positive and negative politeness strategies are prioritized most frequently  to  navigate  power  dynamics  while professor-student discourse employs  a broader spectrum, including off-record strategy. These linguistic choices serve as tools for fostering  collective solidarity within the educational landscape. In light  of  these findings, more insightful research is required to investigate politeness strategies on other digital platforms.