The speech act of apology in IsiXhosa educational contexts

Abstract

This article examines some of the characteristics of apologies in informal remedial interchanges in isiXhosa. The analysis presented covers the functions of apologies and the range of strategies used to apologize. The research is conducted within the broad context of Brown and Levinson's (1987) theory of politeness. Brown and Levinson's model provides a means of taking into account of a range of social factors which are likely to affect the way a speaker apologizes for an offense, and it is therefore possible to analyze the effect that different factors have on the apology strategies which speakers use in different contexts.