Reproach Strategies and Reactions in Friendly Interaction in Cameroon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69760/egjlle.26010011Keywords:
complaints, politeness/impoliteness, preferred adjacency, Cameroon French, address terms, pragmatic modifiersAbstract
This article analyzes the interactional dynamics that structure reproach exchanges between friends in Cameroon. Drawing on a corpus collected between 2013 and 2022, the study examines (a) the types of interactional sequences involved (consensual, conflictual, mixed), (b) the strategies used to formulate reproaches (interrogation, exclamation, disagreement, accusation, threat, request for redress, moralization, expression of regret), and (c) the responses produced (apologies, justifications, promises, acknowledgment of fault). Attention is paid to the role of pragmatic modifiers (mitigators, intensifiers) and nominal forms of address. The findings indicate a strong orientation toward conflict mitigation: conciliatory responses predominate, whereas counter‑attacks and refusals remain marginal. The study thus highlights face‑management mechanisms and underscores the importance of localized sociolinguistic resources, code‑mixing, routinized phrasing, indigenized interjections, in regulating interactional tension.
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