A Socio-Pragmatic Study of Greeting and Leave-Taking Patterns in Algerian Arabic in Mostaganem

This study aims to investigate the greeting and leave-taking patterns used in people’s face-to-face interactions in 16 villages and 15 urban areas in Mostaganem (Algeria) from a socio-pragmatic perspective. It uncovers the effect of age, gender, social distance and context on selecting greeting and farewell formulae. Three qualitative data collection tools were used, including observation of natural data, 123 audio-recordings of natural social encounters, and responses of 40 persons who partook in an oral Discourse Completion Test. The collected data were analysed according to Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory as a theoretical framework. The findings reveal similarities and differences in the rural and urban greetings and farewells in several aspects. Results rebut the allegation that greetings have no meaning apart from their phatic function and support the hypothesis that they are meaningful. Greetings and farewells, in Mostaganem Spoken Arabic (MSA), fulfil the following socio-pragmatic functions: welcoming, expressing surprise, seeking information, determining the interlocutors’ relationship, identifying attitudes towards relationships i.e. satisfaction, and umbrage, showing concern for the hearer and his relatives, boosting intimacy and enhancing in-group solidarity.