The effect of gender and age in Setswana greetings

Abstract

The paper examines the effect of age and gender on the performance of greetings. Greetings are a common marker and an integral part of politeness in Setswana culture. They are believed to constitute Batswana's (Botswana natives’) concept of botho which means to be humane, caring, kind and have good interpersonal relationships with others. Setswana greetings serve important social functions, such as establishing interpersonal relationships, and opening conversations. The main argument of the paper is that the performance of greetings, which constitutes politeness, is not universal among Setswana speaking groups, but is affected by such factors as age, gender and ethnicity. This argument is based on a comparison of the greetings strategies of two Botswana ethnic groups; Bangwato of Serowe and Bangwaketse of Kanye. Based on the performance of greetings by these two communities, the paper concludes that the performance of politeness differs not only from one society to another, but also within an ethnic group and it is affected by such factors as age and gender.

Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2012, 30(1): 93–100