HVALA (TI/VAM), ZAHVALJUJEM, TENKS: IDENTIFYING CROATIAN VERBAL POLITENESS MARKERS Текст научной статьи по специальности «Языкознание и литературоведение»

111 . ФИЛОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ НАУКИ

ЯЗЫКОЗНАНИЕ

ТЕОРЕТИЧЕСКАЯ, ПРИКЛАДНАЯ И СРАВНИТЕЛЬНО-СОПОСТАВИТЕЛЬНАЯ

ЛИНГВИСТИКА

УДК: 811.163.42: [81'271:81'276] DOI: 10.18503/2658-3186-2023-7-3-45-49

К. Колар (Москва, Россия)

HVALA (TI/VAM), ZAHVALJUJEM, TENKS: ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЕ ХОРВАТСКИХ ВЕРБАЛЬНЫХ МАРКЕРОВ ВЕЖЛИВОСТИ

Аннотация. Отходя от традиционных лингвистических подходов к изучению вежливости, которые в основном опирались на максимы и стратегии вежливости, современные ученые приняли более тонкую точку зрения, подчеркивая значение маркеров вежливости. Хотя маркеры вежливости важны, они до сих пор не идентифицированы во многих языках, включая хорватский. Данная статья углубляется в сферу вербальных маркеров вежливости в хорватском языке и изучает культурные эквиваленты слов «thank you» и «thanks». В исследовании используется квалитативный анализ, в котором особое внимание уделяется значению и использованию хорватских аналогов данных маркеров - «hvala (ti/Vam)», «zahvljujem» и «tenks». Их употребление показывается на примерах из хорватского национального корпуса и анкеты, проведенной среди хорватских студентов, сосре-доточеной на речевом акте просьбы, то есть использовании маркеров вежливости в таких актах и между людьми с различными уровнями власти и социального статус. На основе анализа сделан вывод, что «zahvaljujem», «hvala (ti/Vam)» и «tenks» используются для выражения благодарности, но притом передают различные уровни формальности и выразительности. Более того, в исследовании подчеркивается, что более длинные выражения передают больше формальности, чем более короткие выражения, и что хорватские версии английских маркеров вежливости несут исключительно неформальный и дружеский подтекст, что участники опроса поняли и подтвердили использованием ожидаемых маркеров в анкете. Новизна данного исследования заключается в рассмотрении маркеров вежливости в хорватском языке, подчеркивается важность контекста, формальности и лингвистических нюансов. В статье намечены пути дальнейшего изучения этой малоизученной темы.

Ключевые слова: вежливость, маркеры вежливости, хорватский язык, вербальные маркеры, лингвистика

K. Kolar (Moscow, Russia)

HVALA (TI/VAM), ZAHVALJUJEM, TENKS: IDENTIFYING CROATIAN VERBAL POLITENESS MARKERS

Abstract. Departing from traditional linguistic approaches in politeness, which mainly relied on politeness maxims and strategies, contemporary scholars have adopted a more nuanced perspective, emphasizing the significance of politeness markers. While important, these markers have not yet been identified in many languages, including Croatian. This article delves into the realm of verbal politeness markers in the Croatian language, shedding light on the cultural equivalents of the terms thank you and thanks. The study employs a qualitative analysis, specifically focusing on the meaning and usage of Croatian counterparts to these commonly used English politeness markers - hvala (ti/Vam), zahvljujem and tenks. Their usage was displayed using examples from the Croatian national corpus and a questionnaire conducted among Croatian university students, participating in a requesting speech act, meaning a special emphasis in the article is put on the usage of politeness markers in such acts between people of different power and social status. The analysis reveals that zahvaljujem, hvala (ti/Vam) and tenks are all used to express gratitude, but differ with regards to the level of formality and emphasis they convey. Moreover, the study highlights that longer expressions convey more formality than shorter expressions, and that Croatianised versions of English politeness markers carry exclusively informal and friendly connotations, which the participants in the questionnaire seem to have understood and upheld with their marker usage. This research offers valuable insights into politeness markers in Croatian, emphasizing the importance of context, formality, and linguistic nuances and the article encourages further exploration of this underre-searched topic.

Keywords: politeness, politeness markers, Croatian, verbal markers, linguistics

Introduction

Although many of us have a general understanding of the concept of politeness, few take the time to contemplate its specific components - what constitutes it, what influences it, how it is formed etc. Even

when we do ponder it, we encounter a multitude of differing ideas in that regards: for instance, Grice (1975) and subsequently Leech (1983) proposed politeness maxims and principles as the governing rules in communication politeness. Brown and Levinson (1987), on the other hand, argued that politeness relies on various strategies and factors which influence their usage. In the present day, however, we tend to adopt a more nuanced perspective on politeness, including not only their theories, but other additional elements and factors such as politeness markers. These markers, although sometimes easily overlooked, play a significant role in shaping our perception of politeness within a given discourse unit, especially with regards to different speech acts. In spite of this, they have been somewhat neglected in politeness research across various cultures, including Croatian culture. For this reason, this article aims to identify certain verbal politeness markers in the Croatian language. This endeavor will involve a qualitative analysis of Croatian equivalents for two of the most common English verbal politeness markers, showcasing gratitude, namely, thank you, and thanks. Additionally, the utilization of these Croatian equivalents will be illustrated using the examples from the Croatian national corpus, HrWac1, as well as findings from a questionnaire administered by Kolar (2022). In this questionnaire, Croatian university students were tasked with composing a requestive email to their hypothetical professor; therefore, the emphasis in the article will particularly be on the use of politeness markers in a requesting speech act, within the frames of an interaction between individuals of differing power and social status. This analysis constitutes a component of an ongoing tripartite research project centered on politeness strategies in university settings in Croatia, Russia, and the USA, and serves as an addition to an article by Kolar (2023; forthcoming), focusing on the Croatian politeness markers functioning as equivalents of the terms sorry and please.

1. Defining politeness markers

As proposed by Islentyeva, Pesendorfer, and Tolochin (2023), politeness markers encompass all words, phrases and expressions that are linked to the linguistic concept of politeness, particularly in the sense that they emphasize it. While there are various classifications, with different complexities and characteristics, these markers can typically be categorized into two groups: structural markers, which pertain to certain discursive structures, such as greetings, openings, and closings, and verbal markers, which are phrases employed at specific points in conversations and include expressions of gratitude, apologies, , and the like (Alemi and Maleknia, 2023). While both categories are equally important, in this article, we are primarily interested in verbal markers, so we shall concentrate on them, without further discussing structural markers. Although there is a plethora of verbal politeness markers (and expressions constituting it), our objective is to identify Croatian counterparts for the English markers thank you and thanks, as these are among the most prominent politeness markers in contemporary English (Baker 2017: 230). Consequently, as their counterparts, equivalents of thank you and thanks, and the basis for our analysis in the Croatian context, we propose the Croatian expressions hvala (ti/Vam), zahvaljujem and tenks.

2. Methodology

Regarding the methodology in this article, our approach will involve a two-step process. As part of the first step, we will elucidate the meaning and potential applications of the proposed terms (hvala ti/Vam, zahvaljujem and tenks), contrasting them with their English cultural counterparts (thank you and thanks). Subsequently, in the second step, we will provide illustrative instances of their usage drawn from the Croatian national corpus, HrWac, as well as a Google Forms questionnaire (or rather its results), administered and conducted by Kolar in 2022. For the questionnaire's purpose, Croatian university students were tasked with composing an email to a hypothetical professor, simulating a request (and thus a requesting speech act) to retake a failed exam. Consequently, this article will primarily focus on the utilization of the abovementioned politeness markers within the context of a request-oriented speech act occurring between a university instructor and students, with particular attention directed toward interactions characterized by significant social or power distance.

3. Analysis and Discussion First and foremost, we must define thank you and thanks, or rather, what they are used for. Considering that thanks is shortened from thank you, it is not unusual that both expressions are used for the same purpose - to express gratitude. The only difference between them stems from the fact that thank you contains the objective pronoun you, which makes it more personal and emphasized, and thus, conveys a greater level of empathy and appreciation (Islentyeva, Pesendorfer and Tolochin, 2023). In Croa-

1 HrWaC - Croatian Web Corpus. URL: https://www.clarin.si/noske/all.cgi/first_form?corpname=hrwac;align=

tian, there are several expressions which can be used as equivalents of thank you and thanks, and these terms include hvala (ti/Vam), zahvaljujem and tenks.

Out of the Croatian terms, hvala is used the most universally, and as such serves as the most common equivalent of thank you and thanks: it can be used in formal situations and informal situations, as well as without a pronoun, or with the pronoun ti (second person singular) or Vam (second person singular - respectful/second person plural). The usage of hvala without a pronoun is more common and is not considered any less polite than hvala ti/Vam - the only difference is that, by adding the pronouns, the appreciation is amplified and made more sincere. This appreciation can further be even more amplified if one adds the word puno, or veoma meaning very much. Example of real-life application of hvala (ti/Vam) can be seen in the corpus examples below:

1. Robi, misu, sto li sve ne stanuje u tvome genijalnom mozgicu. Hvala ti za smijeh.

Robi, sweetie, your phenomenal brain is full of genius ideas. Thank you for the laughter.

2. Veliko hvala svima koji su sudjelovali u organizaciji i na bilo koji nacin pomogli pri realizaciji ovog uistinu zanimljivog i hvale vrijednog dogadaja Thank you very much to everyone involved in the organization and to everyone who helped in any way to make this truly interesting and praiseworthy even come to life.

3. Jako mi je drago da postoji jedna ovakva udruga koja radi dobre stvari. Hvala vam i samo tako djelujte i dalje.

I am very happy that such an organization, doing so much good, exists. Thank you and keep working the same way.

Considering that hvala is used so universally, as was expected, it appeared quite a bit in the questionnaire, more specifically, in about 30% of emails, always with the respectful second person singular pronoun Vam, usually in the following sense:

4. Hvala Vam unaprijed (na razumijevanju).

Thank you very much (for your understanding).

While hvala can be used in both formal and informal situations, between people who know each other well and who are strangers, there are terms which can be used only in formal or informal settings. In that sense, a term Croatians most commonly use to express gratitude in formal contexts is zahvaljujem. Zahvalju-jem can, actually, be considered as the direct translation of I thank you, as it is actually a verb (unlike hvala, which is a noun), and is used either in communicational contexts between people of different social/power distance, or when we one is trying to emphasize their gratitude, as can be seen in the examples below:

1. Tijekom prezentacije nase Udruge pokazao se interes za smjestajne kapacitete u hrvatskim Domo-vima za starije, obiteljskim domovima, a samoj prezentaciji je pomogao uspjesan promotivni materijal Hrvatske Turisticke Zajednice kojima najiskrenije zahvaljujem.

During our organization's presentation, an interest in offering accommodation in Croatian retirement homes and family homes has been displayed, and the presentation itself was helped by the Croatian National Tourist Board, whom I thank most sincerely.

2. Na ovom velikom uspjehu Koalicije iskreno zahvaljujem biracima na iskazanom povjerenju.

The coalition earnestly thanks the voters for the trust they have displayed and this great success.

Considering the emphasizing and formal nature of zahvaljujem, it is no surprise that it was used in approximately 30% of emails, in contexts similar to the following example:

3. Unaprijed zahvaljujem (na razumijevanju i pomoci).

Thank you in advance (for your understanding and help).

On the other hand, as a form of gratitude used in exclusively informal contexts, a new term has appeared in Croatian and become very popular in the past 20 years or so. This term is tenks, sometimes also written as tnx, thx or its original form - thanks. While this term is obviously taken from English and is used very similarly in both languages, the main difference is that, in Croatian, apart from being significantly less emphasized and more easy-going than hvala (ti/Vam) and zahvaljujem, as has been mentioned, it can be used exclusively in informal contexts, and only between friends, family members, peers, or people who are close. Originally, tenks was used by young people only, and even today it is more commonly used by young people. However, middle aged people, as well as elderly, have also grown to like it, so it is commonly heard in the Croatian streets and conversations, in contexts similar to the ones in the following examples:

1. Obecavam da cu detaljno proucit sve o tome, jer, kao sto rekoh, ovo mi je sve novo. U svakom slu-caju, tenks na «drugoj strani».

I promise to look at all that in detail since, like I said, all this is new to me. In any case, thanks for the «other side».

2. Ja bih voljela vidjeti cim vise tutoriala hehe, od dnevnih lookova, pa do nekih extremnih, npr za maskare i slicno. I npr kako ti nanosis tus:) Tenks .:)

I'd love to see as many tutorials as possible hehe, starting from daily looks, all the way to the more extreme, e.g. Halloween and similar ones. And how you do your eyeliner. Thanks :)

Considering the informal nature of the expression in question, using tenks in formal contexts would be regarded as highly inappropriate and impolite, especially when one is addressing individuals with a greater power level or higher social status. Respondent questionnaires seemed to have recognized this, and thus there are not examples of its usage in the questionnaire.

Based on this analysis, we have come to several conclusions.

First of all, when it comes to thank you and thanks, to express the same notion, the notion of gratitude, Croatians usually use hvala (ti/Vam), zahvaljujem or tenks. While the three expressions have the same meaning, the lengthier zahvaljujem is more sincere and emphatic than the shorter hvala (ti/Vam) and tenks, and is used most formally. Furthermore, the most common term out of the three is hvala (ti/Vam), as it can be applied most universally (in formal and informal contexts of different levels of gravity/seriousness), and, when joined by objective pronouns ti/Vam, it receives and expresses more emotion and emphasis. Finally, the shortest, the least emphasized, the newest and the most informal of the three expressions is tenks, a Croatian-ised version of the English thanks, which functions in the same way as its English original, with the exception of being used exclusively in informal settings and by people of similar social and power status, such as peers, friends, family members etc.

Secondly, on the basis of this analysis, as well as the analysis of the Croatian equivalents of the terms please and sorry, conducted for the purpose of an article which is to be published this year (Kolar, 2023; forthcoming), we have come to the conclusion that Croatians tend to use the «Croatinised» form of English politeness markers - which can be seen in the term tenks analyzed here. However, all such terms can be used exclusively informally, and/or in friendly settings, family conversations, and similar contexts, especially among young people, meaning that politeness markers of Croatian origin carry significantly more emphasis and formality.

Thirdly, deducing from politeness markers used in the briefly analyzed questionnaire, it seems that its respondents understand the difference between social and power distance and status between them and their perceived interlocutor, i. e. their professor, as well as the appropriate usage of the terms analyzed here. This can be concluded on the basis of the terms they used in the questionnaire, namely, the more formal zahvalju-jem and hvala in combination with the respectful second person pronoun Vam, which are used to emphasize sincerity and gratefulness. No thanks or hvala without a pronoun have been found in the questionnaire, which confirms its respondents understand they are partaking in a speech act which might damage their status (in other words, a face-threatening speech act), and that they are talking to a person of a higher social and power status.

Finally, it can potentially also be asserted that, in Croatian, the length of a politeness marker, at least one expressing gratitude, correlates with its degree of formality, emphasis, and closeness - the shorter a politeness marker is, the more informal and deemphasized it is. Nevertheless, to gain a deeper understanding of politeness markers, in general, but especially in Croatian and other underresearched languages, further research is imperative. A quantitative analysis is required to determine the prevalence and anticipated usage of specific politeness markers, and there is also a need to uncover additional politeness markers. Ideally, this could be accomplished through a more extensive questionnaire that reaches a wider audience. Thus, this article serves as a call for more research of that kind.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this article has delved into the realm of certain verbal politeness markers expressing gratitude, namely thank you and thanks, or rather their Croatian equivalents. For this purpose, the given terms have been analyzed with regards to their meaning, and their usage has been exemplified with the help of HrWac, the Croatian national corpus, as well as a questionnaire conducted by Kolar in 2022, focused on politeness in email professor-student communication, with an emphasis on the requesting speech act. In that sense, the terms hvala (ti/Vam), zahvaljujem and tenks have been pinpointed as the Croatian counterparts of thank you and thanks, carrying the same meaning and application. We have also examined the contexts in which they are employed, shedding light on the distinctions between them, and it was observed that longer expressions tend to carry more weight and sincerity. Furthermore, our investigation also revealed that Croa-tians tend to employ English politeness markers, adapted to fit the Croatian phonetic system, which has in this analysis been proved by tenks, the Croatinised version of thanks. Importantly, however, these adapta-

tions are typically reserved for informal and friendly interactions. Finally, it has also been noticed that Croatian university students seem to understand the difference in application of the analyzed terms, as well as the meaning, emphasis and formality they carry, which has been displayed by their use of the given terms in the questionnaire. This also showcases they understand the power and social distance between themselves and their perceived university professors, as well as the severity of the speech act they are partaking in, which is also reflected in the markers they use.

While this article provides valuable insights into the topic of politeness markers in Croatia, there remains a need for more extensive research to gain a more comprehensive understanding. We recommend conducting research on a larger and more diverse sample, with a particular focus on quantifying the usage of these politeness markers. Such research would illuminate the subject of politeness in Croatia, which is still relatively underexplored in the country. This would be beneficial to both Croatians and foreigners in Croatia, including students and academics engaged in academic mobility within Croatian universities, unfamiliar with Croatian social norms and standards. Therefore, we hope that this article serves as a catalyst for further exploration into the realm of Croatian linguistic politeness, marking the beginning of more in-depth investigations in this area.

REFERENCES

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Колар К. Hvala (ti/vam), Zahvaljujem, Tenks: Определение хорватских вербальных маркеров вежливости // Гуманитарно-педагогические исследования. 2023. Т. 7. № 3. С. 45-49.

Kolar K., Hvala (Ti/Vam), Zahvaljujem, Tenks: Identifying Croatian Verbal Politeness Markers, Gumanitarno-pedagogicheskie issledovaniya [Humanitarian and pedagogical Research], 2023, vol. 7, no 3, pp. 45-49.

Дата поступления статьи -16.09.2023; 0,55 печ. л.

Сведения об авторе

Колар Клара - Магистр английского и русского языков и литератур - переводовед, аспирант 3-го курса по специализации «Теория языка и анализ дискурса», кафедра иностранных языков филологического факультета Российского университета дружбы народов (РУДН), Москва, Россия; klara.kolar96@gmail.com.

Author

Klara Kolar, Master of English and Russian Language and Literature with a specialization in translation, third year PhD student of Linguistics, with a specialization in Theory of Language and Discourse Analysis, at the Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Philology, People's Friendship University of Russia (PFUR/RUDN), Moscow, Russia; klara.kolar96@gmail.com.