Tribal Face a New Proposal for the Concept of Face and Identity: A Case Study of Tribes of South Kerman

• Published in: نشریه پژوهش‌های زبان‌شناسی Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 159 - 178
• Main Authors: Jahanbakhsh Looragi Poor, Zahra Abolhassani Chimeh, Saeed Rezaei, Faezeh Farazandehpour
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Persian
• Published: University of Isfahan 01-03-2025
• ISSN: 2322-3413
• DOI: 10.22108/jrl.2024.140678.1832

Abstract"Face" is a central concept in interaction. It is related to the value of "self" or "self-image" of the interaction parties. In Iran, face studies have focused more on Persian general culture and paid less attention to Iranian subcultures. The current research has investigated the dominant face in the southern regions of Kerman from the perspective of sociolinguistics and also from a critical point of view on Spencer-Oatey's rapport management framework. Data have been collected and analyzed using combined methods of ethnography, interviews, and review of oral and written sources. The data analysis shows that the dominant face in South Kerman is a type of face that has not been mentioned in the previous sources. This type of face, which can be called a tribal face, is not related to politeness, but rather related to the tribal identity of people. Tribal identity is also mostly transmitted through language. The tribal face is activated in daily interactions with interpersonal actions, and when threatened, the consequences are quickly drawn from the individual domain to the collective domain of the tribe. At the end, its differences with group and collective face are mentioned and the coordinates and components of this type of face are also introduced according to the data. Some of these components can be listed as the history of the tribe and its social level.Keywords: Face; Identity; Rapport Management; Tribe; South Kerman IntroductionThe concept of face in Iranian Persian culture has been investigated in several studies. The literature abounds with different studies that investigate the concept of Face in Iranian culture or the Persian language using different approaches; However, what is widely missing is the study of face with respect to the plurality of languages and cultures in Iran. In Iran, several languages and local varieties have existed side by side for a long time. According to Spencer-Oatey (2017), face is related to culture. Therefore, Iranian subcultures can embed face in different forms. In this research, face has been investigated in one of the local cultures of Iran. For this purpose, the area of south Kerman and the linguistic variety of Rudbari were selected.  Spencer-Oatey's (2008) rapport management theory was adopted to examine face in South Kerman. We opt for this framework because it involves social and cultural considerations in the study of face, and discusses individual face, interpersonal and group/collective perspectives. Due to a close connection between the concepts of face and identity, we have incorporated social theories related to identity (Tajfel, 1978; Stets and Burke, 2000). This research casts a critical look at the concept of face in rapport management theory (Spencer-Oatey, 2008). The great majority of the previous research has focused on individual face in connection with politeness. In this research, however, "Tribal face" has been introduced as a subset of "group face" according to Spencer-Oatey (2008). The main difference between the tribal face and the group face is that the latter has nothing to do with politeness and is more related to collective identity. After examining the different dimensions of this face, an attempt was made to identify its components. We have also been looking for an answer to the question of why people introduce themselves with the name of their tribe and what kind of face is the dominant face in the areas where people have a tribal life. We have also examined the consequences of ignoring the tribal face.Materials and MethodsThis is descriptive and analytical study, carried out using a qualitative method. The data were collected by ethnographic method. One of the researchers has been present as an observer in many linguistic and non-linguistic events and daily interactions. In order to obtain the components of the tribal face, a questionnaire consisting of 20 questions was prepared and the interviewees were asked to answer the questions during an open interview. The data related to the conflict between the tribes were also collected through open interviews with the informants. Most of the interviews (9 cases) were face-to-face and some of them (6 cases) were conducted through telephone conversations. Also, related comments of the residents of these areas were studied on some internet sites and social media. In addition, the oral narratives in verse and prose, proverbs and some historical events mentioned in some local books were also examined. Discussion of Results and ConclusionAccording to the collected data, in South Kerman, where people live in tribes, collective identity plays a much stronger role than individual identity. In interpersonal interactions, a conflict may arise between two people from different tribes. People outside the tribe consider this as a collective action not an individual one, because the collective identity prevails over the individual identity. The role of language is very considerable in transmission of tribal identity. Many people who are unhappy with their tribe classification and accent specific to their tribe, hide their accent. Some proverbs and linguistic clichés clearly show the racial view and the seeking superiority of some tribes over others. The oral history of the region, which is full of conflicts, is another factor that has shaped the identity of the tribes. The identity taken by oral history gives face to the tribes. Considering the relationship between identity and face, and Spencer-Oatey's (2015) emphasis on this relationship, the face related to the tribal identity can be called "tribal face". According to the rapport management theory (Spencer-Oatey's, 2008), this face is a kind of "identity face". This type of face is action-oriented and if threatened, it affects all the tribe members. According to the information obtained from the questionnaire, some of the components of the tribal face can be considered as: tribe history, fighting power, financial resources, tribe population, social level, honor and dignity, power and racial superiority, geographical extent of the tribe, and ownership of land and livestock. To the extent that each person or tribe has the above components, it has a higher tribal face and of course they should make more efforts to maintain it. It should be noted that the tribal face is different from “aaberu”. Instead, the words "heysiyat" and "hormat" are used more, which are somehow neutral.Table 1- Some differences between “Tribal Face” and “Group Face”Tribal FaceGroup Facegranting face from tribe to membersgranting face from members to groupstatic and unchangabledynamicbelongs to the tribe and does not changebelongs to the members and can be changedit affects the performance of the membersthe performance of the members changes itConsidering the importance of culture in rapport management theory (Spencer-Oatey 2007) and considering the strong role of identity in it, using this theory can be a good choice to examine issues like the tribal face. This type of face can be added to the theory according to its different characteristics with the western types of face.