Politeness in Kolok Bengkala Sign Language

Sign language plays an essential role as the primary medium of communication for the Deaf community while simultaneously reflecting the social and cultural values embedded within its users. In Bengkala Village, Kolok Bengkala Sign Language has developed naturally and is used by both Deaf and hearing residents in daily interactions. This study aims to reveal the forms and politeness strategies that emerge in interactions among the Deaf community in Bengkala Village through the use of Kolok Bengkala Sign Language (BIKK). Employing a qualitative approach with ethnographic methods, data were collected through observation, recording, and interviews with Kolok residents, hearing individuals proficient in BIKK, and members of the village’s tourism awareness group (Pokdarwis). The analysis applies Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory within a sociopragmatic framework. The findings show that politeness in BIKK is expressed through gestures, facial expressions, interactional distance, touch, and body movements, all of which are shaped by the local sociocultural context. The Kolok community employs positive politeness, negative politeness, off-record strategies, and bald-on-record strategies influenced by Balinese cultural values such as menyama braya and the harmony principle of Tri Hita Karana. These results indicate that politeness is not limited to verbal communication but also develops significantly within non-verbal communication systems. This study contributes to sociopragmatic research, sign language linguistics, and efforts to strengthen inclusivity in multilingual and multicultural societies

Politeness · Politeness maxims · Sign language · Sociocultural evolution · Sociolinguistics of sign languages · Speech community · English Language Learning and Teaching · Hearing Impairment and Communication · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism