Runyambo greetings: verbal and non-verbal conversational elements

This dissertation attempted to explore the Runyambo greetings in relation to the politeness phenomena. It is divided into five chapters. Chapter one bears the introductory part that covers the background of the study with regard to functions and significance of greetings in various societies. The objectives and research questions which were set to indicate the importance of this study are the guide throughout this dissertation. Chapter two focuses on literature review. The studies related to greetings and politeness are reviewed and described to find out the gaps that this study intended to fill. Chapter three describes the methodology aspect. It covers population and sample of the study, research instruments and procedure adopted in analysing the data. Chapter four covers presentation, analysis and discussion of study findings. The findings are tied to the politeness phenomena, which is the base of this study. Chapter five bears the summary, conclusion and suggestions for further research. The findings prove that politeness phenomena is well expressed in Runyambo greetings through various techniques.