Get acquainted with Ta’arof Concept

In international politeness studies were debates about Iran with a focus on ta’arof, which was typically defined as “Iranian politeness” and described by common phrases. This section tries to present a different view by taking into account that in Iran people differentiate between Adab and Ta’arof. Since there is no definite way to define ta’arof by speech acts, a more structural way to define ta’arof is presented here. Therefore, ta’arof is a constant social discourse between the involved persons and is a tool to regulate social relations, rather being a concrete action. The article starts with a discussion about different concepts of politeness and then introduces shortly to a politeness theory by Watts, which is considering regional differences and global similarities. Then, the article discusses some historical and contemporary questions and topics related to politeness, which could contribute to a better and more comprehensive understanding of politeness and ta’arof. An important step for future studies about this field is a distinction between the explained and the real structure of ta’arof, because the explained structure is always a coherent narrative of one’s actions.