The Pragmatic Concept Of Face In Algerian Culture And Society

Abstract The concept of ‘face’ can be associated with the public self-image of a person; it metaphorically refers to individual qualities and abstract entities such as honour, respect, and esteem. Face is a universal phenomenon as everyone would like to be respected. Thus, the concern for face, points to social and pragmatic issues that affect the entire society and the absence of the concept of ‘face’ in the mind of human beings can mean the loss of humanity as a whole. The study aims to examine the perceptions of the concept of ‘face’ in the Algerian culture. In particular, it focuses on how such perceptions are reflected in the Algerian communicative interaction. This paper analyses the interaction between speakers interacting with each other by using some expressions that include the body part of face in order to express their negative and positive emotions. The negative emotions ‘face threatening expressions’ include shame, anger, fear, and sadness, and the positive emotions ‘upgrading expressions’ include happiness and love.