Navigating power and impoliteness in criminal court discourse

Abstract This study uses an interactional pragmatic approach to examine impoliteness in Turkish High Criminal Court proceedings, offering an alternative perspective compared to the Anglo-American contexts typically explored in legal discourse research. Grounded in (Culpeper, Jonathan. 1996. Towards an anatomy of impoliteness. Journal of Pragmatics 25. 349–367.) impoliteness super strategies, the analysis draws from 45-min audio recordings of seven criminal trials, focusing on impoliteness during the examination-in-chief. The findings reveal a significant register clash, especially from a defendant who deviates from formal legal norms through misalignment, mock impoliteness, threats, and profanity. This disruption challenges courtroom decorum, affects power dynamics, and influences trial progression and interaction, underscoring the complex interplay between institutional authority and individual behavior, which shapes overall (im)politeness in the courtroom.