Politeness strategies in mobile chat conversations: Interrogative sentences in secondhand trading applications

This study explores politeness strategies in mobile chat conversations within customer-to-customer second-hand trading apps, focusing on three interrogative endings: -(u)lkka.yo?, -(u)nka/na.yo?, and -e/a.yo? Analysis of 27 conversations from 25 native Korean speakers reveals two phases: negotiation and post-negotiation. During negotiation, -(u)lkka.yo? and -(u)nka/na.yo? dominate, while -e/a.yo? is mainly used post-negotiation. Regarding facework, -(u)lkka.yo? and -e/a.yo? act as face-flattening, enhancing the recipient's positive face—-(u)lkka.yo? seeks favor, and -e/a. yo? seeks affirmation. In contrast, -(u)nka/na.yo? is face-threatening, shifting initiative to the sender and challenging the recipient's negative face. This study enhances the understanding of politeness strategies in digital communication by examining their phases, facework dynamics, and pragmatic functions.