Politeness in Yoruba and French

The concept of politeness is a universal concept of which the operation or manifestation varies according to the variations in the cultures and beliefs of people all over the world. Interestingly, however, many languages that do not belong to the same language family, nor are situated in the same continent, are found to have something in common in the way they express politeness in their cultures. Such is the case with the Yoruba and French languages, which, in spite of their differences, manifest similarity in some aspects of their cultures, especially as it relates to politeness. This paper is an attempt at providing some insight into the similarities and differences that exist in the politeness cultures of the Yoruba and French languages.