Behaviour(s) of lower status individuals in Old Kingdom Egypt

Ancient Egyptian private tombs unveil face-to-face interchanges depictions in the so-called daily-life scenes. They include short texts written as if spoken with a deliberate choice of linguistic features. Not only interactions between superiors and subordinates (high-to-low and low-to-high) are on view but also between low-ranking individuals (equals). This presentation focuses on speech captions between these equals in Old Kingdom tombs. It will explore which Politeness strategies are used in the captions’ linguistic patterns and how it is reflected in the individuals’ attitude. Building on previous Politeness theories, a discussion will follow on Volition and Discernment to find out which aspect is developed in the Old Kingdom depictions of such face-to-face interchanges.