Linguistic Approach to Conflict Resolution in Faith-based Institutions

Language is a form of communication and it is the most frequently used and highly developed form of human communication. As social beings, people need to interact with their fellow human beings thereby making people to use language as a means of communication in their interaction. It is important because it communicates ideas, knowledge and intentions. During interaction among people, conflict occurs when perspectives and sentiments are opposite in nature. The general aim of the study was to explore the role of language use specifically politeness maxims as a vehicle in conflict resolution in faith-based institutions of higher learning. The study sought to: identify the causes of conflict created by language in faith-based institutions of higher learning, examine the language used in resolving conflict in faith-based institutions of higher learning, identify politeness principles that can facilitate conflict resolution in faith-based institutions of higher learning and examine the influences of politeness principles during conflict resolution in faith-based institutions of higher learning.