A Critical Analysis of Haggling Encounters between Commuters and Drivers in Dhaka

Abstract

Language is known as the mirror of a society. Every small encounter reflects interplay of several sociology-political factors. As haggling encounters between commuters and drivers in Dhaka is a daily event, this conversation reflects power relationships and sociology pragmatic aspects of Bangladeshi society. This paper is based on the bargaining conversations between the passengers and the drivers to set a mutual price in the transport sector. Haggling exchanges between the passengers and the drivers were secretly recorded and subsequently analyzed to bring out the power variables of haggling. The analysis of the data reveals the class struggle between the middle class and the working class. The passengers dominate the drivers because of their social and economic status. It also reveals that mostly the economic condition like high price of essentials force the drivers to ask the higher price. Overall, the research sheds light on social groups, pragmatics of the unequal relationship between different social classes and how social customs reflect in language.