Investigation of the Sociopragmatics and Pragmalinguistics of Speech Act of Apology Between Jordanian and British Cultures : An Inter-Language Pragmatic Study
Speech act of apology is considered as an inherent element of politeness. Apology has received a considerable attention in the field of sociolinguistics due to its significant importance as a remedial interchange aims to re-establish the social harmony and equilibrium after a real or virtual offence...
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| Summary: | Speech act of apology is considered as an inherent element of politeness. Apology has received a considerable attention in the field of sociolinguistics due to its significant importance as a remedial interchange aims to re-establish the social harmony and equilibrium after a real or virtual offence has been performed. The present study aimed to investigate the sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic of the speech act of apology by 40 Jordanian second language speakers (JL2Ss) compared to that of 40 Jordanian non-English speakers (JNESs) and 40 English native speakers (ENSs). Further, it aimed to investigate whether there is negative pragmatic transfer from L1 to L2 by JL2Ss or not. Discourse Completion Test (DCT), Scaled Response Questionnaire (SRQ) and semi-structured interviews were used to elicit data from the three groups of participants. For data analysis one way ANOVA, post hoc pair comparisons, frequency and thematic analysis were employed. Findings revealed cultural similarities and differences between Jordanian and English cultures and the occurrence of negative pragmatic transfer by JL2Ss. Jordanians participants were found to be influenced by the context-external variables of social power and social distance more than ENSs. In terms of sociopragmatic, findings revealed that there were significant mean differences among the three groups regarding their perception of three out of four context-internal variables which are severity of the offence, possibility of apology and difficulty of apology. In terms of pragmalinguistic, findings revealed that Jordanian participants preferred indirect apology strategies whereas ENSs preferred intensified direct apology strategies. Findings also showed that although JL2Ss are competent in English they still lack of pragmatic competence. The study has theoretical and pedagogical implications. As for theoretical implications, the findings of this study did not confirm Brown and Levinson’s (1978) claim of the universality of their theory since Jordanians preferred to use positive politeness strategies while ENSs preferred to use negative politeness strategies. Regarding pedagogical implications, findings could benefit EFL course designers and teachers to develop EFL curricula and teaching materials in Jordan which may remedy the JL2Ss lack of pragmatic knowledge of the target language and reduce pragmatic failure across cultures. |
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