REFUSALS IN THE PRODUCTION OF SERBIAN ESP LEARNERS

Sabina Halupka Rešetar, Ljiljana Knežević

DOI Number
10.22190/FULL1602103H
First page
103
Last page
116

Abstract


Pragmatics plays a very important role in the process of communication, and the speech act of refusal is performed on a daily basis and in a variety of situations, which is why it has been one of the key topics in discourse pragmatic research over the past several decades. The present paper is aimed at establishing which pragmatic strategies Serbian ESP learners use in producing refusals, depending on the social status of the interlocutors. To this end, twenty B1-B2 level ESP students aged between 20 and 22, majoring in Information Science or Mathematics were randomly selected. The research is based on a survey consisting of twelve discourse completion tasks (DCTs), involving the communication situations of refusing a request, an invitation, an offer and a suggestion (of which only the former two are analysed here). The data obtained are classified, analyzed and interpreted based on a modified version of Beebe, Takahashi and Uliss-Weltz’s (1990) taxonomy of refusal strategies. The overall results of the research show that the production of the ESP learners tested significantly differs from native speakers' production of refusals. The largest differences are observed with respect to the frequency of usage of direct refusals, providing excuses, reasons and explanations, as well as with respect to adding statements of alternative.


Keywords

pragmatic competence, discourse pragmatics, speech acts, refusal, English for Specific Purposes

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abed, A. Q. (2011). Pragmatic Transfer in Iraqi EFL Learners' Refusals. International Journal of English Linguistics, 1/2: 166-185.

Allami, H. & Naeimi, A. (2011). A Cross-Linguistic Study of Refusals: An Analysis of Pragmatic Competence Development in Iranian EFL Learners. Journal of Pragmatics, 43 (1): 385-406

Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Dörnyei, Z. (1997). Pragmatic awareness and instructed L2 learning: an empirical investigation. Paper presented at the AAAL 1997 Conference, Orlando.

Baumgarten, N. & House, J. (2007). Speaker stances in native and non-native English conversation. In: ten Thije, J. & Zeevaert, L. (Eds.), Receptive Multilingualism. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 195-216.

Baumgarten, N., House, J. (2010). I think and I don’t know in English as lingua franca and native English discourse. Journal of Pragmatics, 42 (5): 1184-1200.

Beebe, L., Takahashi, T. & Uliss-Weltz, R. (1990). Pragmatic transfer in ESL refusals. In R. Scarcella, E. Anderson & S. Krashen (Eds.), Developing Communication Competence in a Second Language. New York: Newbury House, 55-73.

Blum-Kulka, S. (1982). Learning to say what you mean in a second language: a study of the speech act performance of Hebrew second language learners. Applied Linguistics 11/1: 29-59.

Blum-Kulka, S., House, J. & Kasper, G. (1989). Cross-cultural Pragmatics: Requests and Apologies. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.

Bouton, L. (1994). Conversational implicature in the second language: Learned slowly when not deliberately taught. Journal of Pragmatics, 22:157-67.

Braun, F. (1988). Terms of Address: Problems of Patterns and Usage in Various Languages and Cultures. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Boersma, D. (1994). Do chicken have lips? Conversational implicature in ESL classroom. Paper presented at the 8thAnnual Meeting of the International Conference on Pragmatics and Language Learning (Urbana, IL, 1994).

Brown, R. & Gilman, A. (1960). The pronouns of power and solidarity. In P. P. Giglioli (Ed.), Language and society. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 252-282.

Chang, Y-F. (2008). How to say no: An analysis of cross-cultural difference and pragmatic transfer. Science Direct 31: 477-493.

Cohen, A. D. & Olshtain, E. (1981). Developing a measure of socio-cultural competence: the case of apology. Language Learning, 31:1.

Cohen, A. (1996). Developing the ability to perform speech acts. Studies in Second Language Acquisition,18: 253-267.

Félix-Brasdefer, C. (2008). Politeness in Mexico and the United States: A Contrastive Study of the Realization and Perception of Refusals. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Félix-Brasdefer, C. (2009). Interlanguage refusals: Dispreferred responses in interlanguage pragmatics refusal sequences in learner-NS interactions. Applied Language Learning, 19: 1-27.

Gumperz, J. J. (1977). Sociocultural Knowledge in Conversational Inference. In: M. Saville-Troike (Ed.), 28th Annual Round Table Monograph Series on Languages and Linguistics. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. 191-211.

Gumperz, J. J. (1979). The sociolinguistic basis of speech act theory. In J. Boyd & S. Ferrara (Eds.), Speech ActTen Years After. Milan: Versus. 101-121.

Halupka-Rešetar, S. (2013). Ispitivanje pragmatičke kompetencije studenata engleskog jezika struke [Exploring the pragmatic competence of ESP students]. In N. Silaški, & T. Đurović (Eds.), Aktuelne teme engleskog jezika nauke i struke u Srbiji [Current topics in English for specific purposes at tertiary level in Serbia] Beograd: Centar za izdavačku delatnost Ekonomskog fakulteta. 215-228.

Halupka-Rešetar, S. (2014a). Request modification in the pragmatic production of intermediate ESP learners. ESP Today, 2(1): 65-79.

Halupka-Rešetar, S. (2014b).Compliment responses – a study of the pragmatic competence of advanced EFL students in Serbia. In T. Prćić et al. (Eds.), Engleski jezik i anglofone književnosti u teoriji i praksi: zbornik radova u čast Draginji Pervaz [English Language and Anglophone Literatures in Theory and Practice: A Festschrift for Draginja Pervaz]. Novi Sad: Filozofski fakultet. 173-191.

Halupka-Rešetar, S. (2015). EFL learners’ pragmatic competence in addressing the interlocutor. In B. MišićIlić& V. Lopičić (Eds.), Jezik, književnost, diskurs: Jezičkaistraživanja[Language, Literature, Discourse: Papers in Linguistics]. Niš: Filozofskifakultet. 623-637.

Halupka-Rešetar, S. (2016). Testing EFL learners' understanding of conversational implicatures. In B. Mišić Ilić& V. Lopičić (Eds.), Jezik, književnost, značenje. Jezička istraživanja [Language, Literature, Meaning: Papers in Linguistics]. Niš: Filozofski fakultet, 771-784.

Hofäcker, S. (2006). The Usage of Terms of Address in English: A Comparative Sociolinguistic Study. Available at: http://www.addressinenglish.naxx.net/project.html

House, J. (1982). Conversational strategies in German and English dialogues. In G. Nickel and D. Nehls (Eds.), Error Analysis. Constructive Linguistics and Second Language Learning (Special Issue of IRAL). Heidelberg: Julius Groos.

House, J. (2009). Subjectivity in English as lingua franca discourse: the case of you know. Intercultural Pragmatics, 6 (2): 171--194.

House, J. (2013). Developing pragmatic competence in English as a lingua franca: Using discourse markers to express (inter)subjectivity and connectivity. Journal of Pragmatics, 59: 57-67.

House, J. & Kasper, G. (1981). Politeness markers in English and German. In F. Coulmas (Ed.), Conversational Routines. The Hague: Mouton de Gruyter, 157-185.

Kasper, G. (1981). Pragmatische Aspekte in der Interimsprache. Tübingen: Günther Narr.

Kasper, G. (1997). Can pragmatic competence be taught? (NetWork #6) [HTML document]. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i, Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center. Available at: http://www.nflrc.hawaii.edu/NetWorks/NW06/+-

Kitao, K. (1996). Communicative competence, preference organization, and refusals in British English. Sougou Bunka Kenkyujo Kiyou 13, 47–58.

Kwon, J. (2004). Expressing refusals in Korean and in American English. Multilingua, 23: 339-364.

Lee, S. J. (2002). Interpreting conversational implicatures: A study of Korean learners of English. The Korean TESOL Journal, 5: 1-26.

Lemmerich, E. (2010).An explicit awareness-raising approach to the teaching of sociopragmatic variation in early foreign language learning. PhD dissertation, University of Utah.

Nelson, G. L., Al Batal, M. & El Bakary, W. (2002a). Directness vs. indirectness: Egyptian Arabic and US English communication style. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 26: 39-57.

Nelson, G. L., Carson, J., Al Batal, M. & El Bakary, W. (2002b). Cross-cultural pragmatics: Strategy use in Egyptian Arabic and American English refusals. Applied Linguistics, 23: 163-189.

Paunović, T. (2011). Intercultural communicative competence - beyond queen queueing and crumpets. In V. Vasić (Ed.), Jezik u upotrebi. Primenjena lingvistika u čast Ranku Bugarskom/ Language in use. Applied Linguistics in honour of Ranko Bugarski. Novi Sad: Društvo za primenjenu lingvistiku Srbije, Filozofski fakultet u Novom Sadu i Filološki fakultet u Beogradu, 231-252.

Paunović, T. (2013). The tangled web: Intercultural Communicative Competence. Niš: Faculty of Philosophy.

Rintell, E. (1997). Getting your speech act together: The pragmatic ability of second language Learners. Working Papers on Bilingualism, 17: 96-106.

Salazar, M. C., Safont-Jorda, M. &Codina-Espurz, V. (2009). Refusal strategies: A proposal from a sociopragmatic approach. Revista Electronica de Linguistica Aplicada, 8: 139-150.

Savić, M. (2014). Politeness through the Prism of Requests, Apologies and Refusals: A Case of Advanced EFL Learners. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Stevens, P.B. (1993). The pragmatics of ‘no!’: some strategies in English and Arabic. IDEAL, 6: 87-112.

Taguchi, N. (2005). Comprehending implied meaning in English as a foreign language. The Modern Language Journal, 89: 543-562.

Takahashi, T. & Beebe, L. M. (1987). The development of pragmatic competence by Japanese learners of English. JALT Journal, 8: 131-155.

Tannen, D. (1981). Indirectness in discourses: Ethnicity as conversation style. Discourse Processes, 4: 221-238.

Thomas, J. (1983). Cross-cultural pragmatic failure. Applied Linguistics, 4/2: 91-112.

Wolfson, N. (1981). Compliments in cross-cultural perspective. TESOL Quarterly, 15/2: 117-124.

Wolfson, N. (1989). Perspectives: Sociolinguistics and TESOL. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/FULL1602103H

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


ISSN 0354-4702 (Print)

ISSN 2406-0518 (Online)