CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION: CREATIVITY AND POLITENESS STRATEGIES ACROSS CULTURES. A COMPARISON OF LITHUANIAN AND AMERICAN CULTURES

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify creative reactions and politeness schemes in two languages in cross-cultural communication – American English and Lithuanian – and then compare the means of expressing politeness strategies and creative reactions in the two mentioned languages. The method used in the study is a survey, evaluated by both qualitative and quantitative methods. The research illustrated that the two mentioned cultures do indeed express creative reactions as well as use the speech acts of gratitude and apology. It also showed that American female and American male groups tend to choose more polite and creative reactions, while Lithuanian female and Lithuanian male groups tend to use less polite and creative reactions more often. Americans (both genders) do not imply the feeling of gratitude or apology, they say it directly. The Lithuanians (both genders) expressed gratitude or apology in everyday situations not as often and not as directly. In other words, the Lithuanian culture tends to use positive politeness; and vice versa, the American culture tends to use negative politeness. Besides that, the research revealed that gender plays a significant role in the answers of the survey respondents. The female Americans and female Lithuanians seem to be more polite and express more creative reactions than their male counterparts. It was also revealed that the respondents of American nationality express gratitude or apology in a more polite and creative way and use more speech acts of gratitude or apology in both private and public spheres than the group of Lithuanian respondents.