Declining an invitation: A cross-cultural study of pragmatic strategies in American English and Latin American Spanish

Abstract

This study investigated the preference for and use of politeness strategies (direct and indirect) by native speakers and advanced non-native speakers of Spanish when declining an invitation (role-play) in three levels of social status (equal and unequal [higher and lower]). Thirty subjects participated in the study (15 males and 15 females): 10 Latin American speakers of Spanish (SPN-SPN), 10 Americans speaking Spanish (ENG-SPN), and 10 Americans speaking English (ENG-ENG). The variables of gender, education, age, and Spanish dialect were controlled. Significant differences were observed between the SPN-SPN and the ENG-SPN groups in six strategies: Alternative, Set Condition, Hedging, Promise of Future Acceptance, Solidarity, and Positive Opinion. Results suggested that there is a high degree of interlanguage variation in the use of and preference for refusal strategies among the ENG-SPN group. Regarding the preference for direct strategies, the ENG-ENG group was more direct than the SPN-SPN group; the ENG-SPN group exhibited an intermediate frequency of directness. It was noted that the preference for direct strategies was conditioned by the social status of the situation. Positive and negative transfer of these strategies was also attested. As for the transfer of L1 sociocultural knowledge, the subjects' performance and verbal reports showed that the lack of L2 sociocultural knowledge was a crucial factor affecting the advanced non-native speakers' interlanguage. Pedagogical implications for the L2 classroom are also suggested.