Abstract
English, as a communication tool, plays an extremely significant role in cross-cultural communication. While it is true that language users can mean exactly what they mean in their utterances, it is also true that they can have their utterances mean much more than what they say. Speakers of English speak indirectly, and using conversational implicatures is a way to be indirect. And as sentences often express messages above and beyond their literal meanings, it is not surprising that pragmatic errors are found in language learning process of EFL learners' communication. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the factors beyond misunderstanding or understanding of English conversational implicatures among Yemeni EFL university learners. It follows an empirical analytical-descriptive method consisting of a test and an interview. Randomly, 50% of the study population was selected as the study sample. They were 62 Yemeni EFL university learners. A multiple-choice discourse completion test ( MCDCT ) and a semi structure interview were used for collecting the study data. The test contained eleven types of conversational implicature The collected data was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results reveal that different factors caused misinterpretation of conversational implicatures among Yemeni EFL learners. However, the differences in socio-cultural knowledge and indirectness are instrumental in the misunderstanding of conversational contexts in the study. While the familiarity of some conversational implicatures and formulaic pattern of others pose no challenge for the study subjects to interpret some of the test conversational implicatures. The study test conversational implicatures that are formulaic or familiar to the subjects are easy to grasp. Therefore, this study provides some recommendations that are expected to enable EFL university learners to develop their pragmatic competence regarding English conversational implicature and suggests a reconsideration of the existing methodologies on teaching English as a foreign language. Hence, this would ease the concern of EFL students about English conversational implicature, build up their confidence and enhance language learning.
Highlights
English, as a communication tool, plays an extremely significant role in cross-cultural communication
The main concern of this study is to find out the factors beyond Yemeni English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' misunderstandings of different English conversational implicatures
Hopefully the most important contribution that this study is expected to add in the field of teaching English language pragmatically to EFL university learners is that it identifies a problem, identifies the sources of such a problem, and suggests a practical teaching approach that would lead to solving that problem
Summary
"Austin's theory of speech acts and Grice's theory of speaker's meaning were both meant to provide the foundation for a theory of language, or at least for a theory of linguistic meaning" (Recanati, 2006, p.443). The results of Al-Eryani's study (2008), for example, reveal evidence of imbalance of linguistic and pragmatic competence in English among Yemeni undergraduate learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) Their pragmatic behaviour points out lack of adequate understanding of English pragmatic rules. This is mainly ascribed to the influence of their first language as they rely on its norms in understanding and producing English. Taking the importance of pragmatics into consideration, it can be said that a low level of pragmatic awareness leads to pragmatic failure In this respect, Ghaleb (2003) concludes that "Arab learners of English [including Yemeni university students] do not possess the appropriate pragmatic competence that enables them to use the interrogative form of correction" This study attempted to fill the gap in the literature by extending research on reasons behind the mis/comprehension of conversational implicature in English by EFL university learners
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