Abstract
Cross-cultural studies of speech acts in different linguistic contexts might have interesting implications for language researchers and practitioners. Drawing on the Speech Act Theory, the present study aimed at conducting a comparative study of request speech act in Persian and English. Specifically, the study endeavored to explore the request strategies used in daily interactions of Persian and English speakers based on directness level and supportive moves. To this end, English and Persian TV series were observed and requestive utterances were transcribed. The utterances were then categorized based on Blum-Kulka and Olshtain’s Cross-Cultural Study of Speech Act Realization Pattern (CCSARP) for directness level and internal and external mitigation devises. According to the results, although speakers of both languages opted for the direct level as their most frequently used strategy in their daily interactions, the English speakers used more conventionally indirect strategies than the Persian speakers did, and the Persian speakers used more non-conventionally indirect strategies than the English speakers did. Furthermore, the analyzed data revealed the fact that American English speakers use more mitigation devices in their daily interactions with friends and family members than Persian speakers.
Highlights
Cultures have developed particular verbal behaviors and politeness devices, which vary from language to language
The results showed the significant effect of culture on the interpretation of indirect speech act, whereas gender had no effect
The results revealed possible signs of transfer regarding some specific situations in the discourse completion test (DCT)
Summary
Cultures have developed particular verbal behaviors and politeness devices, which vary from language to language. According to Brown and Levinson (1987) and Leech (1983), direct requests are considered to be impolite, because they limit the hearer’s freedom, and indirectness is a way speakers prefer to increase the degree of politeness. This project is an effort to empirically study the speech acts of requests and apologies in eight languages (Australian English, American English, British English, Canadian French, Danish, German, Hebrew, and Russian). Hedges: for example, “It would really help if you did something about the kitchen.” (p. 204)
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