Socio-pragmatic variation in request refusals in Cameroon French

Abstract

Refusals take different realisation patterns across languages and cultures. Studies have demonstrated that speakers who share the same native language may not necessarily share the same culture and that pragmatic differences may occur across varieties of the same language. It would therefore be interesting to analyse regional varieties of pluricentric languages individually and in relation to their individual sociocultural contexts. The present study analyses socio-pragmatic variation in the use of request refusals in Cameroon French. Constructs from three theoretical frameworks, i.e., cross-cultural pragmatics, the conception of French as a pluricentric language and postcolonial pragmatics will guide the study. Based on data collected in Yaoundé and Douala, Cameroon, the study describes linguistic and pragmatic choices made by the respondents to decline requests in two situations. The results reveal the use of a wide range of direct and indirect refusal strategies, different types of supportive acts, internal modification devices, and address strategies in refusal utterances. The findings also show that different levels of formality and facets of social relationships and sociocultural constraints immensely influence the choices of request refusal strategies of the informants.