The act of thanking: A pragmatic study of speech act to speech action transition

Abstract

The force behind illocutionary speech acts is a complex concept that plays a crucial role in communication. By studying this concept, learners can gain a deeper appreciation for the power of language and the importance of effective communication in their daily lives. This study investigated the common thanking strategies used by Jordanian EFL learners in different situations. Using an 8-item Discourse Completion Test (DCT), 35 EFL learners (male and female), who studied at the Department of English Language and Literature at Ajloun National University, participated in this study. The learners were asked to write down what they identified as thanking expressions, similar to what they would say in their real-life situations. When the DCTs were finished, the kind of thanking expressions were categorized based on Cheng's taxonomy of gratitude expressions which included eight strategies: thanking, appreciation, expressing positive feelings, repayment, recognition of imposition, apology, alerting and other expressions that did not belong to the mentioned strategies. The frequency and percentage for each strategy were quantified. The results confirmed that most EFL learners used simple thanking expressions either in formal or informal situations. It was also found that aside from Chen's taxonomy-based thanking schemes, the participants also used combined strategies such as Thanking + complimenting/ Thanking +giving appreciation+ expressing delight/ Thanking by stating the reason/ Expressing surprise+ thanking / Thanking+ offering promise, and Thanking + Repayment. Future studies need to be conducted to investigate the difficulties faced by EFL Learners in using speech act of thanking.