Transfer of Pragmatic Competences: A Bi‐Directional Perspective

Abstract

This study investigated the bi‐directionality of language transfer (first language [L1] to second language [L2] and L2 to L1) at the pragmatic level with a focus on the speech act of request. The L2 participants were Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners at the intermediate and advanced levels. Data were collected via discourse completion tests and coded according to the Cross‐Cultural Speech Act Realization Project coding scheme (Blum‐Kulka, House, & Kasper, 1989). The results indicated that EFL learners at both levels used conventionally indirect strategies significantly less often than English native speakers in making English requests but more often than Chinese native speakers did when requesting in Chinese. Moreover, within‐group comparisons indicated that both groups of EFL learners, especially the advanced learners, exhibited a differentiated pattern of requesting behavior in their 2 languages; they adopted conventionally indirect strategies significantly more often in English than in Chinese, and the advanced learners also used more supportive moves in English than in Chinese. Taken together, this study showed that bi‐directional transfer can occur at the pragmatic level in foreign language learners.