Tunisian university students’ choice of apology strategies in a discourse completion task

Abstract

The present study is an investigation of the use of the speech act of apology by Tunisian university students. A hundred students whose mother tongue was Tunisian Arabic were randomly selected for the study. Discourse completion test (DCT) was used to elicit apology strategies by the subjects. The findings suggested that Tunisian university students used statement of remorse most in three main situations where the offended is: (i) a close friend, (ii) old in age and (iii) having the power to affect the offender's future. A noticeable percentage of subjects denied responsibility for the offence and shifted responsibility to other sources using accounts. Other less used strategies were: self-castigation, offer of repair, blaming the victim, invoking Allah's name, intensification, minimization, and humour. This work can have implications in intercultural communication.