Abstract
This study investigates the production of three speech acts; complaints, apologies, and refusals. It basically attempts to explore how cultural values might affect the realization of speech acts by Moroccan EFL learners. The study consists of three groups of informants; Moroccan Learners of English, American speakers, and Moroccan Arabic speakers. More precisely, this cross-cultural pragmatic study aims at identifying elements of pragmatic failure among the interlanguage subjects, and showing how this failure can be traced to a cultural transfer rather than linguistic incompetence. DCT (Discourse Completion Tasks) questionnaires were used to elicit data from the participants. The participants write their reaction to each situation. Based on Hofstede’ cultural dimension theoretical framework (2010) and Hall’s Cultural specifications (1976), the results reveal that culture has significant effect on the performance of the three speech acts under investigation.
Presenters
Omar EzzaouaAssistant Professor, Communication and Soft Skills, School of Law and Economics (FSJES. AS), University Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Education and Learning Worlds of Differences
KEYWORDS
CULTURE, PRAGMATIC FAILURE, APOLOGIES, COMPLAINTS, REFUSALS
