Yasser Al-Shboul and Marlyna Maros
Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, Volume 28, Issue 3, September 2020
Keywords: DCT, high and low-context, refusals, semantic formulas, speech acts
Published on: 25 September 2020
The aim of this study is to identify the refusal strategies produced by Jordanian Arabic (JA) and American English (AE) speakers. It also aims to examine the influence of high and low-context communication styles on the production of refusal strategies by the two participating groups. A Discourse Completion Test (DCT) was adapted to collect data from AE group and an equivalent Arabic version to collect data from JA group. The data were analysed and classified based on the classification of refusal strategies. Results showed that although both groups portrayed similar preferences in using two of the strategies, namely, the indirect strategy and adjunct strategy; they seemed to differ in lights of the content and number of semantic formulas used. Results also showed that participants’ cultural backgrounds influenced the number and content of semantic formulas of their refusals. For instance, JA group provided more vague and ambiguous explanations than those made by the AE group. The findings of the present study would be useful in future intercultural comparison studies.
ISSN 0128-7702
e-ISSN 2231-8534
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