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"How to say no without saying no" A cross-cultural study of the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among German Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language and Egyptian native speakers

This study investigates the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among German Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language and native Egyptian speakers cross-culturally. Besides, it examines the extent of pragmatic transfer from L1 and its nature of being negative or positive one. Thr...

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Main Author: Farawila, Sherif Ezzat
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2019
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access_status_str Open Access
author Farawila, Sherif Ezzat
author_browse Farawila, Sherif Ezzat
author_facet Farawila, Sherif Ezzat
author_sort Farawila, Sherif Ezzat
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy. The author has granted the American University in Cairo or its agents a non-exclusive license to archive this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study, and to make it accessible, in whole or in part, in all forms of media, now or hereafter known.
description This study investigates the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among German Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language and native Egyptian speakers cross-culturally. Besides, it examines the extent of pragmatic transfer from L1 and its nature of being negative or positive one. Three groups participated in the study: eight native speakers of Egyptian Arabic, eight AFL German learners, and three native speakers of German. The data were collected using enhanced open-ended role plays. Furthermore, to increase the creditability of the interaction data, the study triangulated the data by utilizing retrospective verbal reports. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed for analyzing the interactions. Results show essential differences between Egyptians and German AFL learners concerning the frequency of direct and indirect strategies and the utilization of individual strategies. For example, German AFL learners employed a higher percentage of indirect strategies and a lower percentage of direct strategies than the native speakers of Egyptian Arabic, especially in higher status situations. Moreover, German AFL learners used a higher percentage of the Statement of Regret and Request for Information/Clarification strategies than the native Egyptians. However, the native Egyptians have utilized a higher percentage of indirect strategies than the AFL group within the deference relations. Comparing the pattern of refusal strategy of the three groups reveals evidence of positive and negative pragmatic transfer in the AFL group. Social factors differences, during the interactions, were found to play a significant role in how refusals were realized in both cultures. From a pedagogical point of view, the results imply that refusals are worth incorporating and be integrated into the language curriculum. That is, AFL learners not only need to recognize the linguistic forms necessary to produce the speech act, but they must be aware of sociocultural values that characterize the target speech community of the target Language. Therefore, the study suggests that AFL teachers should be aware of the significant role of pragmatic variation when teaching pragmatics inside the classroom. This awareness could be reflected by focusing on awareness-raising activities at the cognitive level, production activities for the speech act of refusals, and teaching grammar as a communicative resource to encourage AFL to produce refusals according to the different sociocultural values of the target Language.
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institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
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license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
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spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-2750 "How to say no without saying no" A cross-cultural study of the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among German Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language and Egyptian native speakers Farawila, Sherif Ezzat This study investigates the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among German Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language and native Egyptian speakers cross-culturally. Besides, it examines the extent of pragmatic transfer from L1 and its nature of being negative or positive one. Three groups participated in the study: eight native speakers of Egyptian Arabic, eight AFL German learners, and three native speakers of German. The data were collected using enhanced open-ended role plays. Furthermore, to increase the creditability of the interaction data, the study triangulated the data by utilizing retrospective verbal reports. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed for analyzing the interactions. Results show essential differences between Egyptians and German AFL learners concerning the frequency of direct and indirect strategies and the utilization of individual strategies. For example, German AFL learners employed a higher percentage of indirect strategies and a lower percentage of direct strategies than the native speakers of Egyptian Arabic, especially in higher status situations. Moreover, German AFL learners used a higher percentage of the Statement of Regret and Request for Information/Clarification strategies than the native Egyptians. However, the native Egyptians have utilized a higher percentage of indirect strategies than the AFL group within the deference relations. Comparing the pattern of refusal strategy of the three groups reveals evidence of positive and negative pragmatic transfer in the AFL group. Social factors differences, during the interactions, were found to play a significant role in how refusals were realized in both cultures. From a pedagogical point of view, the results imply that refusals are worth incorporating and be integrated into the language curriculum. That is, AFL learners not only need to recognize the linguistic forms necessary to produce the speech act, but they must be aware of sociocultural values that characterize the target speech community of the target Language. Therefore, the study suggests that AFL teachers should be aware of the significant role of pragmatic variation when teaching pragmatics inside the classroom. This awareness could be reflected by focusing on awareness-raising activities at the cognitive level, production activities for the speech act of refusals, and teaching grammar as a communicative resource to encourage AFL to produce refusals according to the different sociocultural values of the target Language. 2019-05-22T07:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1710 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/2750/viewcontent/How_20to_20say_20no_20without_20saying_20no.pdf The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy. The author has granted the American University in Cairo or its agents a non-exclusive license to archive this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study, and to make it accessible, in whole or in part, in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Keywords: pragmatic competence pragmatic transfer role plays politeness cross- cultural communication NA
spellingShingle Keywords: pragmatic competence
pragmatic transfer
role plays
politeness
cross- cultural communication
NA
Farawila, Sherif Ezzat
"How to say no without saying no" A cross-cultural study of the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among German Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language and Egyptian native speakers
title "How to say no without saying no" A cross-cultural study of the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among German Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language and Egyptian native speakers
title_full "How to say no without saying no" A cross-cultural study of the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among German Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language and Egyptian native speakers
title_fullStr "How to say no without saying no" A cross-cultural study of the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among German Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language and Egyptian native speakers
title_full_unstemmed "How to say no without saying no" A cross-cultural study of the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among German Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language and Egyptian native speakers
title_short "How to say no without saying no" A cross-cultural study of the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among German Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language and Egyptian native speakers
title_sort how to say no without saying no a cross cultural study of the realization and perception of the speech act of refusal among german learners of arabic as a foreign language and egyptian native speakers
topic Keywords: pragmatic competence
pragmatic transfer
role plays
politeness
cross- cultural communication
NA
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1710
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/2750/viewcontent/How_20to_20say_20no_20without_20saying_20no.pdf
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