The realization of the speech act of refusals in an intercultural setting: ostensible or genuine?

Ali, Fatima (2024) The realization of the speech act of refusals in an intercultural setting: ostensible or genuine? Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

The study explores the way the speech act of refusals to offers and invitations is performed in an intercultural setting. The data are derived from a sample of a total number of fourteen (seven Algerian and seven British) students studying at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and focus on the type of refusals (sincere or genuine) students perform in response to offers and invitations. Additionally, the present study explores the set of cultural scripts both participants draw from when realizing the speech act of refusals. Moreover, it investigates the purpose both groups (Algerian and British) have behind choosing ostensible or genuine refusals when analysing two modalities, i.e., speech act realization both linguistically, and augmented by facial expressions that participants display when performing refusals. To meet the aims of this research, data was collected via two stages. The first one employs an innovative method I, here, term improvised acted-out scenarios, while the second stage employs semi-structured interviews. Data gathered during the first stage was analysed with reference to Isaacs and Clark’s (1990) model when a detailed thematic analysis is employed to analyse the semi-structured interviews. The findings demonstrate that the majority of the participants from both groups rely heavily on their cultural scripts when refusing offers and invitations to maintain face and be polite, triggering cultural misunderstandings and miscommunications. Findings also confirm the validity of Isaacs Clark’s (1990) framework in depicting the type of speech act of refusals performed in response to offers and invitations where most of the features and properties of ostensible speech acts are prominent in both Algerian and British participants’ responses. Moreover, the study has important pedagogical implications such as calling for re-thinking the notion of intercultural communication and non-verbal communication in teaching, learning, and researching in Higher Education and inside the classroom. These pedagogical implications are beneficial to researchers interested in the teaching of foreign languages.