Analyzing Language Politeness Strategies in Cross- Cultural Communication

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the linguistic and pragmatic competence in the discourse of the participants by analyzing their utterances during an English lecture. The data were naturally collected from real classroom teaching and learning in a high school, and were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The unit of analysis was politeness strategies, distribution of turn-taking, redressive patterns, hesitation, and pragmatic failures. Results indicate that requests for clarification were largely realized by the use of polite and indirect forms, thus readers can infer that participants were sensitive to social norms and to face saving strategies. But some participants gave direct or minimal answers, suggesting differences in pragmatic skills and degree of confidence. Fillers and hesitations were also strategically employed to manage the interaction and to be polite. Isolated pragmatic errors highlighted the divide between what students know grammatically and how they can use English appropriately in academic environments. Overall, the results imply that although the participants have a basic level of communicative competence, further instruction in pragmatic strategies might contribute to their ability to participate in academic interaction.