University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2009 The realization of the speech act of refusal in Egyptian Arabic by American learners of Arabic as a foreign language Nader Morkus University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Morkus, Nader, "The realization of the speech act of refusal in Egyptian Arabic by American learners of Arabic as a foreign language" (2009). Graduate Theses and Dissertations.edu/etd/2114 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact scholarcommons@usf.
The Realization of the Speech Act of Refusal in Egyptian Arabic by American Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language Nader Morkus A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Secondary Education College of Education and Department of World Language Education College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Camilla Vasquez, Ph. Wei Zhu, Ph. Marcela van Olphen, Ph. Usama Soltan, Ph.
Date of Approval: November 13, 2009 Keywords: pragmatic competence, pragmatic transfer, role plays, politeness, cross- cultural communication © Copyright 2009, Nader Morkus To my parents and to Laura with love Acknowledgements I would like to express my genuine gratitude and sincere appreciation to my major professor, Dr. Camilla Vasquez, for her unyielding support, timely guidance, generosity with her time, and constant encouragement. I appreciate her graciousness and patience, and I admire her commitment to academic excellence and her impressive knowledge of the field. I also would like to express my heart-felt gratitude and appreciation to my committee members, Dr.
Wei Zhu, Dr. Marcela van Olphen, and Dr. Usama Soltan for their valuable advice, enlightening comments, and encouraging words. I also would like to express my sincere gratitude to Maria Paul for encouraging me to finish my dissertation, and for always getting out of her way to help me.
I am very grateful to Dr. Mahmoud Abdalla, the Director of the Arabic School of Middlebury College, for being extraordinarily helpful in facilitating my data collection at the Arabic School, and for being exceptionally supportive and encouraging. I am also very thankful to Robert Wright for his invaluable assistance in data collection. I would like to express my thanks, too, to my colleagues at the Arabic School for their invaluable help in facilitating my data collection, and for their encouragement and good wishes.
I am also very grateful to Dr. Larry Yarbrough for his encouragement and unfailing support, as well as for his kindness and graciousness. I am very thankful to my cousin, Joseph, for his invaluable assistance in facilitating my data collection in Jersey City, New Jersey. Last but not least, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the Americans and Egyptians who participated in the study.
Table of Contents List of Tables ix List of Figures x Abstract xii Chapter One: Introduction 1 Speech Act Research 3 Arabic Speech Act Studies 6 Rationale and Statement of the Problem 7 Purpose of the Study and Research Questions 10 Design of the Study: Data Collection and Analysis 12 Significance of the Study 13 Delimitations and Limitations of the Study 14 Organization of the Dissertation 15 Definition of Terms 17 Chapter Two: Literature Review 23 Introduction 23 Speech Act Theory 24 Communicative Competence 26 Pragmatic Competence 28 Pragmatic Transfer 29 Politeness 30 Brown and Levinson’s Theory of Politeness 31 i Speech Act Research 34 Arabic Speech Act Studies 41 Arabic Refusal Studies 54 Other Relevant Refusal Studies 70 Data Collection Methods in Speech Act Research 84 Observation of Authentic Speech 84 Discourse Completion Task/Test (DCT) 86 Role Plays 88 Chapter Summary 91 Chapter Three: Research Method 93 Introduction 93 Participants 95 American Learners of Arabic 95 Native Speakers of American English 96 Native Speakers of Egyptian Arabic 97 Data Collection Instrument 98 Enhanced Open-Ended Role Plays 98 Design of the Role Plays 99 Role Plays and the Pilot Study 108 Translating the Role Plays 108 Background Questionnaires 109 Equipment, Props, and Space 110 Data Collection Procedures 110 ii Determining the Arabic Proficiency of the American Learners 114 Conducting the Role Plays 115 American Learners of Arabic 115 Native Speakers of American English 116 Native Speakers of Egyptian Arabic 117 Data Analysis 119 Introduction 119 Quantitative Analysis 119 Qualitative Analysis 120 Answering the Research Questions 123 Data Transcription and Coding 125 Classification Scheme of Refusal Strategies 126 Direct Refusals 128 Indirect Refusals 129 Adjuncts to Refusals 147 Pilot Study 150 Participants 151 Elicitation Instrument 152 Data Collection Procedures 152 Data Analysis Procedures 153 Chapter Summary 153 Chapter Four: Results 155 Quantitative Findings 155 iii Total Number of Words 156 Number of Turns and Turn length 161 Strategy Use by Role Play 171 Role Play 1 180 Role Play 2 184 Role Play 3 189 Role Play 4 194 Role Play 5 199 Role Play 6 204 Direct Strategies 210 Direct Strategies by Role Play 210 Direct Strategies by Status 212 Flat No 214 Flat No by Role Play 214 Flat No by Status 217 Indirect Strategies 219 Indirect Strategies by Role Play 219 Indirect Strategies by Status 221 Selected Indirect Strategies by Status 223 Indirect Strategies by Refusal Type 226 Adjuncts to Refusal 227 Adjuncts to Refusal by Status 227 Adjuncts to Refusal by Refusal Type 230 iv Qualitative Findings 231 Content of Excuses and Reasons 231 Role Play 1 232 Role Play 2 234 Role Play 3 237 Role Play 4 237 Role Play 5 240 Role Play 6 242 Refusal Stages I & II 244 Role Play 1 245 Role Play 2 246 Role Play 3 247 Role Play 4 248 Role Play 5 249 Role Play 6 250 Discourse Analysis of Selected Interactions 251 Strategy Selection 253 Individual Differences 263 Language Proficiency and Pragmatic Competence 270 Direct and Indirect Strategies in Higher Status Situations 277 Chapter Five: Discussion 289 Discussion of Quantitative Findings 289 Total Number of Words 289 v Number of Turns and Turn Length 291 Strategy Use 292 Strategy Use and Language Proficiency 293 Frequency of Strategies and Strategy Selection 294 Direct Strategies 298 Indirect Strategies 299 Adjuncts to Refusal 301 Discussion of Qualitative Findings 302 Types of Excuses 302 Stages of Refusal 306 Discussion of Findings from the Selected Interactions 309 Strategy Selection 309 Individual Differences 311 Language Proficiency and Pragmatic Competence 314 Direct and Indirect Strategies in Higher Status Situations 315 Research Question I: Discussion of Findings 317 Discussion of Quantitative Findings 317 Discussion of Qualitative Findings 320 Research Question II: Discussion of Findings 322 Discussion of Quantitative Findings 322 Discussion of Qualitative Findings 324 Comparing the Findings of the Study to Other Refusal Study 326 Comparing the Findings of the Study to Arabic Refusal Studies 330 vi Pedagogical Implications 333 Directions for Future Research 336 References 338 Appendices 353 Appendix A: Background Questionnaire A 354 Appendix B: Background Questionnaire B 356 Appendix C: Background Questionnaire C 358 Appendix D: Background Questionnaire C (Arabic Version) 360 Appendix E: Enhanced Open-Ended Role Plays 362 Appendix F: Enhanced Open-Ended Role Plays (Arabic Version) 364 Appendix G: Role Play Evaluation 366 Appendix H: Consent Form 368 Appendix I: Number of Words, Turns, and Turn Length: NNSI Group 370 Appendix J: Number of Words, Turns, and Turn Length: NNSA Group 371 Appendix K: Number of Words, Turns, and Turn Length: NSA Group 372 Appendix L: Number of Words, Turns, and Turn Length: NSE Group 373 Appendix M: Overall Strategy Use by Group: Role Play 1 374 Appendix N: Overall Strategy Use by Group: Role Play 2 376 Appendix O: Overall Strategy Use by Group: Role Play 3 378 Appendix P: Overall Strategy Use by Group: Role Play 4 380 Appendix Q: Overall Strategy Use by Group: Role Play 5 382 Appendix R: Overall Strategy Use by Group: Role Play 6 384 Appendix S: Participants’ Demographic Information: NNSI Group 386 vii Appendix T: Participants’ Demographic Information: NNSA Group 387 Appendix U: Participants’ Demographic Information: NSA Group 388 Appendix V: Participants’ Demographic Information: NSE Group 389 About the Author End Page viii List of Tables Table 2-1 Arabic Studies Investigating the Speech Act of Refusal 67 Table 2-2 Possible Responses and Outcomes 80 Table 3-1 Refusal Role Play Situations 103 Table 3-2 Summary of Data Collection Process 118 Table 3-3 Refusal Strategies Found in the Data 127 Table 4-1 Total Number of Words and Individual Variation 157 Table 4-2 Total Number of Words by Group 158 Table 4-3 Total Number of Turns and Average Turn Length by Role Play 166 Table 4-4 Overall Strategy Use by Group 174 Table 4-5 Most Frequently Used Indirect Strategies by Group 177 Table 4-6 Most Frequently Used Adjuncts by Group 179 Table 4-7 Most Frequently Used Indirect Strategies by Group in Role Play 1 183 Table 4-8 Most Frequently Used Indirect Strategies by Group in Role Play 2 187 Table 4-9 Most Frequently Used Indirect Strategies by Group in Role Play 3 192 Table 4-10 Most Frequently Used Indirect Strategies by Group in Role Play 4 198 Table 4-11 Most Frequently Used Indirect Strategies by Group in Role Play 5 202 Table 4-12 Most Frequently Used Indirect Strategies by Group in Role Play 6 208 Table 4-13 Direct Strategies by Role Play 211 Table 4-14 Flat No by Role Play 215 Table 4-15 Indirect Strategies by Role Play 219 ix List of Figures Figure 4-1 Total Number of Words by Refusal Type 160 Figure 4-2 Total Number of Words by Status 161 Figure 4-3 Total Number of Turns by Role Play 162 Figure 4-4 Average Turn Length by Role Play 164 Figure 4-5 Number of Turns by Refusal Type 167 Figure 4-6 Average Turn Length by Refusal Type 168 Figure 4-7 Number of Turns by Status 169 Figure 4-8 Average Turn Length by Status 170 Figure 4-9 Overall Use of Direct and Indirect Strategies and Adjuncts by Group 172 Figure 4-10 Direct and Indirect Strategies and Adjuncts by Group in Role Play 1 181 Figure 4-11 Direct and Indirect Strategies and Adjuncts by Group in Role Play 2 185 Figure 4-12 Direct and Indirect Strategies and Adjuncts by Group in Role Play 3 189 Figure 4-13 Direct and Indirect Strategies and Adjuncts by Group in Role Play 4 195 Figure 4-14 Direct and Indirect Strategies and Adjuncts by Group in Role Play 5 200 Figure 4-15 Direct and Indirect Strategies and Adjuncts by Group in Role Play 6 205 Figure 4-16 Direct Strategies by Role Play 212 Figure 4-17 Direct Strategies by Status 213 Figure 4-18 Flat No by Role Play 216 Figure 4-19 Flat No by Status 218 Figure 4-20 Indirect Strategies by Role Play 220 Figure 4-21 Indirect Strategies by Status 222 x Figure 4-22 Excuse/Reason by Status 224 Figure 4-23 Statement of Regret by Status 225 Figure 4-24 Indirect Strategies by Refusal Type 226 Figure 4-25 Adjuncts to Refusal by Status 228 Figure 4-26 Adjuncts to Refusal by Refusal Type 230 xi The Realization of the Speech Act of Refusal in Egyptian Arabic by American Learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language Nader Morkus ABSTRACT This study investigated how the speech act of refusal is realized in Egyptian Arabic by intermediate and advanced American learners of Arabic as a foreign language. It also compared the performance of the learners to that of native speakers of Egyptian Arabic and native speakers of American English. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between the learners’ language proficiency and their pragmatic competence. In addition, it examined the extent of pragmatic transfer from L1 and whether there was a relationship between the degree of pragmatic transfer and the level of L2 proficiency.
The study also examined how refusals are structured and organized at the discourse level.