The speech act realisation of requests and greetings by non-native and native speakers of siSwati : communication challenges faced by American Peace Corps Volunteers in their interaction with Swazi people
Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study investigates the differences in the communication styles of siSwati and American English speakers.Specifically, it investigates the realization patterns of the speech acts of request and greeting in siSwati, by native and non-native speakers of siSwati.It also investigates how these same speech acts are realised by the non-native speakers of siSwati in their first language, English.The participants were 10 Swazis and 10 American Peace Corps volunteers living in Swaziland, Southern Africa at the time this study was conducted.The data were collected by means of a questionnaire followed up with a semi-structured interview.The data were analysed using the framework of the Cross-cultural Speech Act Realization Project as developed by Blum-Kulka (1989).Common trends were noted in the realization of the two speech acts by native speakers and non-native speakers and conclusions were made based on the similarities and differences observed.Overall, the results suggest (i) that there are marked differences in the way in which American English speakers and Swazi people perform and interpret greetings and requests, and (ii) that such differences emanate from the different cultural orientation of the two groups of people.Since such differences sometimes lead to misunderstandings, there is evident need to make people aware of cultural differences in order for understanding and tolerance to prevail in cross-cultural interactions.
Author: Faith Bonsile Sithebe
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2143036431