CROSS- CULTURAL PRAGMATICS OF REQUESTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PASHTO AND ENGLISH USING DISCOURSE COMPLETION TASKS
Keywords:
Cross- Cultural Pragmatics, Social Distance, Power Relations, Cultural Norms, Requests, Speech Act Theory, Politeness Theory, Direct and Indirect Strategies, Collectivism, Individualism, Comparative StudyAbstract
This study explores the cross-cultural pragmatics of request strategy in Pashto and English. It focuses on how social distance, power relations, and cultural norms impact the formulation of requests. Based on Speech Act Theory and Politeness Theory, the study uses a Discourse Completion Task to collect data from 10 participants as 5 Pashto speakers from KPK, Pakistan, and 5 English speakers from the UK. The research contrasts the level of directness, politeness strategies, and linguistic means employed in different social situations. Results indicate that although both language communities utilize indirect strategies in formal or hierarchical contexts, Pashto speakers are more direct in intimate or informal settings due to their collectivist orientation and close family ties. By contrast, English speakers show a preference for indirectness, as they value individualism, autonomy, and politeness. This comparative study explores the ways in which cultural values shape request strategies, highlighting the part played by social context in constituting communicative practices across languages.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Syeda Sadia Akbar , Shehlla Ayub (Author)
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