Proficiency effects on L2 Arabic refusals
Appropriateness, linguistic strategies and multidialectal practices
Khaled Al Masaeed | Carnegie Mellon University
Naoko Taguchi | Carnegie Mellon University
Mohammed Tamimi | Palestine Polytechnic University
This study examined the relationship between L2 proficiency and (1) appropriateness of refusals, (2) use of
refusal strategies, and (3) multidialectal practices in performing refusals in Arabic. Using a spoken discourse completion task
(spoken DCT), data were collected from 45 learners of Arabic at three different proficiency levels and from 15 Arabic native
speakers. The situations used in the spoken DCT varied in power and social distance (i.e., refusing a friend’s request to lend
money, refusing a neighbor’s request to lend a car, and refusing a boss’s request to stay late to work extra hours). Findings
generally revealed a positive relationship between proficiency and L2 Arabic learners’ appropriateness, use of refusal strategies,
and multidialectal practices in their refusals. However, results showed that native speakers solely employed spoken Arabic (i.e.,
the dialect), while learners relied heavily on Modern Standard Arabic. Analysis of refusal strategies showed that native speakers
tended to provide vague explanations in their refusals except when refusing the neighbor’s request, whereas the learners preferred
to provide specific reasons for their refusals. Moreover, advanced-level learners were substantially verbose; as a result, their
refusals could be perceived as lecturing or criticizing their interlocutor. This paper concludes with implications for researching
and teaching L2 Arabic refusals with special attention to multidialectal practices.
Keywords: pragmatic competence, refusal strategies, L2 Arabic, proficiency, multidialectal practices, interlanguage pragmatics
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Background
- 3.Method
- 3.1Participants
- 3.2Instrument
- 3.2.1‘Friend’ situation (−Power, −Distance)
- 3.2.2‘Boss’ situation (+Power, +Distance)
- 3.2.3‘Neighbor’ situation (−Power, + Distance)
- 3.3Data analysis
- 4.Results
- 4.1Analysis of appropriateness ratings
- 4.2Analysis of linguistic strategies
- 4.2.1Refusing to lend money to a friend (−P, −D)
- 4.2.2Refusing boss’s request to stay late and work extra hours (+P, +D)
- 4.2.3Refusing to lend car to a neighbor (−P, +D)
- 4.3The Use of multidialectal and multilingual practices (MSA, spoken Arabic, and English)
- 5.Discussion
- 6.Pedagogical implications
- 7.Conclusion and future directions
-
References
Published online: 10 March 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/ap.19007.mas
https://doi.org/10.1075/ap.19007.mas
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Al Masaeed, K.
Al Masaeed, K., Waugh, L., & Burns, K.
Al Masaeed, K.
forthcoming). Translanguaging in L2 Arabic study abroad: Beyond monolingual practices in institutional talk. Modern Language Journal.
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