How concepts of the native language influence the second language use

This thesis examines transferability of sociopragmatic knowledge to L2 speech act realization by studying request production in English and Russian. It aims at investigating whether native Russian speakers transfer sociopragmatic knowledge to the requests in English and how they assess their linguistic behaviour in L2 compared to the performance carried out by native English speakers. To study the subject, native Russian speakers and native English speakers were asked to participate in two speech tasks: the Oral Discourse Completion (the ODCT) Test and the stimulated recall interviews (the SRI). The ODCT was aimed at elicitation of requests in eight situations that were constructed with consideration of three social parameters: social distance, power, and imposition. Native Russian speakers were asked to produce requests both in Russian and in English to detect transfer. Native English speakers produced requests in English, and their answers served as a baseline for comparison....Show moreThis thesis examines transferability of sociopragmatic knowledge to L2 speech act realization by studying request production in English and Russian. It aims at investigating whether native Russian speakers transfer sociopragmatic knowledge to the requests in English and how they assess their linguistic behaviour in L2 compared to the performance carried out by native English speakers. To study the subject, native Russian speakers and native English speakers were asked to participate in two speech tasks: the Oral Discourse Completion (the ODCT) Test and the stimulated recall interviews (the SRI). The ODCT was aimed at elicitation of requests in eight situations that were constructed with consideration of three social parameters: social distance, power, and imposition. Native Russian speakers were asked to produce requests both in Russian and in English to detect transfer. Native English speakers produced requests in English, and their answers served as a baseline for comparison. Native Russian speakers as well as native English speakers were asked to reflect on their language use during the SRI. Three groups of requests, as well as speakers’ reports, were obtained and compared in relation to social distance, power, and imposition. The qualitative research method showed that even though there is cross-cultural variation in the Russian and English languages, sociopragmatic knowledge that is embedded in Russian culture does not affect the second language use. Russian speakers do tend to use more direct strategies in request production in the native language, as suggested by other related research on the Russian language. However, the findings of this study suggest that Russian speakers more often opted for indirect strategies, which relates their linguistic behaviour to Western tradition.Show less

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How concepts of the native language influence the second language use