Pragmatic variation in British and International English language users' e-mail communication: a focus on requests

• Published in: Revista electrónica de lingüística aplicada 2013-01, Vol.26 (26), p.25-44
• Main Author: Soler, Eva Alcón
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; spa
• Subjects: Academic discourse; Adolescents; British English; Communication; Computer mediated communication; Electronic mail systems; Email; English as an international language; International languages; Language use; Linguistics; Pragmatics; Semiotics; Social perception; Speech acts; Studies; Syntactic analysis
• ISSN: 1885-9089; 0213-2028; 1885-9089; 2254-6774

The present study analyses the use of request strategies and mitigation devices during academic cyber-consultation. More specifically, it explores whether the degree of directness and mitigation in academic virtual communication is conditioned by the type of request. A total of 295 e-mail requests, 145 produced by British English speakers (BES) and 150 performed by International English speakers (IES) were analysed with regard to request type, level of directness, and amount and type of mitigation. Findings of the study show IES' preference for direct strategies and external mitigators in comparison to BES, while no differences are found in the use of lexical and syntactic modifiers. Differences in e-mail requests performed by BES and IES are explained by considering factors that may influence pragmalinguistic variation, among them, lack of pragmalinguistic knowledge, participants' perception of social distance from the interlocutor, and perception of request imposition. Finally, it is reported that the type of request influences teenagers' pragmalinguistic choices. Adapted from the source document