Appropriateness
Appropriateness of a speech act is measured against sociocultural norms. The norms may vary somewhat within a given group of society, but they are generally recognized within the society as a whole. However, the same speech act in one society's culture may not be considered appropriate in another's. What are the possible repercussions of a learner saying things that would be viewed as inappropriate in another culture and society? If repeated many times, the learner would probably be viewed negatively by the native speakers in that culture and society. For this reason, the learner should be made aware of possible cross-linguistic problems.
Example of Appropriateness from Japan
Sometimes the same speech act in one language elicits a completely different response than that which would be expected in another language, illustrating cross-cultural differences. In this case, a response to a compliment in Japanese draws a very different response in English. It makes a point that even a compliment, which one would associate with something positive, can actually turn into an FTA in certain cultures. This can happen when a given culture requires "negative politeness" while the other culture follows "positive politeness" as an appropriate form of communication, or vice versa.
Example of an FTA in a compliment response.
Duration: 02:27
Students should be made aware of the cross-cultural differences and how one would say a speech act and react to it appropriately in the target language, but even more important is to understand the perspective of the target language speakers and why the acts are said and responded to in that way.
Politeness: A Delicate Act
Observe this role play done by a native speaker from Spain and an intermediate high Spanish learner. They were given the following situation:
Character A (language learner): Your friend has a great chicken recipe that you just love. You are inviting your boss and his wife to your house for dinner to talk about some private things. You really want to get this recipe from your friend but you also can't invite her to join you, even though it is your turn to have her over to eat. How do you get this recipe from her?
Character B (native speaker): Your friend always asks you for favors, but almost never compensates in return. He owes you at least two or three dinners at his house. This time, he asks you for something and you want to try to convince him to invite you to his house.
An intermediate high Spanish learner and a native speaker role play.
Duration: 01:12
Do you think the learner expressed his request appropriately for the situation? Did he use more positive or negative politeness expressions?
Why would one consider the communication by the learner in the previous video to be "appropriate" for the situation presented to him? What linguistic and extralinguistic (e.g., gestures) resources did he use?
Reflection about the previous role play.
Duration: 02:50