The present study compares the thanking behavior across native speakers of Turkish and German and aims to discover similarities or differences based on the form and function of the respective realization strategies. The main focus of the research is to find out if each of the two cultures is oriented towards positive or negative politeness based on an analysis of expressions of thanks functioning as a speech act.
In the past, both the Turkish and the German language have been studied in terms of thanking behavior and politeness orientations, but little to no research has been conducted in comparing the languages in these aspects. It is hoped that the contrastive study at hand provides relevant results regarding differences in thanking behavior and politeness orientations between Turkish and German culture.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical background
2.1 Thanking and politeness
2.1.1 Defining the speech act of thanking
2.1.2 Positive and negative politeness
2.1.3 Positive and negative thanking
2.2 Cross-cultural comparison of politeness and speech act of thanking
3. Methodology
3.1 Instrument
3.2 Participants and situations
4. Results
4.1 Thanking expressions
4.2 Modifying thanks
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion
7. References
8. Appendix
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this research is to perform a cross-cultural analysis of the speech act of thanking among native speakers of Turkish and German. The study investigates how these two cultures differ or share similarities in their realization strategies, focusing on the concepts of positive and negative politeness as defined by Brown and Levinson (1987) and how these influence the verbal expression of gratitude.
- Cross-cultural pragmatics and politeness theory
- Linguistic realization of gratitude in Turkish and German
- Impact of social distance and power on thanking strategies
- Application of Discourse Completion Tasks (DCT) in linguistic research
- Identification of internal and external modifiers in speech acts
Excerpt from the Book
2.1.1 Defining the speech act of thanking
The act of thanking typically expresses gratitude, pleasure (cf. Searle 1969: 65) or appreciation. There are several forms of thanking, e.g. the speaker feels indebted to the hearer for carrying out an act in his favor, or it is used to decline an offer. It can also function merely as a “politeness device, which can be used conveniently to terminate a conversation” (Stenström 1994: 106), e.g. as a closing speech segment. Searle (1969: 65) explicates that “[w]hen I thank someone, I imply that the thing I am thanking him for has benefited me (or was at least intended to benefit me)”.
The type of thanks that is the focus in this paper is the speaker’s verbal “recognition of something which has already happened [or will happen]1 in his favour” (Siebold 2012: 157). Thus, the thanker acknowledges his indebtedness by letting the thankee be aware of his gratitude and the violation of her own freedom to act. In conveying the thanks, the speaker most likely wishes for the hearer’s acceptance. Consequently, the entire act of thanking is performed in order to smooth out social imbalance that has occurred due to a particular act (to be) done by the thankee for the profit of the thanker.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter outlines the role of thanking as a communicative strategy and introduces the research aim of comparing Turkish and German speakers regarding their politeness orientations.
2. Theoretical background: This section details the concepts of positive and negative politeness, as well as the speech act theory of thanking, providing the framework for the study.
3. Methodology: This chapter explains the use of a discourse completion task (DCT) to gather data and describes the participant demographics and situational contexts used in the study.
4. Results: This section presents the empirical findings, analyzing both the core expressions of thanks and the various modifications (internal/external) used by both speaker groups.
5. Discussion: The discussion interprets the results in relation to the initial research hypotheses, exploring cultural orientations toward positive or negative politeness.
6. Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes the main findings, acknowledging the limitations of the data and suggesting directions for future cross-cultural communication research.
Keywords
Thanking Behavior, Speech Acts, Politeness Theory, Cross-cultural Pragmatics, Turkish Culture, German Culture, Discourse Completion Task, Positive Politeness, Negative Politeness, Linguistic Realization, Social Harmony, Sociolinguistics, Gratitude, Communication Strategies, Pragmatic Analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper explores the communicative strategy of thanking across two distinct cultures, specifically comparing native Turkish and German speakers.
Which theoretical framework does the author utilize?
The research relies heavily on Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory, focusing on the concepts of positive and negative face.
What is the core research goal?
The goal is to determine if either of the two cultures is oriented more towards positive or negative politeness when performing the speech act of thanking.
Which methodology was employed to gather data?
The author utilized a written Discourse Completion Task (DCT) featuring six specific situational scenarios to elicit participant responses.
What does the main body of the work address?
It provides an analysis of thanking expressions, including a categorization of internal and external modifiers used by speakers to intensify their gratitude.
What are the characterizing keywords of the study?
Key terms include thanking behavior, politeness theory, cross-cultural pragmatics, discourse completion task, and linguistic realization strategies.
What were the significant findings regarding German speakers?
German speakers tended to use more elaborate, modified expressions of thanks, suggesting a preference for maintaining a respectful distance or "negative politeness."
How does the Turkish communication style differ in this context?
Turkish speakers showed a preference for more standardized, non-modified expressions, reflecting a culture that may balance both positive and negative politeness orientations.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Bünyamin Yuvarlak (Autor:in), 2018, Thanking Behavior across Turkish and German Native Speakers, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/998185
