異議語反應行為之跨文化與外語語用的比較研究

Abstract

本計畫的主要目的有二:一是以跨文化語用學（cross-cultural pragmatics）為主，研究母語為華語人士（即native Chinese speakers）與母語為美語人士（即native American English speakers）「異議語反應」行為（disagreement responses）之差異;二是以外語語用學（interlanguage pragmatics）為主，研究台灣在美留學生（即ESL learners）之美語的「異議語反應」行為是否已接近（approach or approximate）母語為美語人士，同時並將探討外語使用者使用語言時內心處理語言的可能過程。本計畫主要將以自然觀察法（natural observation）和回顧式的口語報告（retrospective verbal reports）來收集語料，前者用於收集「異議語反應」行為的表現語料（即products）；而後者用於收集語言使用者的內心處理語言過程的資料（即process）。本計畫希冀因此能找出台灣在美留學生美語語用上的困難，並進而探討其此類困難的原因何在，尤其著重於探討（a）外語語用困難是否或如何地受到學習者自身母語的干擾、（b）語用行為中語言普遍性（universality）與文化特定性（culture-specificity）之議題及（c）不同母語背景者使用語言時內心處理語言的可能過程是否有差異。由於跨文化與外語語用學研究目前甚少或似乎尚未以「異議語反應」行為為研究標的，本計畫的設計乃是試圖擴大cross-cultural 與interlanguage pragmatics 的研究範圍，或許可對此領域研究略為貢獻一二。

The proposed study aims to investigate the ‘disagreement responses’ in naturally occurring context because this act is a much used, yet intricate speech act that often poses great difficulty for second language (L2) learners. Research has shown not only that the speech act of disagreement involves a complex relationship between linguistic forms, meanings, and pragmatic prerequisites, but also that high social stakes shape speakers’ behavior, thus permitting a variety of linguistic forms and strategies (e.g., Beebe & Takahashi, 1989; Chen, 2006). The aim of this project is two-fold. Through natural observation and retrospective verbal reports, one is to compare the ‘disagreement responses’ of native Chinese speakers with those of American English speakers; the other is to examine the interlanguage behavior of adult Chinese learners of American English, focusing both on the ways in which they perform this speech act in an L2, and on what their mental processes may be when performing this speech act. Simply put, the focus of the present study is not only on the sociocultural and psychological factors that may contribute to Chinese ESL learners’ difficulty in their disagreement responses, but also on the hotly debated L1 issue of universality versus culture-specificity in speech act studies. It is hoped that the findings of this study can shed some light on this issue. In addition, many of the research issues of this proposed project are rarely or even have never been explored in the existing literature of cross-cultural and interlanguage pragmatics. Accordingly, this study is designed to extend the scope of pragmatics studies and may therefore contribute significantly to this field.