请求与回应—以新加坡地区华人为例 = Requests and Responses – A Case Study of Chinese Living in Singapore

Abstract

Brown and Levinson (1987) argue that social distance, power and imposition are the most important factors influencing speakers’ linguistic choices. This study draws from the framework of Brown and Levinson (1987) and proposes four factors that influence the choice of request and response strategies by Chinese living in Singapore. The four factors are (1) Closeness of participants, (2) Gender, (3) Request medium, and (4) Difficulty of request. The study observes how different factors influence the choice of request and response strategies, investigate the hierarchy of the factors’ influence level, and finally establishes a connection between the findings and the requesting culture of Chinese living in Singapore. The study has yielded the following findings: (1) Chinese living in Singapore avoid Direct Speech Act, (2) Chinese living in Singapore place importance on the relationship between speech act participants, (3) Chinese living in Singapore value the virtue of gentlemanliness. We view these findings as evidence for Brown and Levinson’s universal theory of politeness (1987) but against the claim that social distance, power and imposition are the most important factors influencing speakers’ linguistic choices (Brown and Levinson, 1987).