Pragmatic Transfer and Development
Subtitle: Evidence from EFL Learners in China
Publisher: Benjamins Publishing Company, John
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 268
ISBN-13: 9789027264176
Subjects: English language, study and teaching, foreign speakers; Pragmatics; Interlanguage (language learning); English language, foreign countries; Second language acquisition
Description: Email has become a ubiquitous medium of communication. It is used amongst people from the same speech community, but also between people from different language and cultural backgrounds. When people communicate, they tend to follow rules of speaking in their native language, termed by scholars as pragmatic transfer, which may cause misunderstandings and lead to cross-cultural communication breakdown. This book examines pragmatic transfer by Chinese learners of English at different proficiency levels when writing email requests and refusals. To meet the need for developmental research in L2 pragmatics, it also explores whether pragmatic transfer increases or decreases as language proficiency improves. This book will appeal to researchers and students in interlanguage and intercultural pragmatics, second language acquisition, English as a second/foreign language, and intercultural communication.