A cross-cultural pragmatic analysis of refusal speech acts among Malay and German native speakers

Abstract

Successful communication requires not only mutual understanding between interlocutors but also a comprehensive understanding of how cultural rules are used in everyday language. The study aims to identify the refusal strategies employed by native Malay and German speakers when interacting with interlocutors of varying social status (lower, equal, and higher). A qualitative research design was used to analyse the refusal strategies, using a systematic coding scheme based on established refusal strategy taxonomies, followed by thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns across social status and cultural groups. The study included 30 participants, comprising 15 native Malay speakers and 15 native German speakers from various professional backgrounds residing in Selangor, Malaysia. Data were collected using a Discourse Completion Test (DCT), which obtained refusal behaviour across different social scenarios. The findings reveal that, although the refusal strategies used by Malay and German speakers are similar across social statuses, they differ in frequencies and pragmatic realisations. Malay speakers generally prefer more indirect and mitigated forms, while German speakers prefer more direct refusals, with age playing a greater role than social status. The study contributes to the field of foreign language teaching in German and Malay foreign languages, as well as the field of intercultural pragmatic competence, by outlining culturally the refusal behaviour and the cultural motivations underlying this speech act.