Thesis (MPhil (General Linguistics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The broad topic of this study is the nature and the effects of making and interpreting complaints
in intercultural interactions involving international students and South African administrative
staff in two Stellenbosch University residences. It appears that during these interactions, the
international students are often frustrated by the way their complaints are handled. As a speech
act, the effectiveness of a complaint depends on the way it is expressed and understood and also
on the social context in which it is performed. In this regard, the study examines the influence of
cultural differences on the way complaints are made and responded to in the above-mentioned
intercultural interactions. The study aims to analyse intercultural situations involving the making
and understanding of complaints that may result in misunderstandings.
The complaints data were collected through a discourse completion task, performed by 24
international students belonging to six cultural groups, namely American, Chinese, Dutch,
Gabonese, German and Libyan. All the students were residents in one of two student residences
of Stellenbosch University. The social acceptability judgments data were elicited from three
Afrikaans-speaking South African staff members of these residences, and from an additional six
Afrikaans-speaking South African students who served as informants. All the data were analyzed
within the pragmatic framework of the CCSARP (Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization
Project), as developed by Blum-Kulka, House and Kasper (1989).
The main findings of the analysis indicate that the six cultural groups differed in the way they
made their complaints. Moreover, these differences influenced the manner in which some
complaints were understood by the staff members. It was also found that the staff members’
responses to the complaints were influenced by their social acceptability judgments of the
international students’ utterances. These findings lead to three main conclusions: (i) the way in
which complaints are made and understood is influenced by factors that relate to cultural
differences; (ii) such cultural differences may lead to misunderstandings; and (iii) conscious
efforts to create greater awareness of cultural differences will lead to a better understanding of
the way in which people of different cultural groups make and respond to complaints. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie handel breedweg oor die aard en effek van klagtes, soos uitgedruk en
geïnterpreteer tydens interkulturele interaksies tussen internasionele studente en Suid-Afrikaanse
administratiewe personeel in twee koshuise van die Universiteit Stellenbosch. Dit blyk dat die
studente dikwels gefrustreerd voel oor die manier waarop hulle klagtes in sulke interaksies
gehanteer word. Die effektiwiteit van ’n klagte, as ’n taalhandeling, word bepaal deur die manier
waarop dit uitgedruk en verstaan word, asook deur die sosiale konteks waarbinne dit uitgevoer
word. Die studie ondersoek in dié verband die invloed van kulturele verskille op die manier
waarop klagtes uitgedruk en op gereageer word in die bogenoemde interaksies. Die doel van die
studie is om ’n analise te maak van interkulturele situasies waar misverstande kan ontstaan by
die uitdruk en interpretasie van klagtes.
Die klagte-data is ingesamel deur die voltooiing van ’n diskoers-taak waarby 24 studente van ses
verskillende kultuurgroepe betrek is: Amerikaans, Chinees, Duits, Gabonees, Libies en
Nederlands. Al die studente was inwoners van een van twee koshuise van Stellenbosch
Universiteit. Die data oor sosiale aanvaarbaarheidsoordele is verkry van drie Afrikaanssprekende
Suid-Afrikaanse personeellede, en van ’n verdere ses Afrikaanssprekende Suid-Afrikaanse
studente wat opgetree het as informante. Al die data is ontleed binne die pragmatiekraamwerk
van die CCSARP (“Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project”), soos ontwikkel deur Blum-
Kulka, House en Kasper (1989).
Die hoofbevindings van die analise dui daarop dat die ses kultuurgroepe van mekaar verskil wat
betref die manier waarop hulle hul klagtes uitgedruk het, en dat hierdie verskille ’n invloed het
op die manier waarop sommige klagtes geïnterpreteer is deur die personeellede. ’n Verdere
bevinding is dat die personeellede se reaksies op die klagtes beïnvloed is deur hulle beoordeling
van die sosiale aanvaarbaarheid van die internasionale studente se uitings. Drie
hoofgevolgtrekkings kan op basis van dié bevindings gemaak word: (i) die manier waarop
klagtes uitgedruk en geïnterpreteer word, word beïnvloed deur faktore wat verband hou met
kulturele verskille; (ii) sulke kulturele verskille kan lei tot misverstande; en (iii) daadwerklike
pogings om ’n groter bewussyn van kulturele verskille te skep, sal lei tot ’n beter begrip van die
manier waarop klagtes uitgedruk en op gereageer word deur mense van verskillende
kultuurgroepe.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/2186 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Ndenguino-Mpira, Hermanno |
| Contributors | Oosthuizen, Johan, University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Stellenbosch |
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