A contrastive study of Chinese and British English request modifications

Abstract

This study is a contrastive one on the speech act of request in British English and Mandarin Chinese. It investigates the similarities and differences in request modifications used by native speakers of both languages on the bases of nine designed situations. The choice of modifications in each situation is determined to some degree by the social variables of power and distance. However, a deeper reason lies in the different cultural backgrounds of the two different languages. © 2012 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland.