Gender and Power Relation in English Refusal Strategies of ESL Undergraduates

Abstract

Refusal refers to a face-threatening act (FTA) for it can risk one’s face in communication. It encompasses turning down someone’s request, offer or suggestion. The speech act of refusal has been one of the most prominent areas of interest for many scholars. However, there is a dearth of such study in Malaysia, particularly within the Malay community. Aimed to fill the gap, this study examined the refusal strategies used in English by Malay ESL undergraduates, observe the differences and similarities in the refusal strategies of male and female undergraduates, and analyse whether relative power has an influence on the choice of their refusal strategies. This study employed the Discourse Completion Test (DCT) which was distributed among sixty Malay ESL undergraduates, consisting of 30 males and 30 females where they were required to refuse requests from three addressees (lecturer, friend, junior) in five different situations. The collected data were then analysed quantitatively. The findings showed that 32 out of 41 types of refusal strategies were used by the participants. Both male and female students employed more indirect refusal strategies regardless of the person’s relative power. Furthermore, relative power did influence the participants' choices in refusal strategies.

Keywords: ESL learners; refusal strategies; speech act; Malay undergraduates

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