POLITENESS IN PRACTICE: A STUDY OF ENGLISH PRAGMATIC STRATEGIES AMONG PAKISTANI UNDERGRADUATES

Abstract

This study explores the politeness tactics employed in apologetic answers among Pakistani undergraduate students across different cultural and gender backgrounds, within the framework of Interlanguage Pragmatics.  A quantitative research approach was applied, adopting the Androfiza and Jones (2013) model to categorize and analyze apologetic response options. Data were obtained through a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) consisting twelve hypothetical apology scenarios. The sample contained 200 undergraduate students purposively  selected from public and private universities throughout several regions of Pakistan, assuring representation of linguistic and cultural diversity. The SPSS version 20 was utilized in the analysis of data whereby descriptive statistics were employed alongside inferential tests such as independent samples t -test, ANOVA, and the Chi-square test. The findings showed significant differences in using politeness tactics on the basis of gender and culture. Female students in most cases were indirect and polite in their strategy choices like acceptance and acknowledgment unlike males who are more direct and face-saving in their strategy choices like evasion and rejection Another important aspect, determined by the study, is the cultural background as the critical element, which defines the apology strategies. The participants of Punjabis and Sindhis were found to employ direct apologies (acceptance and acknowledgment). In contrast, those students of Pashtun and Balochi ethnicity preferred indirect and explicative types of apology.