Request Speech Act in Malaysian Chinese Mandarin

Document Type : Research article

Authors
M. Pang 1
H. Abdul Halim 2
F. Muslim Mohd Jalis 3
C. Lu 4
1 PhD Candidate, Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
2 Associated Professor, Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
3 Senior Lecturer, Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
4 Student, School of Finance, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
10.48311/LRR.15.5.197
Abstract
Request is used quite often in Malaysian Chinese people’s daily life. Most previous researchers focused on request speech act in mainland Chinese language. However, very little attention is paid to the request speech act in Malaysian Chinese. This study aims to investigate the request speech act in Malaysian Chinese Mandarin. Role play method was employed to elicit data needed for this study. 25 Malaysian Chinese participants and 1 Malaysian Chinese interlocutor were recruited to role play 12 scenarios. The collected data underwent analysis using a revised framework for coding. The results unveiled that the most commonly utilized strategy was conventionally indirect strategy, followed by direct strategy. The least frequently used one was non-conventionally indirect strategy. More external modifiers were used than internal modifiers. Variables of social distance, and ranking of imposition had impacts on request speech act in Malaysian Chinese Mandarin. Social power did not influence the use of ‘query preparatory’ and ‘want statements’ strategy. This study can be of great value with regard to theory and practice. Theoretically, it revises and validates the CCSARP theoretical framework with Malaysian Chinese Mandarin data. Practically, it can improve communication skills in Malaysian Chinese people’s everyday interactions and help them maintain positive relationships.

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Language Related Research
Volume 15, Issue 5 - Serial Number 83
November and December 2024
Pages 197-223