RESPONDING TO REQUESTS IN CAMEROON FRENCH

Authors

  • Bernard Mulo Farenkia Department of Communication and Languages, Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejals.v7i1.495

Keywords:

communicative act, request responses, (im)politeness, Cameroon French

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on request responses by Cameroon French speakers. Data were collected from 81 French-speaking Cameroonian university students. The analysis focused on the types of request responses (preferred, dis-preferred or open-ended) and the types and linguistic realizations of the speech acts (head acts and external modifiers) used to respond to requests. Request response strategies were also examined in terms of rapport management. The results showed that the participants mostly used compliance-responses. It was also found that positive responses to requests were mostly realised using combinations of agreements and/or promises to perform the requested act and external modifiers, while negative responses to requests were realized using combinations of refusals and/or reprimands and external modifiers. The few cases of open-ended responses to requests displayed combinations of aspects of compliance and elements non-compliance responses. The analysis also revealed social variation in the use of the three types of request responses. While the study expands the scope of research on the pragmatics of Cameroon French, it calls for further research on request responses.

 

Author Biography

  • Bernard Mulo Farenkia, Department of Communication and Languages, Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Bernard Mulo Farenkia is a Full Professor of French and Linguistics at Cape Breton University in Canada. He holds a PhD and a postdoctoral degree (Habilitation) in German / Cross-cultural pragmatics and language pedagogy from the Saarland University (Germany). He is the author and editor of several books on French pragmatics, lexical and socio-pragmatic variation in postcolonial contexts, speech acts and politeness across varieties of French. His current research focuses on requests, request responses, complaints, apologies, and politeness in African varieties of French (using Variational pragmatics and Postcolonial pragmatics as frameworks).

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Published

2024-02-11

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2024)

Section

Articles

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