Pragmatic transfer in refusal speech act in Japanese of Vietnamese learners

Abstract

This research aims to investigate whether there is pragmatic transfer and how the Vietnamese learners perform the act of refusal in Japanese language.  Two groups of Vietnamese learners of Japanese in Vietnam and in Japan took a DCT. These results are then compared with those performed by two groups of Vietnamese and Japanese native speakers. The study shows that while the JSL group only showed pragmatic transfers in the use of specific reasons to explain the refusal, the JFL group  showed pragmatic transfers in the high usage of reasons related to their families or friends, as well as low usage of apology in refusal. These results contribute to confirm previous comparative studies of Vietnamese and Japanese languages, and suggest what should be taught to Vietnamese learners of Japanese to avoid cultural conflict.