| Pragmatic transfer often occurs when EFL learners attempt to communicate in the target language. This thesis studies pragmatic transfer in Chinese EFL learners and presents a survey of pragmatic transfer that occurs in expressing refusals by Chinese EFL learners. The purpose is to investigate whether pragmatic transfer exists in the refusals produced by Chinese EFL learners and enhance the Chinese EFL learners' awareness of pragmatic transfer as well as their competence for intercultural communication.The subjects of the present study were divided into three groups: 30 native speakers of Chinese, 20 native speakers of American English and 30 Chinese EFL learners. The research adopts the discourse completion test which was designed by Beebe et al. (1990). The discourse completion test comprised of an English version and a Chinese one with the same content and included 12 situations altogether (three suggestions, three offers, three requests and three invitations), with social status embedded. All subjects were asked to answer the questionnaire in the written form, Chinese native speakers answering the Chinese version of the discourse completion test and the other two groups answering the English version.Based on the taxonomy of Takahashi and Beebe (1990), the data were categorized and analyzed in terms of the frequency, the order and the content of semantic formulas used by the subjects. The Chinese EFL learners' refusals were compared with those of native speakers of Chinese and English so as to examine the extent of pragmatic transfer. From the data analysis, pragmatic transfer was revealed by Chinese EFL learners in the speech act of refusal in the frequency, the order and content of semantic formulas, which indicated that Chinese EFL learners transferred Chinese cultural values into English study. Furthermore, difference in the attitudes of Chinese and Americans towards power and equality was one of the causal factors for pragmatic transfer.In addition, the thesis provides some necessary suggestions and implications for English teaching and learning in China. |
