The Strategies of Refusing Requests By Students of Different Ethnic Groups

  • Arsen Nahum Pasaribu Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas HKBP Nommensen, Medan, Indonesia
  • Erika Sinambela Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas HKBP Nommensen, Medan, Indonesia
  • Tiara K Pasaribu Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas HKBP Nommensen, Medan, Indonesia
  • Jubil Ezer Sihite Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas HKBP Nommensen, Medan, Indonesia
  • Rony Arahta Sembiring Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas HKBP Nommensen, Medan, Indonesia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36418/syntax-literate.v6i1.2178
Keywords: refusal strategies, different ethnic group, request, speech acts.

Abstract

This study investigated the strategies used by students of different ethnic groups (Batak, Javanese, and Malay) in refusing requests. A total of 30 participants were involved in this research. Each ethnic group was represented by 10 students that came from three different universities in Medan, Indonesia. Discourse Completion Test (DCT) was used to collect the data. Data were analyzed by using refusal categorization. The results showed that the participants preferred to use indirect refusal strategies to respond to lecturer’s requests, and followed by direct and adjunct strategies respectively. This study also indicated that Batak students performed refusal acts more direct than any other Javanese or Malay students. Meanwhile Javanese students tend to employ refusals more indirect compared to any other students. The Malay students performed the acts moderately. The results indicated that the refusal strategies used by the students of three different cultural backgrounds might be influenced by their cultural circumstances. Future studies should be undertaken to investigate the phenomena in different research settings with more participants to be involved.

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References

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Published
2021-02-28
Issue
Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021): Syntax Literate: Jurnal Ilmiah Indonesia
Section
Original Articles