Linguistic Strategies of Encouragement Used with Interlocutors of Higher Social Status and Motivational Concerns
Keywords:
encouragement, linguistics strategies, different social status, motivational concernsAbstract
This article explores linguistic strategies and motivational concerns associated with encouraging interlocutors with higher social status. Data were collected through a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) and an open-ended questionnaire from Thai speakers aged 20 to 60 years, Data were gathered from, 50 full-time workers and 50 students, totaling 100 participants. Four major linguistic strategies were identified for encouragement, presented in descending order of frequency: 1) strategies to express relationships, 2) strategies to relieve the listener, 3) strategies to gain agreement from the listener, and 4) strategies to provide straightforward encouragement. The findings indicate that the least frequently chosen strategies were those for straightforward encouragement, as the speakers preferred to demonstrate good intentions and humility toward interlocutors with higher social status. The results of this study highlight motivational concerns for giving encouragement to interlocutors with higher social status, indicating concerns related to the speakers’ intentions, concerns related to relationships, and concerns related to the speakers’ beliefs.
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