Review Two
This unit reviews both supportive moves and internal modifications that are commonly used in Chinese requests as well as the impacts of social variables on the choice of request strategies in Chinese.
1. Supportive Moves
Supportive moves are the expressions that modify the force of requests, which come either before or after the head act. They can also be referred to as external modifications, since they are external adjuncts to the head act.
Four types of supportive moves are commonly used in Chinese requests: Grounder, Preparator, Thanking and Promise of Reward. Grounder and Preparator are often used before the head act, referred to as pre-supportive move, while Thanking and Promise of Reward are more frequently used after the head act, called post-supportive move. For example,
您现在有空吗? + Head Act (Preparator)
我昨天没来上课 + Head Act (Grounder)
Head Act + 谢谢你了 (Thanking)
Head Act + 我明天就还给你 (Promise of Reward)
If you have any questions about the use of supportive moves in Chinese requests, please review Unit 5.
2. Internal Modifications
In addition to supportive moves, internal modifications are often used to either mitigate or intensify the force of requests. Since they are modifiers within the head act, they are referred to as internal modifications. In Chinese, some lexical and phrasal downgraders have been frequently used to mitigate the threats of requests, such as 请，麻烦，吧，一下. In addition, speakers can choose to combine different internal modifications within a head act to modify the force of a request. For example,
麻烦您帮我们个忙吧？
请您等一下。
If you have any questions about the use of internal modifications in Chinese requests, please review Unit 6.
3. Social Variables Affecting the Request Making in Chinese
Previous studies on Chinese requests have reported that a variety of social factors (e.g., social distance) and individual variables (e.g., gender) have effects on the choice of request strategies in Chinese. Unit 7 introduces how two social variables (i.e., social distance and power) affect request making in Chinese.
Generally speaking, when other factors are the same, the closer the relationship between the interlocutors is, the more direct the request strategies would be. With regard to the influence of power, there is an increase in directness in request strategies with the increase of the power on the part of the speaker. If you have any questions on how these variables affect request making in Chinese, please review Unit 7.
This website provides only a general summary of how these variables might possibly affect the choice of request strategies in Chinese. In everyday communication, different variables and factors often interact with each other and speakers need to choose appropriate strategies according to all the variables possibly involved in the specified situation. Therefore, it is not an easy task to appropriately make requests in everyday communication. Students are strongly encouraged to pay close attention to how Chinese speakers communicate in daily life and analyze how they choose and vary request strategies according to what has been taught on the website.
Exercises:
1. Find a realistic scenario in which a Chinese speaker makes a request to a person (who has close relationship with the speaker) in Chinese. You may find the scenario on TV, in a movie, or other media (including online sources). Describe the scenario and interlocutors in this scenario (in English), record the request expression (in Chinese characters or Pinyin with tones), identify the sequence of the request expression (e.g., alerter + pre-supportive move+ head act), code the head act into formula(s) (e.g., direct, conventionally indirect), and analyze whether the use of the request strategies is appropriate for the situation and support your analysis using the information presented on the website.
(1) Describe the scenario and interlocutors (including the source):
Tip: Pay attention to the variables (i.e., social distance, power, and rank of imposition) involved in this scenario
(2) Record the request expression:
(3) Identify the sequence of the request expression:
(4) Code the head act into formula(s):
(5) Analyze the use of request expressions in this situation:
2.Online Discussion (powered by Canvas)
This section provides you with the opportunity to discuss with other students who are studying Chinese in the United State and to share your opinions of questions about appropriate communication in Chinese.
You are required to make comments or express your opinions at least once on the discussion board, and to respond to others' comments at least once. Please feel free to choose any languages (Chinese or English) to voice your ideas. Please click Online Discussion or go to http://public.online.k-state.edu/ to start it. Enjoy yourself!
Instructions: Click "Online Discussion" or go to K-State Online Home Page-- Click "Go to Canvas"-- Log in with your eID and password--Choose the course titled "Online Pragmatics Learning" and click it--Click "Discussions"--Click "Requests_Review 2" and Start online discussion.
