Pragmatic Competence Factors Underlying the Choice of the Strategies
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communicative possibility. Based on the two examples above, the speakers selected the expressions to formulate the request acts especially the indirect one that also
qualified based on the four strategies of requests.
340 Sorry, have you done yours? I need to copy the documents for the meeting and it will be soon begun. May I use it now?
DM 199 341 Wow, congratulations
I’m so happy for you. How about treat us some food later?
DM 213 Pragmatic competence also enabled the speaker to opt the possibility of
making choices based on flexibility which termed as negotiability. Since people used language based on certain purposes, they might have different strategies to be
manipulated. Examples 340 and 341 empowered the speakers to negotiate the plea to the hearer by selecting different request strategy which aimed the same
goals , like “I need to copy the documents for the meeting and it will be soon begun.
May I use it now?” which indicated the speaker selected grounders and query preparatory strategy, meanwhile, on the other hand, in “I’m so happy for you. How
about treat us some food later?”, the speaker opted supportive compliments along with the suggestory formula for asking requests.
342 Excuse me, boss. Can I talk to you about something? I need to tell you that I can’t take the responsibilities in my present job. It is
too hard for me to do. Would you mind to change my job? DM 135
343 Bro, I have an urgent thing to do right now. Do you want to help me to substitute my shift?
DL 017 The other unique property of pragmatic competence is adaptability. Medical
and Law students successfully employed the appropriate selection of words choice based on the context. This fulfilled the adaptability where the speakers possessed
the ability to modulate and regulate communicative choices in relation to the communicative contexts faced by them. First example on 342 situated in a formal
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situation where the notion of power, rank, and rank imposition were assessed. When the speaker talked to a higher person in position and power, shehe had to be very
careful in selecting the request acts. The researcher found that the speaker employed appropriate way of
requesting by using upgrader function of opener “boss”, and tailed by preparator and supportive reasonable justifications of “Can I talk to you
about something? I need to tell you that I can’t take the responsibilities in my pre
sent job. It is too hard for me to do”. Finally ended by indirect head acts to convey the main intent. It would be odd when the strategy in 342 was
implemented for the 343 since the notion of power, distance and rank of imposition were not existed. Therefore, responding to this situation, the speaker
employed simpler and common strategies by directly addressed the hearer with “bro” to be followed by not a very specific reason and ended by main request acts.
Hence, speakers had ability to adapt to different speech contexts by opting distinct word choices as the request strategy.
344 Sir, I am sorry to say this
. Actually, since I’ve done my job here, I feel like I couldn’t cope with my work as accounting staff. Would you
give me another position, please? DM 141
345 Excuse me, sorry sir but this is urgent. Please let me do the
photocopy first, okay? DL 198 As the other unit of the pragmatic competence property, salience noted the
degree of the awareness reached by choices of the communicative expressions. It was verified that both Medical and Law students aware that their request might
cause trouble to the hearer and burden on the other hand. Thus, realizing this issue, the speaker conveyed their apology by uttering “I am sorry to say this” and “sorry
sir but this is urgent” to be stated before they carried out the main request acts.
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346 Hello, congratulations for your new promotion. A good day to treat me and other office member, huh?
DM 216 347 Hello, new boss. So happy to you. I am here to congratulate you,
anyway. Seems that there will be a treat from our new team leader, right?
DM 237 The last property of pragmatic competence explicated in this research is
dynamicity. Dynamicity associated to the development of the communicative interaction. The researcher found that the less direct people in implying their want,
the higher pragmatic competence they have. This issue agreed to examples 346 and 347 in which the speakers employed hints to do requests realized by the
request acts “A good day to treat me and other office member, huh?” and “Seems that there will be a treat from our new team leader, right?”.