Pragmatic Transfer of Yemeni EFL Learners

The present book investigates the L1 negative pragmatic transfer among Yemeni English as a foreign language university learners in their L2 speech act performance, particularly in the way they offer and respond to compliments. The data were collected by means of a written Discourse Completion Test designed to be culturally appropriate for both Yemenis and Americans. The results show that L1 negative pragmatic transfer was highly evident among the learners with respect to the used strategies and the order of semantic formulas in the ways they either pay or respond to compliments. The findings shows that there is a set of cross-cultural similarities and differences in the way Arabs and Americans pay and respond to compliments. Based on such findings, this book ends with some recommendations and suggestions for further studies.