| This dissertation contributes to the current research on second language acquisition into intercultural pragmatics by introducing data on the development of pragmatic competence by American second language learners of Russian. Learners' acquisition of pragmatic knowledge is examined in its relation to both their advancement in linguistic proficiency and study abroad experience.;With pragmatic competence understood as learners' ability to make their conversational contributions relevant, polite, and effective (House, 1996), the dissertation examines the ways in which American learners of Russian alter their apologies to fit various communicative contexts - i.e., whether they offer compensation commensurate with the offence or whether they adjust their apologies for gender, relative social status, or social distance of the interlocutors.;The research data consists of 158 written discourse completion questionnaires (filled out by 69 native speakers and 103 American learners) and 86 oral role-play performances (by 11 native speakers and 75 American learners). In addition, all participants completed rating-scale assessment questionnaires in which they evaluated the role of contextual factors determining apology offerings - namely, severity of offence, perceived obligation to apologize, relative status and distance of the interlocutors. Finally, two Russian native speakers evaluated learners' written and oral apologies for their appropriateness, both pragmatic (adherence to socio-cultural conventions and appropriate strategy choice) and linguistic (correct use of linguistic forms for the intended pragmatic function).;Comparison of the native-speaker and the learner data was carried out by utilizing a modified version of the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project taxonomy developed for this study. The data demonstrate that both populations of native speakers and American learners have access to the same range of strategies, however they exhibit significant differences in their perceptions of situational parameters, preferences for certain strategies and linguistic devices, quantity of production, discursive styles, and ability to coordinate strategies with contextual environment. Both an increase in linguistic proficiency and exposure to Russian culture enable students to align their apologies more closely with the native speaker norm. Of these two factors, exposure proves more beneficial.;The study concludes with recommendations for teaching pragmatics and offers a provisional curriculum as well as accompanying assessment guidelines. |
