Abstract
ABSTRACTThe Directive speech act is a frequent one. It is used every single day. Brown and Levinson (1987) believe that the realization of speech acts is influenced by social variables, which include the Relative Power (P), and the Social Distance (D) of the interlocutors and the Ranks of imposition (R) of speech acts.Many English studies reveal that social variables have great influence on directive speech acts. In the studies on Chinese directives, Li (1989) and Hong (1996) indicate that the more familiar the interlocutors are, the more direct strategies the speakers use. Besides, the more superior the addressee is, the more indirect strategy the speakers use. In addition, Hsiao’s (1999) study on school children discovers that nine-year-old children could do the same directive speech act in many different ways within various social variables.This study aims to investigate the directive speech acts of teenagers and to know if there is any developmental difference among Junior high, Senior high, and College students. A questionnaire-Discourse Completion Test is used to elicit data. Chi-square and ANOVA are used to test the statistical significance. Moreover, we examine the relationship between linguistic realization- Directive Strategies, Internal Modifiers and Supportive Moves and social variables.The results are as follows:1. The older the teenager is, the more Polite Strategy,Mitigating Supportive Moves, and Mitigators are used. Theuse of Aggravators decreases with the increase of age.2. The Relative Power, and Social Distance of theinterlocutors and Ranks of Imposition are found to haveinfluence on teenagers’ directive speech acts.a. The more superior the addressee is, the more PoliteStrategy, Mitigating Supportive Moves and Mitigators areused.b. The more familiar the interlocutors are, the moreMitigating Supportive Moves and Aggravators are used.c. The higher the Rank of Imposition is, the more PoliteStrategy and Mitigating Supportive Moves the speakers use.But, the higher Rank of Imposition is, the more Aggravatorsare used, too. The reason might be that, in comparison withthe event of lower rank of imposition, the event of higherRank of Imposition in this study is related to theaddressees’ breach of social order.Speech is one of the behavioral characteristics which reveal age-grading. In this study, we find that teenagers’ Directive Speech Acts are influenced by social variables. With individual maturity, frequent interlocutors with other social beings, the communicative competence of teenagers becomes more sociable. Although a previous study indicates that a nine-year-old child speaks in an adult-like way, this study further discovers that socialization is a continuous process, and parents and teachers have to be aware of teenagers’ different levels of competence.