Request behavior and communicative styles in peninsular Spanish and American English: A comparison

Abstract

Abstract. This article presents an analysis of the request behavior of American English and Peninsular Spanish speakers. In line with previous research, the study shows that both populations behave similarly in that they privilege conventional indirectness and, especially, ability queries, over any other options. Our analysis of the distribution of all substrategies, however, points to overall different communicative styles on the part of the two groups. While conventional indirectness may not be perceived in the same way by Spaniards and Americans, we argue that the consistent use of more coercive formulas on the part of Spaniards and the avoidance of these formulas on the part of Americans should not be downplayed. The situational analysis shows that the two groups behave similarly when it comes to requesting action from an addressee of equal or higher status, but that requests to equal status members of the family are handled differently.