Refusals in the Malay Culture: Gender Differences in Focus
Journal Title: International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences - Year 2018, Vol 8, Issue 12
Abstract
Expressing ‘no’ is by no means a simple act. In a multicultural and gendered society such as Malaysia, the speech act of refusal is realised in a multitude of ways across ethnic groups as well as gender types. This paper investigated the refusal strategies of Malay male and female students in a Malaysian public university. The research participants consisted of 15 Malay male and 15 female undergraduates who were asked to complete a Discourse Completion Test (DCT). The DCT contains nine authentic real-world contexts; designed to elicit genuine and spontaneous responses from the respondents. The data was then analysed in accordance to Beebe, Takahashi & Uliss-Weltz (1990) semantic formula taxonomy. The findings revealed that indirect refusal is the predominant strategy employed by both male and female participants; with the choice of refusal being negative willingness ability. However, the male participants utilised direct refusal strategies more frequently than their female counterpart. Despite the small sample size, specified participants’ age range and singular setting, this preliminary study sets fresh impetus on investigating the cultural dynamics underscoring Malay community refusal pattern. Empirical exploration of this nature could be expanded to other gender-oriented multicultural communities as it is pivotal in mitigating and dissuading miscommunication stemming from the rich diversity.
Authors and Affiliations
Humaira Binti Raslie, Adilah Binti Azizan
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP596933
- DOI 10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i12/5362
- Views 61
- Downloads 0
The Effect of Employees’ Perceptions of their own Values and their Managers’ Values on their Work Alienation: The Mediating Role of Organizational Climate
Work alienation is one of the behavior patterns in which the relationship between the employee and the organization is negative. When the literature is examined in terms of individual values, it is observed that high con...
Ethical Education Haji Abdullah Idris
Sufism was long established in Kelantan before Tuan Tabal (1840-1894) began actively spreading the Ahmadiyyah order in Kota Bharu in the 1870s. So, when it comes to the question of the presence of tarekat in the land of...
A Proposed Framework based Electronic Medical Records (ERM) for Implementation of Technology Acceptance in Healthcare Service
This study extends applicability of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to test user acceptance of EMR in the hospital. This study aims to assess the EMR characteristics which could affect the healthcare profession’s b...
Networking Factor of Topeng Malangan (Malangan Mask) Industry for the Business Sustainability (Case Study on Gunung Sari Craft Malang)
Topeng Malangan (Malangan mask) is one of the very important cultural products that has been developed to preserve the culture and is possibly be a business opportunity for Malangan Mask for Malang people. The focus of t...
Forms of Play and How They Influence Acquisition of Numeracy Skills among Pre-School Children in Kenya
This study sought to underscore the influence of forms of play in the teaching of Mathematics, particularly acquisition of numeracy skills among children in pre-school. Its purpose was to assess the influence of forms of...