Pragmatic Transfer in the Invitation Speech Acts of Beginner-Level Japanese Language Learners

Abstract

Pragmatic transfer refers to the influence of first-language pragmatic knowledge on target-language use. This study aimed to describe invitation strategies used by beginning-level Japanese language learners and identify non-target-like patterns that can reasonably be interpreted as pragmatic transfer by comparing learner responses with Japanese native speakers (JNS) and Indonesian native speakers (INS). A qualitative comparative design was employed using a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) comprising four scenarios varying Power, Social Distance, and Ranking of Imposition. Responses from 15 learners, 10 JNS, and 10 INS were coded using an adapted invitation-strategy scheme based on Suzuki (2009). Evidence of first-language transfer was considered stronger when learner patterns differed from JNS while resembling INS. Results showed that sociopragmatic transfer was most evident in supportive strategies. When inviting a less familiar professor, learners used apology expressions less frequently than JNS, with their pattern more closely resembling INS. Explicit burden-minimizing expressions were absent from both learner and INS responses, while they occurred in JNS responses. A similar first-language tendency appeared in learners' frequent use of address terms when inviting a familiar professor. In contrast, learners' use of direct imperative forms toward a familiar professor was not observed in either native-speaker group, suggesting a learner-specific pragmalinguistic or developmental difficulty rather than straightforward first-language transfer. These findings highlight the importance of using both first-language and target-language baselines when identifying pragmatic transfer and of explicitly teaching context-sensitive invitation strategies.