Interlanguage pragmatics study of indirect complaint among Japanese ESL learners

Abstract: This interlanguage pragmatics study of linguistic expressions of affect focuses on how Japanese learners of English may express themselves in an affect-laden speech act of indirect complaint. The English as a Second Language (ESL) learners ’ data are compared with the baseline data of native speakers of Japanese (JJ) and American English (AA). The functions of linguistic expressions of affect are classified into intensifiers and specifiers and further breakdown is made in terms of lexical and morpho-syntactic variables. Some major findings include the ESL learners ’ negative transfer from First Language (L1) Japanese into Second Language (L2) by using dislocation and the adversative passive structure, while simultaneously using hedges and aggressive words. Their avoidance of such expressions of affect as hyperbole and curse words can be partially attributed to insufficient vocabulary in L2 English. Conversely, they make an excessive and conscious effort to avoid using the Historical Present (HP) in order to match the tense, which can be interpreted as a sign of hypercorrection of the linguistic specific features in the L2. The paper sheds light on a new area of the linguistic affect as shown by the Asian ESL learners whose first languages are significantly different from their L2 English. Key words: interlanguage pragmatics; indirect complaint; affect; intensifier; specifier 1