Gender and Apology Strategies in Saudi Arabia

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Ali Aljohani, for the Master of Arts degree in Applied linguistics, presented on October 31, 2016, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale TITLE: GENDER AND APOLOGY STRATEGIES IN SAUDI ARABIA MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Janet Fuller. This study investigates apology strategies in Saudi Arabia in relation to gender differences. Five apology strategies created by Olshtain & Cohen (1988) are examined among Saudi men and women: expression of apology, indirect act of apology, acknowledgement of responsibility, offer of repair, and promise of forbearance. The study is based on 44 participants (23 females & 21 males) from Taibah University in Saudi Arabia, with an investigation of a total of 152 responses produced by the subjects. The respondents were shown two scenarios where an offense occurred. They were then asked to indicate what their response would be if they had committed this offense to show the act of apology which would be utilized in each scenario. The results showed there was a significant difference between male and female speakers using two strategies; expression of apology and indirect act of apology. The study found there is no difference in the method of apology but there was a difference in the length and the frequency of apology