a university project
 

Hi
To cut long story short I need your help. To be precise I need sth like 12 native speakers(English) who would take part in a project called "A cross-cultural investigation of speech act realization patterns". No personal data is collected except for the country of origin. The project is to show differences between the way requests are made. Since I failed to put the .doc file I'm putting the examples below. Those of you who would like to take part have to write their answers below each question. You can either share it here or send a text file to me (p_kranz@wp.pl) The project is also for non-native speakers so "feel free to help". Tbh you are kinda my last resort to get the credit...Thanks
1.You are a witness of a very serious car accident. You give first aid and you see a group of gathering people. You do not have a cell phone to call the ambulance and you must ask someone to do it.
2.You see a teenager littering at the front of your house. Take a verbal action.
3. You sit in a restaurant. Suddenly you smell gas. Warn the guests and the staff.
4. You work in a company and you have to take 2 additional days off though you have done it twice this month. Ask your boss.
5. You stay at you grandmother who is a bit deaf. She is watching a TV program and disturbs you in learning. React.

Oh I know a couple of guys who will be all over this !

Good luck ! :salute:

FYI, I'm American.

1.You are a witness of a very serious car accident. You give first aid and you see a group of gathering people. You do not have a cell phone to call the ambulance and you must ask someone to do it.

"Someone call 911!!!"

2.You see a teenager littering at the front of your house. Take a verbal action.

"Hey, you little ****, what do you think you're doing?!?!?!? Pick that up or I'll kick your ass!!!" (I probably wouldn't actually notice unless it was right in my face, though)

3. You sit in a restaurant. Suddenly you smell gas. Warn the guests and the staff.

"Hey, everybody, I think I smell gas!!!" (in reality, I'd probably just tell the waiter)

4. You work in a company and you have to take 2 additional days off though you have done it twice this month. Ask your boss.

"Hey, Charles, something came up. Could I get another two days off?"

5. You stay at you grandmother who is a bit deaf. She is watching a TV program and disturbs you in learning. React.

I'd just stick something in my ears, or move to a different room, or go outside. And both of my grandmothers are actually dead.

1. Someone call 911 right now!
2. Hey, pick that sh** up!
3. I smell gas. We should get out of here.
4. If it's alright with you, I need to take two days off to (insert reason here)
5. Grandma, is it okay if we turn this down a bit so I can study?

Quote:

1.You are a witness of a very serious car accident. You give first aid and you see a group of gathering people. You do not have a cell phone to call the ambulance and you must ask someone to do it.

Quote:

2.You see a teenager littering at the front of your house. Take a verbal action. 3. You sit in a restaurant. Suddenly you smell gas. Warn the guests and the staff. 4. You work in a company and you have to take 2 additional days off though you have done it twice this month. Ask your boss. 5. You stay at you grandmother who is a bit deaf. She is watching a TV program and disturbs you in learning. React.

1. "Call 911 and give them you best guess on our location." I had to do this once after I was first on a car accident scene.

2. "Dude, I do not throw trash on your lawn. Pick it up and find a trash can."

3. "I smell natural gas. You might want to consider evacuation of the building."

4. "Chief, I need another two days off this month."

5. I would get up and go to another room for quiet study. Let granny have her TV in her golden years.

Since it is a"cross-cultural investigation of speech act realization patterns" are the non native English speaking people supposed to answer in English as well or do you need their replies in their native languages? (I know that that is very unlikely but I thought I ask it anyway.:D)

1. Could someone call 000 immediately? (911 won't work were I live).:D
2. OI! Pick that up! Would you do that on your lawn?
3. I think I smell gas. I think we should evacuate the restaurant.
4. If it's OK with you, I need to take another couple of days off to do (insert reason).
5. If it were impossible to move elsewhere I'd say something like this: "Nan, can we turn the telly down a bit please? I need to study and it's disturbing me.

I'm from Australia.

Last resort, I guess:
First language = danish.
Second Language = english (US).
Location, for the time, is USA.

1: You! Call an ambulance, NOW!
2: Pick it up, NOW!
3: I smell propane.
4: May I ask for an additional 2 days?
5: As I am only a guest, I have no say in the matter.

I hope this was helpful.

I'm a native English speaker from the uk

Here we go:
1) Somebody needs to ring an ambulance; who has a mobile?
2) Hey, can you take that with you please.
3) Can anyone else smell gas?
4) I'm awfully sorry Mike, but I need to ask for another two days off this month.
5) A bit loud isn't it? (whilsy nodding towards the telly)

Quote:

1.You are a witness of a very serious car accident. You give first aid and you see a group of gathering people. You do not have a cell phone to call the ambulance and you must ask someone to do it. 2.You see a teenager littering at the front of your house. Take a verbal action. 3. You sit in a restaurant. Suddenly you smell gas. Warn the guests and the staff. 4. You work in a company and you have to take 2 additional days off though you have done it twice this month. Ask your boss. 5. You stay at you grandmother who is a bit deaf. She is watching a TV program and disturbs you in learning. React.

I am 18 and although I always carry a cell, I will assume I left it on the charger. Imagine a deadpan northwest Illinois accent, with a little bit of the east coast thrown in there from spending a lot of my time there since I was 7.

1. Does anyone have a cellphone? We need an ambulance here now!
2. (oh my, I am a teenager) Aey! Dude! You! Yeah, you! Pick up your friggin' trash!
3. Ahem, waiter? I smell gas in the place, could you let the manager or the supervisor know?
4. Sir, I know I'm stretching it, but I'm going to need another couple days off. (I assume, for posterity's sake there's a legitimate reason behind this)
5. Uh, Grandma? Can you please turn down the TV? I got a bit of studying to do, but when I'm finished you can play it as loud as you want. Do you need anything while I'm up?

In English. The project we(my and my friend)took as an example was made in several native languages: English, Hebrew, German etc but those Ph.D geeks had people who translated them the answers. Any we had only google translator which is kinda NOT a Ph.D in that matters...

You might, if you haven't already, want to consider the difference between
what people write down and what they actually say when the situation arises.

I'm not saying anyone is disingenuous, but there is bound to be a difference.

Very true.
People tend to be more instinctive when speaking, and logical when writting.

So here is my "German" version:
1.You are a witness of a very serious car accident. You give first aid and you see a group of gathering people. You do not have a cell phone to call the ambulance and you must ask someone to do it.
Would someone of you please stop standing around and call an ambulance?! (said with polite words but an angry tone to it.)

2.You see a teenager littering at the front of your house. Take a verbal action.
Hey, you have lost something! (in an ironic tone)

3. You sit in a restaurant. Suddenly you smell gas. Warn the guests and the staff.
Excuse me, I smell gas here! Does anyone else too?

4. You work in a company and you have to take 2 additional days off though you have done it twice this month. Ask your boss.
Sir, I know I have already taken 4 days off this month but I'm afraid I need two additional days. (I have some very pressing private business to do that can't be postponed.)

5. You stay at you grandmother who is a bit deaf. She is watching a TV program and disturbs you in learning. React.

Grandma, would you please turn down the volume a little? It is impossible for me to learn like this.

Indubitably :haha: