HOSPITALITY SPEECH ACTS AND CULTURAL SCRIPTS: A CONVERSATIONAL ANALYSIS OF HOST-GUEST INTERACTIONS

Abstract

This research has studied the host-guest interactions through the pattern of food and gift offering in Pakistani cultural context, particularly in relation to hospitality related cultural scripts. The aim of this study is to analyze how the level of formality and informality in different relations creates differences in these speech acts. To achieve this aim, insights are taken from Brown and Levinson’s Theory of Politeness (1978). Two sources were used to collect the data: (i) a dictionary of Punjabi Proverbs Akhan Lok Seyane (Sayings of Wise People) (Ahsan, 2009) to collect linguistic evidence about the traditional norms of hospitality in Pakistani society (ii) 45 instances of speech acts of food and gift offering were recorded through a specially designed observation sheet. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods have been used to analyze the data. The findings of the study through conversational analysis reveal that the level of formality is higher between members from opposite genders than those between the same genders. This level of formality expresses politeness of the one who offers food or gift. Moreover, the differences in the patterns of food and gift offering and accepting are based on the socio-cultural context and relationship of the interlocutors. However, the proverbs related to hospitality are full of the pieces of advice for both the guests and hosts, but they are more focused on guests than the hosts. The analysis revealed that the patterns of the offering and accepting food and gift are different in eastern cultures from the western ones, particularly in Pakistani society where it is considered a very crucial speech act as far as the phenomenon of politeness is concerned.