J Pragma 2005 11 004

Journal of Pragmatics 38 (2006) 1901–1927
www.elsevier.com/locate/pragma
Apology strategies of Jordanian EFL university students

Ruba Fahmi Bataineh a,*, Rula Fahmi Bataineh b
a
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
b
Department of English for Applied Studies, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
Received 5 July 2004; received in revised form 21 September 2005; accepted 5 November 2005
Abstract
This study is an investigation of Jordanian EFL university students’ apologies, using a 10-item
questionnaire based on Sugimoto’s (1997). The findings revealed that male and female respondents used
the primary strategies of statement of remorse, accounts, compensation, promise not to repeat offense, and
reparation. They also resorted to the use of non-apology strategies such as blaming victim and brushing off
the incident as unimportant to exonerate themselves from blame. The findings further revealed that male and
female respondents differed in the order of the primary strategies they used. In addition, female respondents
opted for non-apology strategies that veered towards avoiding the discussion of offense while male
respondents used those which veered towards blaming the victim.
This research is hoped to have implications for ESL/EFL pedagogy as well as the study of intercultural
communication. The researchers put forth a number of relevant recommendations for further research.
# 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Apologies; Apology strategies in Arabic; Discourse completion task (DCT); Gender; EFL/ESL teaching;
Jordanian EFL students
1. Introduction and theoretical background
The present study is an investigation of Jordanian undergraduate students’ apologies. The

researchers tabulate and compare the strategies used by male and female respondents for the
purpose of uncovering whether or not sex differences exist. This research is hoped to have
implications for target language (henceforth, L2) pedagogy as well as the study of intercultural
communication.
There are relatively few studies discussing the use of apologies by speakers of different
dialects of Arabic (Al-Hami, 1993; El-Khalil, 1998; Hussein and Hammouri, 1998; Al-Zumor,
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +962 777 330820; fax: +962 272 11199.
E-mail addresses: rubab@yu.edu.jo (Ruba F. Bataineh), rula@just.edu.jo (Rula F. Bataineh).
0378-2166/$ – see front matter # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2005.11.004
1902 R.F. Bataineh, R.F. Bataineh / Journal of Pragmatics 38 (2006) 1901–1927
2003; Soliman, 2003). Originally spoken by the Arabs of the Hejaz and Nejd areas, Arabic is now
the prevailing speech of a wide region of southwestern Asia and northern Africa (Merriam-
Webster Online). Jordanian Arabic is the dialect spoken in all parts of Jordan.
This study aims to bridge this gap in the field of intercultural pragmatics as well as to provide
insights not only for researchers but also for Jordanian learners of English. It should be noted
from the onset that this study focuses only on the use of the speech act of apology by the speaker/
wrongdoer; so, whether or not the hearer/offended accepts the apology is beyond the scope of this
study. More specifically, the study attempts to answer the following questions:
1. What are the primary apology strategies used by Jordanian undergraduate students?
2. What are the secondary apology strategies used by Jordanian undergraduate students?
3. What are the differences, if any, between the apology strategies used by male and female
respondents?
Austin (1962) defines speech acts as acts performed by utterances such as giving orders or
making promises. They may be a direct or an indirect utterance (viz., a word, phrase, sentence,
number of sentences or gesture and body movement) that serves a function in communication
such as thanking and apologizing (Hatch, 1992). Speech acts include real-life interactions and
require not only the knowledge of the language but also the appropriate use of that language
within a given culture to minimize misunderstandings (Hatch, 1992; Cohen and Olshtain, 1981;
Fromkin and Rodman, 1988; Lindfors, 1999); this is in line with Celce-Murcia and Olshtain’s
(2000) claim that learners need to be aware of discourse differences between an L1 and an L2 to
insure the proper acquisition of pragmatic competence.
Speech Act theory, developed by Searle (1969) following Austin’s work, is based on the
premise that language is a form of rule-governed behavior. In How to Do Things with Words,
Austin (1962) introduces performative utterances, that is, utterances which require the
performance of an action and whose utterance brings about some result. Austin used felicity
conditions to refer to the conditions of success for performatives that range from the highly
formal (e.g. I now pronounce you husband and wife), to the informal conventions governing
expressions of gratitude or sympathy in the circumstances of everyday life.
Searle (1969) hypothesized that speech acts are characteristically performed by uttering
expressions in accordance with certain constitutive rules. He moved beyond Austin’s ‘cataloguing
stage’ and provided a theoretical framework within which the three dimensions of utterance,
meaning, and action involved in speech acts could be seen as a unified whole. He distinguished
between regulative rules (which regulate existing forms of behavior) and constitutive rules (which
not only merely regulate but also create or define new forms of behavior).
Searle identifies four basic categories of speech acts: utterances, propositional utterances,
illocutionary utterances, and perlocutionary utterances. He (1975:64) maintains that ordinary
conversational requirements of politeness normally make it awkward to issue flat imperative
sentences (e.g. leave the room) or explicit performatives (e.g. I order you to leave the room), so
people resort to indirect means to their illocutionary ends (e.g. I wonder if you would mind
leaving the room). Searle (1979) further claims that speech acts perform five general functions:
declarations (e.g. I now pronounce you husband and wife), representatives (e.g. it was a warm
sunny day), expressives (e.g. I’m really sorry), directives (e.g. don’t leave anything behind), and
commissives (e.g. we’ll not disturb you).
Goffman (1971) defines apologies as remedial interchanges used to reestablish social
harmony after a real or virtual offense. He further claims that a successful apology has several
R.F. Bataineh, R.F. Bataineh / Journal of Pragmatics 38 (2006) 1901–1927 1903
felicity conditions the most important of which are for the apologizer to acknowledge an offense
has taken place, to take responsibility for that offense, and, finally, to offer some compensation or
reparation. Olshtain (1989:156–157) defines an apology as ‘‘a speech act which is intended to
provide support for the hearer who was actually or potentially malaffected by a violation’’. When
one offers an apology, one shows willingness to humiliate oneself to an extent that makes an
apology a face-saving act for the hearer and a face-threatening act for the speaker. Márquez
Reiter (2000:44) further defines an apology as a ‘‘compensatory action for an offense committed
by S [the speaker] which has affected H [the hearer]’’.
Apologies fall under expressive speech acts in which speakers attempt to indicate their state or
attitude. In order for an apology to have an effect, it should reflect true feelings. One cannot
effectively apologize to another and truly reach him/her unless one portrays honest feelings of
sorrow and regret for whatever one has done. Gooder and Jacobs (2000:273–241) point out:
The proper apology acknowledges the fact of wrong doing, accepts ultimate responsibility,
expresses sincere sorrow and regret, and promises not to repeat the offense . . . Some of the
features of the proper apology are the admission of trespass, the implied acknowledgment
of responsibility, an expression of regret, and a promise of a future in which injury will not
recur.
An important aspect in resolving a conflict is the fact that it takes two parties to start an
interpersonal conflict and two parties to resolve it (Takaku et al., 2001). If the wrongdoer decides
to apologize and the offended person does not allow him/her to defend his/her position, the
apology will be useless. If the offended waits for an apology and the wrongdoer does not think
there is a need for one, the offended may end up waiting to no avail.
An apology must have the so-called three R’s: regret, responsibility, and remedy, all of which a
wrongdoer must show for the offended to take his/her apology as sincere. Engel (2001) claims
that in the absence of any of these, the apology will not be sincere, and, thus, will not have the
desired effect.
Fraser (1981:263) states that in order for an apology to be viewed as convincing, the offender
has to use a combination of two or more of the following strategies:
1. announcing that an apology is forthcoming through clauses such as I (hereby) apologize . . .;

2. stating the offender’s obligation to apologize with words such as I must apologize;
3. offering to apologize to show the sincerity of the act with sentences such as Do you want me to
apologize?;
4. requesting the acceptance of the given apology with clauses such as Please accept my apology
for . . .;
5. expressing regret for the offense through the use of intensifiers such as truly, terribly, very, and
so;
6. requesting forgiveness for the offense;
7. acknowledging responsibility for the act;
8. promising forbearance from a similar offending act with sentences such as I promise you that
will never happen again; and
9. offering redress to show that the offender really regrets the offense with offers such as Please
let me pay for the damage I have done.
Trosborg (1987:150–152) suggests that an offender has the following set of strategies from
which s/he may choose:
1. minimizing the degree of offense either by discussing the preconditions of the offense or
blaming another person for it;
2. acknowledgment of responsibility for which s/he lists the substrategies of implicit
acknowledgment; explicit acknowledgment; expression of lack of intent; expression of
self-deficiency; expression of embarrassment; and explicit acceptance of the blame depending
on the degree the offender accepts the blame;
3. implicit or explicit explanation or account by the offender to mitigate his/her responsibility;
4. offer of repair which is carried out either by a literal offer in which the offender states that s/he
will pay for the damage or a compensation which might balance the offense;
5. promise of forbearance where the offender promises never to repeat the offense; and
6. expressing concern for the offended person in order to calm him/her.
Olshtain and Cohen (1983:22), who introduced the notion of ‘the speech act set of apology’,
identified the following five apology strategies:
1. an Illocutionary Force Indicating Device (henceforth, IFID; Levinson, 1983:238)) such as

sorry and excuse me,
2. an expression of the speaker’s responsibility for the offense,
3. a statement or account of the cause which brought about the violation,
4. an offer of repair, and
5. a promise of forbearance.
In addition to these strategies that make up the speech act set, wrongdoers can intensify or
downgrade their apologies. According to Olshtain (1989), among the most common intensifiers
are very and really, while an expression such as I’m sorry, but you really shouldn’t get insulted by
such remarks is a common manifestation of a speaker’s intention to downgrade an apology.
While Olshtain (1983:235) claims that the act of apologizing requires an action or an utterance
which is intended to ‘set things right’, Holmes (1995:364) considers an apology an example of a
‘face-supportive act’.
Brown and Attardo (2000) report that an apology consists of the following five components,
listed in order of importance:
a. an expression of apology, in which the wrongdoer vocalizes his/her feelings of regret;

b. an explanation of the situation, in which the wrongdoer tries to reconstruct the incident for the
offended to see that s/he deserves forgiveness;
c. an acknowledgment of responsibility, whereby the wrongdoer claims his/her responsibility for
what has happened as a part of his/her apology;
d. an offer of repair, in which the wrongdoer tries to present a way to undo the harm; and
e. a promise of non-recurrence, whereby the wrongdoer promises not to repeat the offense and,
thus, insures gaining the offended person’s sympathy for his/her awkward position.
The above do not seem to all and always be the case. For example, the word sorry is an
adequate apology to a close friend, a case in which the wrongdoer only uses the first component
and does without the other four.
Several studies have shown that the expression of apology may lead to more lenient
disciplining and punishment (Goffman, 1971; Darby and Schlenker, 1982, 1989; Ohbuchi et al.,
1989). Ohbuchi et al. (1989) examined the effects of apologies on aggression. They found that
when the offender apologized, the offended rated the offender as more sincere, more responsible,
more careful, and less unpleasant than an offender who did not apologize. Further, they found that
expressions of apology led to significantly less aggression by the offended toward the offender.
Likewise, Harrell (1980) found that offenders who were remorseful were considered more
sorrowful and keen on reparation than those who were nonremorseful against whom more
aggression was shown. Rosen and Adams (1974) found that when the offender expressed
remorse, s/he was perceived as less likely to repeat the violation.
The present researchers have chosen to use the strategies used by Sugimoto (1997) as the basis
of the data analysis (although other classifications have been kept in mind). The present study is
significant, probably because it explores an area of intercultural pragmatics that has not, to the
best of these researchers’ knowledge, been sufficiently explored for this topic and target group. It
is hoped that the study will bridge an existing gap in research and, thus, enrich the field of
intercultural pragmatics, and that its findings will lend verification to the findings of previous
research on apology strategies.
2. Related literature
The researchers have conducted an extensive review of previous literature on speech acts in
general and apologies in particular. This section is divided into subsections on research on
cross-cultural apologies, research on apologies in Arabic, and research on apologies and
gender.
To most scholars, politeness is used to avoid conflict. Lakoff (1975:45) defines it as forms of
behavior that have been ‘‘developed in societies in order to reduce friction in personal
interaction’’. Fraser and Nolan (1981) define it as a set of constraints of verbal behavior while
Leech (1983) sees it as forms of behavior aimed at creating and maintaining harmonious
interaction. According to Brown and Levinson (1978), politeness, as a form of behavior, allows
communication to take place between potentially aggressive partners.
Informed by social theories, many scholars (for example, Watts, 1989; Watts et al., 1992;
Eelen, 2001; Mills, 2003) have emphasized the contested nature of politeness norms across
cultures. Watts et al. (1992) reopened the question of defining ‘linguistic politeness’ by arguing
that one of the oddest things about politeness research is that the term has never been ‘explicitly’
defined but is often taken as the forms of language that allow people to achieve their goals. Watts
(1989) argues that the terminology must be reviewed and a more comprehensive notion
introduced to arrive at a consensus of what politeness is. In the introduction to their book,
Politeness in language: Studies in its history, theory, and practice, Watts et al. (1992:2) explain
the book’s aim as being the following:
to deepen the research perspectives within this field by questioning more profoundly what
polite linguistic behavior actually is and what grounds there might be for claims of
universality . . . [and] to broaden research perspectives by demonstrating the need for more
interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches.
Watts (1989:5) proposes the term politic behavior which is defined as ‘‘socially-culturally
determined behavior directed towards the goal of establishing and/or maintaining a state of
equilibrium in the personal relationships among the individuals of a social group, whether open
or closed, during the ongoing process of interaction’’. He (1989:58) further claims that politic
behavior, which is culturally determined and is ‘generated’ from underlying universal principles,
is transformed into polite behavior under certain marked social conditions.
Eelen (2001) has critiqued the theoretical assumptions of Brown and Levinson and the
theorists influenced by their work. He has addressed issues concerning these scholars’ reliance on
Speech Act Theory, their heavy focus on the speaker (probably at the expense of the hearer), and
their assumption that all politeness is strategic.
Eelen discusses two perspectives on politeness which he claims are confounded by most
politeness theorists (probably because of the normative nature of most of the theories): politeness 1,
the common-sense notion of politeness, and politeness 2, the scientific conceptualization of
politeness. He argues that ‘‘politeness 2 concepts should not just be different from politeness 1
concepts, or given different names, but rather the relationship between both notions should be
carefully monitored throughout the entire analytical process-not only at the input stage’’ (2001:31).
Eelen further classifies politeness into two aspects: action-related, which refers to the way
politeness actually manifests itself in communicative behavior, and conceptual, which refers to
common-sense ideologies of politeness. Although he does not offer us a workable model of
analysis, Eelen provides suggestions for further discussion and research in the field and criticizes
existing theoretical frameworks for
involving a conceptual bias towards the polite end of the polite–impolite distinction;
conceptualizing politeness and impoliteness as opposites; and
biasing their conceptualizations of politeness towards the production of behavior, or towards
the speaker in the interactional dyad.
Eelen supports the notion that politeness differs from culture to culture and that cultural norms
reflected in speech acts differ not only from one language to another but also from one regional
and social variety to another. He claims that
communicative success depends on the right amount and kind of politeness applied at the
right time to the right speech act, as determined by social norms that stipulate what is
appropriate for a specific interactional situation (2001:128).
2.1. Research on cross-cultural apologies
Research on cross-cultural comparative discourse (e.g. Gumperz and Tannen, 1979; Cohen
and Olshtain, 1981; Tannen, 1982; Olshtain, 1983; Blum-Kulka and Olshtain, 1984) has revealed
that different cultures possess different rules of appropriateness. Borkin and Reinhart (1978)
suggest that acquiring appropriate formulas for ritualistic apologies is problematic for non-native
speakers; this is further supported by Olshtain (1983) who claims that events that require an
apology have been shown to vary cross-culturally.
In order to produce learners who can effectively communicate in an L2, training in the
structures of that language would not be adequate unless the learner is also trained in the rules of
appropriateness in that language. Thus, theories of second language teaching and learning have
experienced a major shift from the ‘structural’ approach to the ‘communicative’ approach at the
heart of which is the notion of ‘socio-cultural competence’ as an important component of
communicative competence. Within this paradigm, cross-cultural studies of speech acts have
gained more importance because of their potential to lend better understanding of the
interdependence of linguistic forms and socio-cultural context (Al-Zumor, 2003).
Numerous studies have recognized that a learner’s ability to use speech acts appropriately is a
major component of pragmatic competence. Rintell (1979), who defines pragmatics as the study
of speech acts, argues that the learner’s pragmatic ability in the target language is reflected in how
one produces utterances to communicate ‘specific intentions’ and how one interprets other
speakers’ intentions as conveyed by these utterances.
A good body of pragmatic research has examined apologies in different languages,
considering various variables such as the politeness strategies employed (e.g. Brown and
Levinson, 1978; Garcı́a, 1989; Ruzickova, 1998; Márquez-Reiter, 2000), the cultural values
reflected in the realization of an apology (e.g. Cordella, 1990; Suszczyńska, 1999), gender (e.g.
Cordella, 1990), the factors affecting the choice/use of a particular strategy (e.g. Cohen and
Olshtain, 1981; Fraser, 1981; Olshtain and Cohen, 1983) and the strategies used by native and
non-native speakers (Garcı́a, 1989; Trosborg, 1987). Among the most cited of this type of
research is the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) in which requests and
apologies are analyzed across a number of languages (viz., Argentinean Spanish, Australian
English, Canadian French, German, and Israeli Hebrew) for the purpose of determining the
potential existence and characteristics of universal pragmatic principles in speech act realization
(Blum-Kulka et al., 1989).
Olshtain (1983) investigated how English and Russian learners of Hebrew apologized in L2
and their respective L1. Following the procedure of Cohen and Olshtain (1981), she examined
realization patterns of apologies by native speakers of Hebrew to compare native and nonnative
usage. She found that unlike the Russian group, who apologized more in Hebrew, the English
group apologized considerably less in Hebrew although they apologized more often in their L1.
Olshtain (1989) compared strategy preference of apologies by speakers of English, French,
German, and Hebrew and found considerable similarities in selection of IFIDs and expression of
responsibility. She concluded that ‘‘different languages will realize apologies in very similar ways’’
(1989:171). In a similar study, Vollmer and Olshtain (1989) investigated apology realization
preferences of 200 speakers of German to determine the potential relationship between realization
patterns of apology and social/situational parameters such as social status, social distance, the
offended person’s expectation of an apology, and severity of offense. The findings revealed that the
subjects used IFIDs and stressed responsibility in all situations in rather high percentages, and that
the use of intensification of apologies was strongly related to situational parameters.
To summarize, previous research on speech act realization has revealed the following:
1. There are many similarities of realization patterns of apologies across cultures and gender
although several differences are also detected.
2. The choice of apology strategies is often closely related to social/situational parameters that
affect one’s choice of these strategies.
3. L2 learners tend to transfer their native sociopragmatic strategies to apologies in L2.
4. L2 learners tend to apologize differently in L2 from L1.
Sugimoto (1997) compared the apology styles of 200 American (79 males and 121 females)
and 181 Japanese (82 males and 99 females) college students who responded to an open-ended
questionnaire on situations warranting an apology. Sugimoto (1997) reported the following
strategies:
I. Primary strategies are those frequently used by offenders when attempting to apologize. They
include:
1. statement of remorse in which the wrongdoer acknowledges that s/he has done something
wrong,
2. accounts in which the wrongdoer tells of what has happened (keeping in mind that this is
highly subjective, depending on the way one tells the story and the role s/he played in it),
3. description of damage in which the wrongdoer describes what changes have been inflicted
on the object in discussion or the repercussions of a certain deed on others, and
4. reparation in which the wrongdoer tries to repair the damage s/he has inflicted on others by
offering words that may cause the harm done to be forgotten.
II. Secondary strategies include:
1. compensation, which differs from reparation in that the wrongdoer offers to replace the
damaged object or pay for it, and
2. promise not to repeat offense in which the wrongdoer does his/her utmost to assure the
injured party that what has taken place will not occur in the future.
III. Seldom used strategies include:
1. explicit assessment of responsibility in which the wrongdoer attempts to describe his/her
role in and responsibility for what has happened,
2. contextualization in which the wrongdoer describes the context of the injury and what has
happened in order to make the injured party see the whole picture,
3. self-castigation in which the wrongdoer claims responsibility for what has happened and
is being hard on him-/herself, and
4. gratitude in which the wrongdoer is thankful that the offended is willing to give him/her a
chance to explain and be forgiven.
Sugimoto (1997) reported that the four most used strategies are statement of remorse,
accounts, description of damage, and reparation, and that, with the exception of accounts, the
Japanese respondents used these strategies more than their American counterparts did. She
further reported that compensation and promise not to repeat offense were secondary strategies
used mainly by the Japanese respondents.
2.2. Research on apologies in Arabic
Unlike the plethora of research on apologies in other languages, only a few studies have been
conducted on apologies by Arab learners of English. No research has been found on apologies in
Arabic as a native language. To the best of the present researchers’ knowledge, the research cited
in this section represents the only studies fully or partially dedicated to apologies in Arabic.
Certain elements that influence the effectiveness of an apology have been identified in the
literature. These comprise: familiarity with the offended; the intensity of the act warranting the
apology; the relative authority of the offender and the offended; the relative ages and sex of the
offender and offended; and the place of the exchange, all of which have been discussed by Jarbou
(2002) and Soliman (2003). Hussein (1995) claims that the formulas of any speech act are
determined by social distance, formality of the situation, age, level of education, and status of the
participants.
In his study of the apology strategies used by native speakers and Arab learners of English,
Al-Hami (1993) reported expression of apology, explanation of accounts, acknowledgment of
responsibility, repair, promise of forbearance, and expressing concern for hearers. He further
identified intensifiers (e.g. very), repetition (e.g. I am sorry, sorry, sorry), and a combination of
both (e.g. I am very very sorry) as devices used for apology intensification.
Rizk (1997) analyzed the apology strategies used by 110 Egyptian, Saudi, Jordanian,
Palestinian, Moroccan, Lebanese, Syrian, Tunisian, Yemeni and Libyan learners of English. His
results show similarities between the apology strategies used by native and nonnative
speakers of English in all situations but one. Unlike native speakers of English, Arabs do not
apologize to children but try to make the child forgive them through sentences such as do not
feel sad, baby. Furthermore, Arabs were found to express apology through offering food—a
practice which, although it may seem rude to native speakers of English, is culturally correct
since food in some cultures is an acceptable offering that has the power to wipe off a lot
of hurt.
In his study of Jordanian apology strategies, El-Khalil (1998:64) reports that in the process of
apologizing to friends, Jordanians ‘‘willingly opt for employing conventional apology
expressions (or explicit apologies) to mitigate the negative impact of the offense’’. They use
expressions such as sorry, I am sorry, I apologize, and please forgive me often coupled with an
account of the offense (e.g. sorry I wasn’t able to buy you a present). Jordanians further tend to
use justification strategies because they seem to believe that providing overwhelming excuses has
the power to justify the offense. Thus, statements like I could not come because I got unexpected
company are customary. The offender’s confession of committing the offense is also an important
strategy which, coupled with an expression of distress, results in utterances such as I had wanted
to come. The loss is mine, and I owe you one.
El-Khalil’s (1998) findings further reveal that the majority of the respondents used implicit
rather than explicit apology strategies. Unlike female respondents, male respondents preferred
explicit apology strategies. He reports that only a few female respondents promised never to
repeat the offense.
Hussein and Hammouri (1998) examined the apology strategies used by Americans and
Jordanian speakers of English. They found that Jordanians use more strategies to apologize than
Americans. While both groups resort to the expression of apology, offer of repair,
acknowledgment of responsibility, and promise of forbearance, only Jordanians use the
strategies of praising Allah (God) for what happened, attacking the offended, minimizing the
degree of offense and interjection. Hussein and Hammouri have attributed these differences to the
influence of culture, patterns of thought, and religious orientation.
Soliman (2003), in his comparison of Egyptian and American apology styles, has found the
following similarities and differences between the two cultures:
1. Intensifiers are used in both cultures to show sincerity.

2. Interjections, such as oh, are important to show that the offender really cares about what
happened.
3. People in both cultures tend to express embarrassment for the offending act.
4. Egyptians tend to attack the offended when the offender thinks the offended cannot justify his/
her position as in the incident where a headmaster blames a janitor he bumped into for the
incident instead of apologizing to him.
5. Egyptians praise Allah (God) for everything that happens, whether good or bad.
In a study similar to the present one, Al-Zumor (2003) investigated the difference in apology
realizations between Arab native speakers and learners of English and those of native speakers of
British English and American English for the purpose of exploring the inter-language pragmatics
of Arab learners of English when they produce the speech act of apology in L2. He suggests that
in the Arab culture, ‘‘admitting one’s deficiency in order to set the things right is not as
embarrassing as in the Anglo-Saxon culture’’ (2003:29). He claims that people are more
available to each other and, thus, care less about their own immunity.
2.3. Apologies and gender
Much sociolinguistic research has been conducted on gender differences in speech act
realization. Empirical findings seem to suggest that gender differences do exist in politeness—so
much so that women are considered to be more polite, less critical, and prone to using more
softening devices than are men (Lakoff, 1975; Tannen, 1990; Holmes, 1995). Holmes (1995:2)
argues that women are generally more polite than men. She points out that
most women enjoy talk and regard talking as an important means of keeping in touch,
especially with friends and intimates. They use language to establish, nurture and develop
personal relationships. Men tend to see language more as a tool for obtaining and
conveying information.
Much like the claims made by Lakoff (1975) and Tannen (1990) concerning co-operative and
competitive strategies, Holmes argues that women are more likely to use positive politeness than
men, which she considers ‘‘evidence of concern for the feelings of the people they are talking to’’
(1995:6).
Holmes (1995) offers a detailed analysis of linguistic politeness and gender drawing on her
own and other influential language and gender research such as that of Zimmerman and West
(1975), Fishman (1978, 1980) and Tannen (1984, 1990). Holmes investigated gender differences
in apologies and found both similarities and differences between males and females. She found
that women apologize significantly more than men and that women apologize most to hearers of
equal power while men apologize to women irrespective of status.
However, other researchers (for example, Cameron, 1995, 1996, 1997; Bergvall et al., 1996)
have questioned these assertions, arguing that viewing men and women in a dichotomized way
not only ignores the diversity of speech within groups of women and groups of men but also
ignores cultural differences and those that may result from other social variables such as class,
age, and ethnicity and, thus as Freed (1995:55) puts it, serves to perpetuate stereotypes about
male and female discourse.
3. Population, sample, and instrumentation
The present study emulates previous research which has examined the discourse of non-native
speakers in a second language (Blum-Kulka and Kasper, 1993), using controlled data elicitation
techniques such as questionnaires, surveys, role-plays, and discourse completion tasks which can
be readily submitted to statistical analysis. The findings reveal that although the speech acts
themselves are universal, their conceptualization and verbalization vary across cultures.
The population of the study consists of all Jordanian undergraduate EFL students at Yarmouk
University (YU) and Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), both located in Irbid,
Jordan. The sample consisted of two randomly selected groups of one hundred Jordanian
undergraduate EFL students drawn from the Department of English at YU and the Department of
English for Applied Studies at JUST. The respondents are relatively homogeneous in terms of
their cultural background (Jordanian Arabs) and academic/linguistic experiences (19- to 22-year-
old undergraduates majoring in English at two universities in the northern region of Jordan). A
few students from other specializations (e.g. nursing and engineering) and nationalities (e.g.
Syrian and Saudi) responded to the questionnaire, but their responses were eliminated from the
sample pool. From their personal contact with the respondents, the researchers judge them to be
of intermediate to high-intermediate English proficiency.
Collecting data based on naturally occurring situations is usually difficult and time
consuming; besides, due to the fact that the subjects do not use English in social interaction
outside the classroom, even attempting the task would be virtually impossible. The researchers
designed a questionnaire based on Sugimoto’s (1997) to compare the apology strategies used by
American and Japanese students. One or both of the researchers visited classes at YU and JUST
to administer the questionnaire in the second semester of the academic year 2003/2004. Only
gender was examined as a variable.
Since the questionnaire had already been piloted and checked for reliability, the researchers
did not conduct a pilot study. However, they showed the questionnaire to seven professors in the
fields of English and Education at YU and JUST (Jordan) to assure its validity for the Jordanian
sample. The questionnaire consists of three parts:
1. an introduction of the study and instructions for answering the questions,

2. a section for collecting demographic information about the participants, and
3. 10 scenarios each of which involves a situation which requires an apology.
4. Data analysis
The researchers identified the strategies used by the respondents and then classified them
based on Sugimoto’s (1997) strategies. As noted above, these strategies were divided into
primary strategies, secondary strategies, and seldom used strategies.
The researchers started by tabulating the strategies used by the participants in order to identify
the apology strategies they used. The tabulation of the results made it possible for the researchers
to determine the strategies used and whether or not Sugimoto’s (1997) results apply to Jordanian
respondents. It further helped to clarify whether or not gender has an effect since previous
research had reported that females apologize more than males (cf., for example, Brown and
Attardo, 2000; Holmes, 1995).
In order to identify the apology strategies used, the researchers used two types of tables: One
to clarify the method used to show remorse (viz., the overt expression of apology), and another to
show the other apology strategies employed in each situation and their percentages. The overt
expression of apology came in various manifestations; these were one expression, two
expressions, one expression with one or more adverbials, and two expressions with one or more
adverbials. Of course, these manifestations were not used in all situations since the respondents
did not overtly apologize in a considerable percentage of the situations. The researchers
attempted to list all the apology strategies used by the respondents, including those which do not
imply an apology. One strategy that was not mentioned by Sugimoto (1997) or any other
researcher is that in which the wrongdoer exonerates him/herself and instead blames the victim
for what had happened. Although this strategy is not strictly within the realm of apologizing, it is
closely related to it.
Not only did the researchers tally the percentages of the apology strategies used, but they also
calculated and compared the percentages of those used by male and female respondents in order
to discover any potential differences which might be attributed to gender. Since the researchers
found that the respondents had used different types of the first strategy (viz., statement of
remorse), they tabulated those in separate tables, as they were interested in examining the
differences in the use of the various manifestations of the expression of remorse. It is worth
noting here that the respondents had used a combination of apology strategies, which may have
been part of their attempt to aptly express their remorse. However, in their tabulation of these
combinations, the researchers dealt with each strategy by itself and only mentioned the most
common combinations in the discussion.
5. Findings and discussion
Sugimoto’s (1997) strategies have been used as the basis of the analysis. Statement of remorse
was the strategy most frequently used by male and female respondents across the sample. Thus, it
is discussed separately prior to the collective discussion of the other strategies. Unlike Sugimoto,
these researchers have tabulated the different manifestations of this strategy in terms of the use of
expressions of apology and the various numbers of intensifiers.
5.1. Apology strategies used by male respondents
In their attempt to respond to the situations given in the questionnaire (see the Appendix A),
male respondents used the following apology strategies:
1. Statement of remorse: As shown in Table 1, male respondents used different manifestations

of the expression of remorse. They expressed remorse using either one or more expressions of
apology combined with one or more intensifiers. Some of the respondents did not seem to
think that one apology expression is enough, while others seemed to think that they did not
need to apologize at all. It should be noted here that 42.2% of the responses (n = 211) did not
contain any overt statement of remorse.
Male respondents used the following manifestations of stating remorse (in descending
order of frequency of occurrence):
a. Using one expression of apology: In 47% of the situations (n = 235), male respondents
used one expression of apology to show remorse. Expressions ranged from the word sorry
to clauses such as excuse me, forgive me, I apologize, or pardon me.
b. Using one expression of apology and one intensifier: In 8% of the situations (n = 40), male
respondents used the intensifiers so and very with the word sorry, yielding expressions
such as very sorry and so sorry.
c. Using one expression of apology and two intensifiers: In 1.2% of the situations (n = 6),
male respondents used two intensifiers to produce an expression of apology to show
remorse; this may be attributed to the respondents’ need to use more than the word sorry to
Table 1
Totals and percentages of the types of the statement of remorse used by male respondents
Type Item
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total Percent
One expression of apology 33 24 26 19 22 23 21 16 22 29 235 47.0
Two expressions of apology 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0.4
One expression of apology + one intensifier 5 6 2 8 1 2 1 10 2 3 40 8
One expression of apology + two intensifiers 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 6 1.2
One expression of apology + three intensifiers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.2
Two expressions of apology + one intensifier 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 5 1.0
Nothing 11 19 22 18 27 24 28 19 26 17 211 42.2
Table 2
Apology strategies used by male respondents
Strategy Item
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total Percent
Accounts 10 16 17 12 33 16 16 0 5 12 137 27.4
Reparation 0 0 1 11 0 1 3 19 1 3 39 7.8
Compensation 26 22 0 0 0 1 0 0 25 0 74 14.8
Promise not to repeat offense 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 1.2
Assessment of responsibility
Negative 11 0 2 2 2 2 2 0 2 0 23 4.6
Positive 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.4
Self-castigation 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 2 0 1 7 1.4
Thanking 0 1 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 6 1.2
Avoidance of discussion or person 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 7 1.4
Brushing off incident as not important 0 1 3 1 0 1 1 1 1 2 11 2.2
Promise of better times to come 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.4
Offending victim 0 2 1 0 2 1 2 0 1 0 9 1.8
Asking victim not to be angry 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 1.0
Showing lack of intent to do harm 8 1 6 3 1 1 0 4 2 0 26 5.2
Blaming victim 1 0 1 2 0 4 6 1 2 2 19 3.8
Denial 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 0.8
Invoking Allah’s (God’s) name 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0.6
Refusal to compensate 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.4
Proverbs and sayings (better late than never) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.2
express how bad they felt for whatever happened. The intensifiers used were either a
repetition of the words so and very in sentences such as I am very, very sorry or a
combination of the two in expressions such as so very sorry.
d. Using two expressions of apology and one intensifier: In 1% of the situations (n = 5), male
respondents used two expressions of apology with one intensifier to show remorse, which
seems to indicate the respondents’ need to express the graveness of the situation. This
resulted in the use of expressions such as excuse me. I am very sorry and so sorry; forgive me.
e. Using two expressions of apology: In 0.4% of the situations (n = 2), male respondents used
two expressions of apology resulting in responses such as sorry. Forgive me.
f. Using one expression of apology and three intensifiers: In 0.2% of the situations (n = 1),
a male respondent resorted to the use of one expression of apology with three intensifiers to
show how he feels about the offense. This was expressed in the use of I am so, so, so sorry.
Other apology strategies were used by male respondents in their responses to the 10 items
of the questionnaire. These are summarized in Table 2 and presented below according to their
frequency of use. Even though the researchers used Sugimoto’s (1997) apology strategies as
the basis of their analysis, they have come up with other strategies not mentioned in the
literature.
2. Accounts: In 27.4% of the situations (n = 137), Jordanians, in their attempt to apologize, used
accounts to explain what had happened. This resulted in responses like the following for each
of the items of the questionnaire, except Item 8 for which the respondents did not use
accounts:
The wind was too strong it broke your umbrella (Item 1).
I have a family emergency and cannot go to the concert (Item 2).

3. Compensation: In 14.8% of the situations (n = 74), male respondents used compensation
where the wrongdoer tries to replace the damaged item or pay for it. The only items on the
questionnaire that elicited the use of compensation were items 1, 9, 2, and 6 yielding
responses such as:
Here is a new umbrella I got you to replace yours (Item 1).
I will pay for the ticket if you do not find anybody to go with you (Item 2).
4. Reparation: In 7.8% of the situations (n = 39), male respondents used reparation, a strategy
which allows them to repair the damage done to the item or the situation in question. All the
items, except 1, 2, and 5, got responses that displayed reparation as shown in the following
examples:
I did not mean to be late. Let us have juice on me (Item 3).
I will explain what happened to the teacher and get you an extension (Item 4).
5. Showing lack of intent to do harm: In 5.2% of the situations (n = 6), male respondents felt the
need to deny their intention to harm the offended. They attempted to show that whatever
happened was accidental and not at all premeditated. Responses to all the questionnaire items,
excluding 7 and 10, portrayed the use of this strategy as is evident in the following examples:
I did not mean to break your umbrella. I will buy you another (Item 1).
I did not mean to break our date (Item 2).

6. Assessment of responsibility: This category is divided into two types:
a. Positive assessment of responsibility which refers to the wrongdoer’s admission of having

committed the act in question. In only 0.4% of the situations (n = 2), male respondents
expressed their responsibility for what had happened. The only item warranting this was
item 4 where the wrongdoer had forgotten his classmate’s homework. It was my fault that
you are in this dilemma was given in response.
b. Negative assessment of responsibility which refers to the wrongdoer’s denial of being
responsible for the act in question. In 4.6% of the situations (n = 23), male respondents felt
the need to deny responsibility or to blame others for the deed. Responses to items 1, 3–7,
and 9 showed examples of this strategy as is evident from the following examples.
It was not my fault. The wind broke your old umbrella (Item 1).
I did not break your Walkman. It was old anyway (Item 9).
7. Self-castigation: In 1.4% of the situations (n = 7), male respondents used self-castigation
where the wrongdoer criticized his behavior, as in items 4, 6, 8, and 10.
I know that was mean of me. I might get you a bad grade (Item 4).
There are no words to describe how big a bastard I am (Item 10).

8. Promise not to repeat offense: Male respondents promised not to repeat the act they were
apologizing for in 1.2% of the situations (n = 6). Responses to items 2, 3, and 8 reflect the use
of this apology strategy, as shown in the examples below:
I will never play with things that do not concern me again (Item 8).
I promise to go with you next time (Item 2).

9. Thanking: In 1.2% of the situations (n = 6), male respondents thanked the offended as shown
in the following responses to items 2, 3, and 6:
Thanks for letting me borrow your CD (Item 6).
Thanks for waiting. I was held up in traffic (Item 3).

10. Asking victim not to be angry: Male respondents asked the offended not to be angry in 1% of
the situations (n = 5). This strategy was only used in items 1, 3 and 6 as shown in the
examples below:
I could not help it. I hope you are not angry (Item 2).
Don’t be angry. I will get you another umbrella (Item 1).

11. Invoking Allah’s (God’s) name: Male respondents mentioned Allah’s (God’s) name in 0.6%
of the situations (n = 3) in order to wish the offended better times, as shown in the following
responses to items 1, 4, and 8:
May Allah compensate you for your umbrella (Item 1).
May Allah help you write a new paper (Item 8).

12. Promise of better times to come: In 0.4% of the situations (n = 2), male respondents promised
the offended lovely times once s/he forgot the injury. This was apparent in responses to items
2 and 3 as is shown below:
I will go next time and we will have fun (Item 2).
We will enjoy the trip (Item 3).

In addition to these strategies, the respondents used others that are more for avoiding an
apology than overt apology strategies. The researchers believe that these strategies are worth
noting since, contrary to previous research findings (cf., for example, Eelen, 2001), they
demonstrate how some people tend to avoid apologies. The non-apology strategies used by
male respondents are:
a. Blaming victim: In lieu of apologizing to the offended for whatever injury the wrongdoer
had inflicted on him/her, the wrongdoer blamed the offended for what happened in 3.8% of
the situations (n = 19). In their responses to the items of the questionnaire (except items 2
and 5), male respondents gave responses such as:
You lent me a broken umbrella (Item 1).
You should apologize to me for the misunderstanding (Item 7).

b. Brushing off incident as non-important: In 2.2% of the situations (n = 11), the wrongdoer
asked the offended to forget the incident since whatever happened (with the exception of
items 1 and 6) was not worth the attention it was getting. So what? and forget it were
recurrent examples.
c. Offending victim: In 1.8% of the situations (n = 9), male respondents attempted to be rude
to the offended as a way of averting his/her attention from what had happened. This
resulted in examples such as:
Shut up. I will get you another (Item 9).
It serves you right. Maybe you will learn this time (Item 4).
d. Avoidance of subject or person: In 1.4% of the situations (n = 7), male respondents stated
they would avoid the offended for some time until s/he forgets the incident or, if they
happen to see him/her, they would avoid the discussion of the incident in question.
e. Denial: In their response to item 8, male respondents denied they had erased their friend’s
paper in 0.8% of the responses (n = 4), using the expression I did nothing.
f. Refusal to compensate victim: As the least used of these non-apology strategies, this
occurred in 0.4% of the situations (n = 2) and only as a response to item 2 where the
wrongdoer’s reaction to not going with his friends to a concert after they paid for the ticket
was manifested in I did not go to the concert. Why should I pay for the ticket?
5.2. Apology strategies used by female respondents
In their attempt to respond to the situations given in the questionnaire, female respondents
used the following apology strategies:
1. Statement of remorse: As shown in Table 3, the respondents used different types of

expression of remorse. They expressed their remorse using either one or more expressions of
apology combined with one or more intensifiers. Some of the respondents did not think they
need to overtly express apology, which resulted in the absence of any statement of remorse in
36% of the responses (n = 180).
Female respondents used five manifestations of the expression of remorse, which led to
the absence of the manifestation of two expressions of apology and one intensifier. Jordanian
females used the following types, listed from the most to the least frequently used:
Table 3
Totals and percentages of the types of the statement of remorse used by female respondents
Type Item
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total Percent
One expression of apology 32 23 24 26 29 25 21 18 29 27 254 51
Two expressions of apology 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 6 1.2
One expression of apology + one intensifier 9 4 7 3 1 5 4 10 0 5 48 9.5
One expression of apology + two intensifiers 1 1 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 1 9 1.7
One expression of apology + three intensifiers 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0.6
Nothing 8 21 16 20 20 19 23 16 21 16 180 36
a. Using one expression of apology: In 51% of the situations (n = 254), the female
respondents used one expression of apology as a way to show remorse. Expressions
included sorry, excuse me, and I apologize.
b. Using one expression of apology and one intensifier: In 9.5% of the situations (n = 48),
female respondents used expressions such as very sorry and so sorry.
c. Using one expression of apology and two intensifiers: In 1.7% of the situations (n = 9),
female respondents used two intensifiers to describe the expression of apology to show
remorse. Examples of this include I am very, very sorry and I am so, so sorry.
d. Using two expressions of apology: In 1.2% of the situations (n = 6), female respondents
used two expressions of apology resulting in responses such as sorry, forgive me.
e. Using one expression of apology and three intensifiers: In 0.6% of the situations (n = 3),
female respondents used this manifestation of statement of remorse, which yielded
expressions such as I am so, so, so sorry.
Female respondents used a host of other apology strategies in their responses to the 10
items of the questionnaire. These are summarized in Table 4 and then discussed according to
their frequency of use.
2. Accounts: In 27.8% of the situations (n = 139), female respondents used accounts as a
response strategy to all the items, which resulted in utterances such as:
The wind broke your umbrella (Item 1).
I am too busy to go. I will go to the next concert (Item 2).
3. Promise not to repeat offense: Female respondents promised not to repeat the act they were
apologizing for in 20.6% of the situations (n = 103) in response to items 2–4, 6, 8, and 10, as
shown in the following examples:
Table 4
Apology strategies used by female respondents
Strategy Item
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total Percent
Accounts 5 17 17 9 40 13 18 1 4 15 139 27.8
Reparation 0 0 1 14 0 7 1 28 5 12 68 13.6
Compensation 32 24 0 0 0 3 0 0 31 0 90 18.0
Promise not to repeat offense 0 2 4 1 0 3 0 2 0 1 103 20.6
Negative 15 3 6 0 4 3 2 2 9 1 45 9.0
Positive 1 0 1 6 0 1 1 1 1 0 12 2.4
Self-castigation 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 8 1.6
Thanking 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 0.6
Avoidance of discussion or person 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 4 4 0 13 2.6
Brushing off incident as not important 0 0 0 2 2 2 1 1 4 0 12 2.4
Promise of better times to come 0 6 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 10 2.0
Offending victim 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 1.0
Asking victim not to be angry 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 2 1 8 1.6
Showing lack of intent to do harm 2 2 3 4 1 2 1 2 2 1 20 4.0
Blaming victim 5 2 3 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 15 3.0
Denial 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.2
Proverbs or sayings 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.4
It was a mistake. I won’t play with your computer again (Item 8).
I explain why I was late and promise never to do it again (Item 3).
4. Compensation: In 18% of the situations (n = 90), female respondents resorted to the
use of compensation in responses to items 1, 2, 6, and 9, examples of which are given
below.
I did not mean to break your umbrella. I will buy you another one (Item 1).
I will pay for the ticket (Item 2).

5. Reparation: In 13.6 % of the situations (n = 68), specifically those in response to all items but
1, 2, and 5, the respondents used reparation. Examples of the use of this strategy include the
following:
I will make it up to you (Item 3).
I will tell the teacher what happened (Item 4).

6. Assessment of responsibility: The two types of this strategy were as follows:
a. Positive assessment of responsibility: In 2.4% of the situations (n = 12), female
respondents expressed their responsibility for what happened, which resulted in responses
such as:
It was my fault. I will buy you a new umbrella (Item 1).
I forgot to return it (Item 6).

b. Negative assessment of responsibility: In 9% of the situations (n = 45), female respondents
felt the need to deny responsibility or to blame others for the deed, which resulted in
responses such as the following for all items except item 4:
The wind broke your old umbrella (Item 1).
I did not break your Walkman. It was old anyway (Item 9).
7. Showing lack of intent to do harm: In 4% of the situations (n = 20), female respondents felt
they needed to deny their intention to harm the offended. Responses to all questionnaire items
portrayed the use of this strategy, as is evident in the following examples:
This happened against my will (Item 8).
It just fell and broke (Item 9).

8. Promise of better times to come: In 2% of the situations (n = 10), female respondents
promised the offended lovely times once s/he forget the injury. This was apparent in
responses to items 2, 3, 6, and 10, as shown below:
I will go next time and we will have fun (Item 2).
How about we have a trip instead of the next meeting? That would be fun (Item 10).
9. Self-castigation: In 1.6% of the situations (n = 8), female respondents used self-castigation

in items 3, 4, and 8 as shown in the examples below:
I am so embarrassed. I did not mean to hurt anybody (Item 3).
It was mean of me (Item 4).
10. Asking victim not to be angry: Female respondents asked the offended not to be angry in 1.6%
of the situations (n = 8). This strategy was used in all items except 1, 4, 5, and 7.
Don’t hate me. I overslept (Item 3).
I could not help it. I hope you are not angry (Item 10).
11. Thanking: In 0.6% of the situations (n = 3), female respondents thanked the offended using
the following utterances:
Thanks. I forgot about it (Item 6).
Return it and thank him for it (Item 6).
12. Proverbs and sayings: In 0.4% of the situations (n = 2), specifically in response to item 10,
the respondents used the proverb, A friend in need . . ., to avoid offering an apology.
In addition to the above strategies, female respondents used the following non-apology
strategies:
a. Blaming victim: The wrongdoer blamed the offended for what happened in 3% of the
situations (n = 15). In their responses to all questionnaire items, except 5 and 8, female
respondents produced utterances such as:
It was your fault. You bought a cheap umbrella (Item 1).
Not only was it broken, it also clashed with my clothes (Item 1).
b. Avoidance of subject or person: In 2.6% of the situations (n = 13), female respondents
stated they would avoid the offended for some time till s/he forgot the incident, or, if they
happened to see him/her, they would avoid discussing the incident in question. I will avoid
him totally (item 4) was a recurrent response.
c. Brushing off incident as non-important: In 2.4% of the situations (n = 12), the wrongdoer
asked the offended to forget the incident claiming that whatever happened, except in items
1–3, and 10, was not worth the attention it was getting.
So what? You can buy another (Item 9).
So what? You break my things too (Item 9).

d. Offending victim: In 1% of the situations (n = 5), female respondents attempted to be mean
to the offended to avert his/her attention from what had happened. This resulted in
responses such as:
You do not deserve an apology. You get on my nerves (Item 4).
I did it on purpose to spite you (Item 8).
e. Denial: In her response to item 8, a respondent denied having erased her friend’s paper in
0.2% of the responses (n = 1).
Tables 5 and 6 below present summaries of the number and percentages of the strategies
used by male and female respondents.
Table 5
A summary of the number and percentages of the types of the statement of remorse used by male and female respondents
Type Group
Males Females Males and females
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
One expression of apology 235 47.0 254 51 489 48.9
Two expressions of apology 2 0.4 6 1.2 8 0.8
One expression of apology + one intensifier 40 8 48 9.5 88 8.8
One expression of apology + two intensifiers 6 1.2 9 1.7 15 1.5
One expression of apology + three intensifiers 1 0.2 3 0.6 4 0.4
Two expressions of apology + one intensifier 5 1.0 0 0 5 0.5
Nothing 211 42.2 180 36 391 39.1
Table 6
A summary of the number and percentages of the types of the apology strategies used by male and female respondents
Strategy Group
Males Females Males and females
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Accounts 137 27.4 139 27.8 276 2.76
Reparation 39 7.8 68 13.6 107 10.7
Compensation 74 14.8 90 18.0 164 16.4
Promise not to repeat offense 6 1.2 103 20.6 109 10.9
Negative 23 4.6 9.0 9.0 68 6.8
Positive 2 0.4 2.4 2.4 14 1.4
Self-castigation 7 1.4 8 1.6 15 1.5
Thanking 6 1.2 3 0.6 9 0.9
Avoidance of discussion or person 7 1.4 13 2.6 20 2.0
Brushing off incident as not important 11 2.2 12 2.4 23 2.3
Promise of better times to come 2 0.4 10 2.0 12 1.2
Offending victim 9 1.8 5 1.0 14 1.4
Asking victim not to be angry 5 1.0 8 1.6 13 1.3
Showing lack of intent to do harm 26 5.2 20 4.0 46 4.6
Blaming victim 19 3.8 15 3.0 34 3.4
Denial 4 0.8 1 0.2 5 0.5
Invoking Allah’s (God’s) name 3 0.6 0 0 3 0.3
Refusal to compensate 2 0.4 0 0 2 0.2
Proverbs and sayings 1 0.2 2 0.4 3 0.6
5.3. Differences in apologies between male and female respondents
As seen from the figures in Tables 5 and 6 above, Jordanian male and female respondents
differed in their use of apology strategies; this coincides with the findings of studies that present
gender as an important factor in people’s use of speech acts in general, and apologies in particular
(cf. Lukasik, 2000).
Although male and female respondents used the various manifestations of the statement of
remorse, it was obvious that female respondents tended to use this strategy more, opting for the
various manifestations of the expression of remorse in 65.4% of the situations compared to the
male respondents’ 60.6%. This is consistent with the claims that females are trained from
childhood to apologize more for their mistakes not only to females but also to males (cf., for
example, Brown and Attardo, 2000; Holmes, 1995).
The five primary strategies used by the male respondents were accounts, compensation,
reparation, showing lack of intent to do harm, and promising not to repeat offense (27.4%, 14.8%,
7.8%, 5.2%, and 1.2%, respectively), while those used by female respondents were accounts,
promise not to repeat offense, compensation, reparation, and showing lack of intent to do harm
(27.8%, 20.6%, 18%, 13.6%, and 4%, respectively). These strategies accounted for 56.4% of the
strategies used by the male respondents and 84% of those used by their female counterparts,
which shows that female respondents tended to use more primary strategies than their male
counterparts. This is consistent with the findings of previous research (cf., for example, Holmes,
1995).
Female respondents tended to assign responsibility to themselves or others more than their
male counterparts (11.4% and 5%, respectively). This may be because female respondents
wanted to clarify the situation more than male respondents in order to ensure the offended’s
understanding of the situation for which they are apologizing.
Only male respondents invoked Allah’s name when they apologized. The researchers had
expected the female respondents to also use this strategy since this is an integral part of
Jordanians’ everyday speech. It is worth noting here that such expressions have become
formulaic for some people who have come to use them out of habit instead of genuinely meaning
them. Unlike their male counterparts, the female respondents did not use the apology strategy of
invoking Allah’s (God’s) name.
Female respondents used more non-apology strategies than their male counterparts (13.2% for
the former and 10.4% for the latter). However, while females concentrated more on brushing off
incident as not important and avoiding the discussion or person, male respondents veered more
towards offending or blaming victim. This showed that although both males and females had the
audacity not to apologize, females were less audacious than their male counterparts, for while the
former avoided the discussion or person to avoid a clash the latter attacked the offended to put
him/her in a defensive rather than an offensive.
6. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for further research
The conclusions drawn in this research are preliminary and need to be supported by further
research to arrive at more definite conclusions about apology realizations by Arab L2 learners.
The generalizability of findings may be constrained by the following considerations:
1. Collecting natural data would be more reliable, for what one claims one will do in a given
situation is not necessarily what one actually does in a real life situation;
2. The fact that data collection was done through one instrument, i.e. the discourse completion
task (DCT), raises the issue of task effect. A number of studies have reported task-induced
interlanguage variation on empirical research findings (cf., for example, Hinkel, 1997;
Brown, 2001; Hudson, 2001; Rintell and Mitchell, 1989). Hinkel (1997) reported that
Chinese learners of English favored less direct advice on the DCT than they did on
multiple-choice questionnaires whereas Rintell and Mitchell (1989) reported that their
respondents provided shorter responses to the DCT than to oral role-plays in English
requests and apologies.
3. Gender was the only variable examined. Variables relating to how the participants perceived
context-external factors such as differences in power, social distance, perception of
seriousness, and type of social contract have not been controlled.
4. Neither the pragmatic nor the grammatical appropriateness of the respondents’ utterances was
addressed in this study, something which the researchers intend to rectify in future research.
Since apologies is an area of language that causes problems for speakers of English as a
second/foreign language, the following recommendations are put forth:
1. Further pragmatic research is still needed in order to achieve a better understanding of cultures
and to avoid stereotypes.
2. Having learned English as an L2, the researchers believe that school curricula should focus not
only on structure and vocabulary but also on language functions such as apologizing and
making requests.
3. Since speech acts are cultural in essence, ESL/EFL learners must be made familiar with the
culture driving the speech acts, which would go a long way in facilitating successful
communication.
4. It is important for L2 learners to understand that speech act realizations vary because
social relationships in L1 may not apply to L2 and, thus, may not be understood by the
addressed.
In spite of the researchers’ belief that this study has thoroughly examined the questions at
hand, they still feel that apologies, like other types of speech acts, need further investigation. The
fact that the use of speech acts may create major problems in communication between people
from different cultures renders it imperative that further research be done in closely related
matters such as:
1. comparing and contrasting the apology strategies used by participants from different age
groups of the same culture to determine the potential differences between the strategies used
by various social groups;
2. comparing and contrasting the apology strategies used by other cultures for the purpose of
eliminating misunderstandings caused by the misuse of the speech act of apology among
people from different cultures;
3. addressing other variables such as gender, age, education, and status of the offended to find out
their potential effect on the use of an apology; and
4. examining how effective the different apology strategies are in softening the offended persons’
reactions and their acceptance of the apology.
Appendix A. The questionnaire

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Journal of Pragmatics 38 (2006) 1901–1927

Apology strategies of Jordanian EFL university students

1. Introduction and theoretical background

The present study is an investigation of Jordanian undergraduate students’ apologies. The

1. announcing that an apology is forthcoming through clauses such as I (hereby) apologize . . .;

1. an Illocutionary Force Indicating Device (henceforth, IFID; Levinson, 1983:238)) such as

a. an expression of apology, in which the wrongdoer vocalizes his/her feelings of regret;

2.1. Research on cross-cultural apologies

2.2. Research on apologies in Arabic

1. Intensifiers are used in both cultures to show sincerity.

2.3. Apologies and gender

3. Population, sample, and instrumentation

1. an introduction of the study and instructions for answering the questions,

5. Findings and discussion

5.1. Apology strategies used by male respondents

1. Statement of remorse: As shown in Table 1, male respondents used different manifestations

I have a family emergency and cannot go to the concert (Item 2).

I did not mean to break our date (Item 2).

a. Positive assessment of responsibility which refers to the wrongdoer’s admission of having

There are no words to describe how big a bastard I am (Item 10).

I promise to go with you next time (Item 2).

Thanks for waiting. I was held up in traffic (Item 3).

Don’t be angry. I will get you another umbrella (Item 1).

May Allah help you write a new paper (Item 8).

We will enjoy the trip (Item 3).

You should apologize to me for the misunderstanding (Item 7).

5.2. Apology strategies used by female respondents

1. Statement of remorse: As shown in Table 3, the respondents used different types of

I will pay for the ticket (Item 2).

I will tell the teacher what happened (Item 4).

I forgot to return it (Item 6).

The wind broke your old umbrella (Item 1).

It just fell and broke (Item 9).

9. Self-castigation: In 1.6% of the situations (n = 8), female respondents used self-castigation

So what? You break my things too (Item 9).

5.3. Differences in apologies between male and female respondents

6. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for further research

Appendix A. The questionnaire

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