Directive speech acts in Jordanian hotel Encounters: A pragmatic analysis of politeness Strategies for cross-cultural service excellence

Abstract

This paper explores the directive speech acts employed by hotel service counter staff in Jordan, specifically examining the politeness strategies utilized when addressing foreign guests. Despite extensive research on politeness strategies in Western and Asian contexts, few studies examine directive speech acts in Arab hospitality settings using naturalistic data. This study fills this gap by analyzing 95 audio-recorded interactions in Jordanian hotels, revealing that staff frequently employ direct imperatives (63.5% of directives), which may conflict with tourists’ expectations of indirect politeness. The findings highlight the need for culturally adaptive training programs to mitigate pragmalinguistic breakdowns in global hospitality. The research is based on audio recordings of interactions between non-native English-speaking staff, seven Jordanian receptionists holding bachelor's degrees in either English language or hotel management, some of whom hold higher diplomas after their bachelor's degrees, and their guests. The findings indicate that the directives issued by the staff are often quite direct, which may come across as blunt or discourteous, potentially threatening the social face of the participants. This directness suggests that staff do not provide guests with the option to decline requests and overlook the imposition their directives may entail. The study concludes that this prevalent use of direct speech acts can be attributed to the nature of institutional interactions, where staff possess greater authority due to their expertise in providing necessary services and information. Additionally, the staff's preference for direct communication may stem from a need for clarity and efficiency when issuing directives. The research underscores the importance for hotel managers and training supervisors to equip new employees with effective communication techniques outlined in guest manuals. This training would aid staff in striking an appropriate balance of directness in their interactions with foreign guests, thereby minimizing potential social misunderstandings and avoiding pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic breakdowns.