THE USE OF JAPANESE LANGUAGE DIRECTIVE SPEECH ACTS BY MALAYSIAN TOUR GUIDES

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss2pp358-378

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Cultural collisions in tourism communication can elicit obstacles or failure to achieve communication goals in social interactions with people of different backgrounds. Communication between cultures can present misunderstandings, vague meanings and frustration due to the diverse social and cultural norms arising from various discourse systems. Among the several types of tourism communication, this study attempted to foreground delivering instructions, a frequently utilised speech act (SA) during tour sessions. More specifically, the study examined the use of SA in giving instructions, as expressed by tour guides throughout tour sessions. Delivering instructions is a straightforward mode of communication, even in intercultural contexts.

Methodology: This study adopted a qualitative research method by collecting data from audio and visual recordings, along with observational notes from interactions between tour guides and tourists particularly during the five Free Independent Travel (FIT) packages. Five Japanese-speaking Malaysian tour guides and 17 Japanese tourists (JTs) were recruited for this study. The categorisation of the Directive Speech Act (DSA) by Searle (1979) and the structure formation of SDA by Blum-Kulka (1989) were employed to analyse the subcategories of the directive.

Findings: Findings indicate that only three subcategories were used, namely the command, insist, and request. The findings also reveal alignment and adjustments to the expressions or utterances when giving instructions. With the aim of effective intercultural communication, the tour guides were identified as adapting to the tourist culture. The expression of instructions, even in an intercultural context, did not confer any contradiction of cultural norms and was unlikely to cause conflict between the tour guides and the JTs.

Contributions: This research is expected to serve as a foundation and reference for parties involved in the teaching and learning the Japanese language, especially in the expression of SA for tourism communication.

Keywords: Speech act, giving directive, Malaysian tourism, tourism communication, Malaysia tour guide.

Author Biographies

  • Roswati Abdul Rashid, Department of Language and Communication, Centre of Foundation and Continuing Education (PPAL), University Malaysia Terengganu.

    Dr. Roswati Abdul Rashid is a senior lecturer of Japanese Language at the Centre of Foundation and Continuing Education (PPAL), University Malaysia Terengganu. Her expertise is Applied Linguistics. She is active in research, publication and teaching in the field of Japanese language, discourse analysis and tourism communication. Her research interests focus on Japanese Language in tourism.

  • Nurul Hidayah Mat, Department of Language and Communication, Centre of Foundation and Continuing Education (PPAL), University Malaysia Terengganu.

    Dr. Nurul Hidayah Mat is currently a lecturer of communication at the Language and Communication Department, Centre for Foundation and Continuing Education, University Malaysia Terengganu. She received her PhD from Cardiff University, United Kingdom. Her research interest involves interdisciplinary studies, including communication, film studies, eco-documentary, environmental communication, species conservation, rhetorical theory, and media pedagogy across disciplines. Her work has been published in the Conference Proceedings of The Asian Conference on Media, Communication and Film 2017, and Journalism and Mass Communication. She has also been awarded the Best Student Paper at the 6th Annual International Conference on Journalism and Mass Communication.

  • Ahmad Shamil Kamaruzaman, Graduate School of University Malaysia Terengganu

    Ahmad Shamil Kamaruzaman is a masters student at the Centre of Foundation and Continuing Education (PPAL), University Malaysia Terengganu. He is active in research and publication in the field of discourse analysis and speech acts. His research interests focus on Japanese Language and Speech Acts in Tourism Communication.

  • Mohd Yusri Ibrahim, Department of Languages and Communications, Centre of Foundation and Continuing Education (PPAL), University Malaysia Terengganu.

    Dr. Mohd Yusri Ibrahim is an associate professor at the Language and Communication Department, Centre for Foundation and Continuing Education (PPAL), University Malaysia Terengganu. His expertise is in political communication. He is active in research, publication and teaching in the field of organizational, leadership and political communication. He is also active in making videos and giving talks relating to writing and research methodology, particularly in the qualitative research approach. He secures several research grants, which include governments, industry, university grants and also the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia grants. His research interests focus on organizational behaviour across various organizations, especially in political affairs. He has published over 20 papers in peer reviewed journals, a book, and a monograph, together with several chapters in the book.

  • Che Hasniza Che Noh, Department of Languages and Communications, Centre of Foundation and Continuing Education (PPAL), University Malaysia Terengganu.

    Dr. Che Hasniza Che Noh is an associate professor at the Language and Communication Department, Centre for Foundation and Continuing Education, University Malaysia Terengganu. She secures several research grants, which include university and government grants (Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia). Her current research interest includes family communication, social media and interpersonal relationships. She has published over 20 papers in peer reviewed journals, a book, and a monograph, together with several chapters in the book.

  • Nurul Ain Chua, Department of Language and Communication, Centre for Foundation and Continuing Education (PPAL), University Malaysia Terengganu.

    Dr. Nurul Ain Chua is a senior lecturer and currently teaching Mandarin as the third language to non-native learners at the Centre for Foundation and Continuing Education, University Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia. She has been teaching for more than 25 years, which includes the primary, secondary and tertiary level. She has been actively presenting papers at national and international conferences. Her research interest includes using educational technology in Mandarin teaching and learning, web-based instruction, translation, etc.

  • Masutani Satoshi, College of Tourism Department of Culture and Tourism, Rikkyo University, Japan.

    Prof. Dr. Masutani Satoshi is a professor and the Vice President of Rikkyo University, Japan (2019 – present). His specialization is in the field of Malaysiana, Malaysian Literature in Chinese (Mahua Literature) and Literary Tourism Education. His current research is on the Cultural Chinese Literature in Southeast Asia and Dark Tourism in Southeast Asia. He has published over 20 papers in peer reviewed journals, a book, and a monograph, together with several chapters in the book.

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Published

2021-06-30

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 2: Journal of Nusantara Studies (JONUS)

Section

Articles

How to Cite

THE USE OF JAPANESE LANGUAGE DIRECTIVE SPEECH ACTS BY MALAYSIAN TOUR GUIDES. (2021). Journal of Nusantara Studies (JONUS), 6(2), 358-378. https://doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss2pp358-378