A socio-pragmatic comparative study of

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UNIVERSITY OF ISFAHAN 
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES 
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT 
A SOCIO-PRAGMATIC COMPARATIVE STUDY
OF 
 OSTENSIBLE INVITATIONS IN ENGLISH AND FARSI 
by 
Mohammad Ali Salmani-Nodoushan 
A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Studies Office in Partial 
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of M.A. in 
Teaching English as a Foreign Language 
Khordad 8, 1374 
(May 29, 1995) 

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UNIVERSITY OF ISFAHAN 
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES 
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT 
We, members of thesis committee, hereby certify that we have read this 
thesis written by Mohammad Ali Salmani-Nodoushan, entitled A 
Sociopragmatic Comparative Study of Ostensible Invitations in English 
and Farsi, and that it is satisfactory in scope and quality as a thesis for the 
degree of Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. 
Dr. Akbar Afghari
(Supervisor) 
………………………
Dr. Mohammad Hasan Tahririan
(Advisor) 
………………………
Dr. Mahmoud Ketabi
(External Examiner) 
………………………
Dr. Mansour Koosha
(Internal Examiner) 
………………………
Dr. Manuchehr Tavangar Rizi 
(Head of English Department) 
(Representative of Graduate Studies Office) 
………………………
May 29, 1995 
ii

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TO MY PARENTS 
FOR 
THEIR LOVE AND SUPPORT 
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
I am greatly indebted to Dr. A. Afghari whose help and support during the writing of 
this thesis were manifested in more ways than I can say without writing a whole other 
thesis on the subject. I also acknowledge the cooperation and assistance of Dr. M. H. 
Tahririan, who read the thesis and provided me with useful comments which enabled 
me to convert turgid prose into readable English. Grateful acknowledgement is also 
made to Dr. M. Kousha, whose sympathy, support, high spirit, and friendly behavior 
during the last three years were manifested in so many ways that I can never forget no 
matter how much I try.
I am very grateful to Dr. M. A. Eslami-Nodoushan, Dr. Z. Eslamirasekh, Dr. A. 
Jafarpur, Dr. F. Moshfeghi, Dr. F. Pourgiv, Dr. S. Rahbar-Nia, Dr. A. Tavakoli, Dr. M. 
Tavangar, and Dr. L. Yar-Muhammadi for the comments and suggestions they made for 
improving the study. I alone have to answer for its faults and shortcomings. I am also 
indebted to the field workers who were kind enough to tolerate the painstaking task of 
collecting the data. 
To all, many thanks again for your assistance and encouragement.
iv

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