A socio-pragmatic comparative study of

2.9.2. Sociopragmatic Failure 
The second type of "pragmatic failure" that Thomas identifies is what she calls 
"sociopragmatic failure." It has to do with knowing "what to say" and "whom to say it 
to." Many of the misunderstandings that occur stem from what Thomas identifies as 
differences in evaluation regarding what she terms "size of imposition," "tabus," "cross-
culturally different assessments of relative power or social distance," and "value 
judgments." Thomas provides a useful way of looking at the type of diversity which 
exist across cultures and which often lead to cross-cultural problems. In doing so, she 
separates out what she sees as major areas in which there exist differences in cultural 

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CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE 
22
rules regarding speech behavior.
2. 10. Speech Acts 
The term "speech act" has been used by Crystal (1992: 362) to refer to a communicative 
activity defined with reference to the intentions of a speaker while speaking and the 
effects achieved on a listener. Forms of language generally serve specific 
communicative functions. A question like "How much does that book cost?" is usually a 
form functioning as a question. A question, however, can function as a request. For 
instance, the question "Can you pass the salt?" uttered at a dinner table does not signal 
the speaker's attempt at eliciting information about the listener's abilities or inabilities. It 
rather functions as a request for action. This manifests the fact that linguistic forms are 
not always unambiguous in their functions. Take the following sentence uttered by a 
frustrated adult who is late for work on a rainy day: 
I can't find my umbrella? 
This may possibly be a frantic request for all the people in the household to join in the 
search for the umbrella. 
Communication is usually regarded as the combination of speech acts, a series of 
elements with purpose and intent. A good number of characteristics have been proposed 
for communication. These characteristics have been proposed to represent 
communication as being purposive, functional, and designed to bring about some effect 
on the environment of hearers and speakers. According to Crystal (1992: 72), 
communication is the transmission and reception of information between a signaler and 
a receiver. In other words, it is the exchange of ideas, information, etc. between two or 
more persons.