A01 cohe4573 01 se fm. Qxd

Direct strategies (marked explicitly as requests, such as imperatives):
Clean up the kitchen.
I’m asking you to clean up the kitchen.
I’d like to ask you to clean the kitchen.
You’ll have to clean up the kitchen.
I really wish you’d clean up the kitchen.
2
Conventionally indirect strategies (referring to contextual
preconditions necessary for its performance as conventionalized 
in the language):
How about cleaning up?
Could you clean up the kitchen, please?
3
Non-conventionally indirect strategies (hints) (partially referring to
the object depending on contextual clues):
You have left the kitchen in a total mess.
I’m a nun. (a request to someone to stop trying to pick her up)
24
Blum-Kulka et al. (1989: 11).
25
See also Brown and Levinson (1987).
26
Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984: 201–2).

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D E S C R I B I N G S P E E C H A C T S : L I N K I N G R E S E A R C H A N D P E D A G O G Y
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Both situational and cultural factors influence the selection of these
request strategies. Still, there may be consensus across a number of cultures
with regard to requesting strategies. For example, a big favor usually comes
with more indirect and/or polite strategies than a low-imposition request 
in various cultures. Friends use more casual requests than acquaintances,
provided that the content of the request is the same. However, the specific
directness levels appropriate for given situations might differ cross-culturally.
A certain language (like German) may tend to use more direct-level requests
than other languages (like Japanese) equally in an appropriate manner
within the culture. Conventional indirectness may be universal and in fact,
generally the most commonly employed level of directness.
27
The typical request sequence
The request sequence in English (Australian/American/British), French
(Canadian), Danish, German, Hebrew, Japanese, and Russian has been divided
in the literature into the following three segments:
28
For a request, “Danny, can you remind me later to bring the book for you on
Monday? Otherwise, I’m sure to forget.”