The Role of Pragmatics in Cross-Cultural Communication: A Comparative English-Arabic Perspective

Abstract

This research investigates the role of pragmatics in cross-cultural communication, with a particular focus on English and Arabic. It combines theoretical perspectives on pragmatics, speech acts, and politeness theory with an applied corpus-based case study. Through the analysis of requests, apologies, compliments, and refusals, the paper identifies key differences in directness, indirectness, and politeness strategies between English and Arabic. Findings show that misunderstandings often stem from pragmatic, rather than grammatical, differences. The study highlights the pedagogical importance of pragmatic competence in second language acquisition.