1. Introduction

The chapter discusses previous studies on politeness and pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication. It explains the concept of linguistic politeness and its influence on social interaction. The chapter also highlights the importance of pragmatic competence in English and the limitations of previous studies. It identifies the need for cognitive studies on the pragmatic failure of politeness in cross-cultural communication and sets goals for the present study.

2. Literature Review

This chapter discusses various studies conducted on pragmatic failure in different cultures, including research on British and Arab students, Jordanian undergraduate EFL learners, Moroccan University EFL learners, international students studying Chinese, and Chinese English learners. It highlights the main causes of pragmatic failure, such as disparities in values, thinking patterns, and cultural background, as well as the influence of native language social politeness norms. The chapter also emphasizes the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity in teaching and learning foreign languages to improve pragmatic competence. Finally, it identifies limitations in the existing literature and introduces the research questions addressed in the present study.

3. Theoretical Framework

This chapter discusses the Relevance Theory and its application in understanding politeness as a cognitive speech act. It emphasizes that politeness comprehension in verbal communication depends on the hearer's ability to perceive or process the speaker's politeness intention. The framework sheds light on the complexity of pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication, suggesting that mistakes may not only be due to a lack of pragmatic knowledge but also related to the suppression of negative transfer from native politeness conventions.

4. Methodology

This chapter discusses the methodology used in the study, which involved 30 EFL students at Beijing International Studies University. It details the instruments used, such as the Politeness Comprehension Situational Test and the English Pragmatic Competence Test. The research design and the logic of the experiment are explained, which involves the scenario contexts, themes, and participants' English pragmatic competence as variables. The procedures for conducting the experiment are also outlined, including individual-based trials and how the participants interacted with the scenarios and target words. The chapter provides a detailed overview of the experimental process and measures taken to ensure the quality of the experiment.

5. Findings

The chapter discusses the findings of a study on EFL learners' politeness intention processing in cross-cultural communication. It includes analyses of the response times of participants and the effect of different pragmatic competence on their ability to comprehend politeness intention. The analysis used a mixed design and revealed that the participants' response time towards target words was significantly slower in mono-cultural scenarios compared to cross-cultural contexts. The study also found that participants with high pragmatic competence responded more quickly, indicating that pragmatic competence played a role in politeness intention comprehension. However, the results did not support the hypothesis that pragmatic competence affected the participants' response time, suggesting that comprehension of politeness rules in cross-cultural communication involves more than just knowledge of politeness principles. The study highlights the cognitive demands of transferring pragmatic principles into effective cross-cultural communication skills for EFL learners.

6. Concluding Remarks

This chapter discussed the findings of the study, including the slower response time of Chinese EFL learners in cross-cultural scenarios, the negative transfer from native politeness conventions when comprehending the conversational intention of the target language, and the lack of significant difference in response time between groups with high and low English pragmatic competence. The study also highlighted contributions to politeness research, methodological advancements using response time-tracking software, and the pedagogical implications for EFL and related fields. The study aimed to enrich international literature and theories on politeness, explore cross-language politeness intention processing, and emphasize the importance of teaching pragmatic knowledge in foreign language education.

6. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Studies

This chapter discusses the limitations of the current study and provides suggestions for future studies. It points out the need for a wider range of scenario types and themes to be employed in future studies in order to consider more variables. It also highlights the limitation of the sample size and the possible errors caused by the participants, suggesting that future studies should aim to improve the reliability of the data and eliminate potential inaccuracies.