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Litera

Reference:

Alhaded H.H., Shavtikova A., Merai M. Possibility of using a cognitive approach to directive speech acts: case of study of English and Arabic academic discourses // Litera. 2022. № 5. P. 43-54. DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2022.5.37801 URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=37801

Possibility of using a cognitive approach to directive speech acts: case of study of English and Arabic academic discourses

Alhaded Khashem Hani Shehadeh

ORCID: 0000-0003-3428-6986

Assistant, Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Philology, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia

117198, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya, 6, of. 634

alkhaded_kh@rudn.ru

Other publications by this author

Shavtikova Aurika

ORCID: 0000-0001-9672-852X

Assistant, Department of Foreign Languages, Medical Institute, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia

117198, Russia, Moskva oblast', g. Moscow, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya, 6, of. 634

shavtikova_at@pfur.ru

Other publications by this author

Merai Mariam

ORCID: 0000-0001-6409-8113

Assistant, Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Philology, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia

117198, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya, 6, of. 634

maryam98@rambler.ru

Other publications by this author

DOI:

10.25136/2409-8698.2022.5.37801

Received:

05-04-2022

Published:

29-04-2022

Abstract: The purpose of the study is to determine the role and degree of use of the cognitive approach in the study of directive speech acts. The article provides an overview of modern theoretical research in the field of speech acts, and also substantiates the use of a cognitive approach in the study of directive speech acts. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that the widespread use of the cognitive approach for the analysis of speech acts in different language groups has not been sufficiently studied, which leads to communication failures between communication participants. The subject of this article is the functioning of the cognitive approach in the study of directive speech acts. The object is the study of directive speech acts on the example of English and Arabic academic discourses using a cognitive approach. Descriptive, contextual, comparative-historical methods are used as the main research methods. The novelty of our research lies in the fact that the widespread use of the cognitive approach for the analysis of speech acts in different language groups has not been sufficiently studied, which leads to communication failures between communication participants. The study of ways to prevent these communication failures is an important component in building global interaction between communication participants both in linguistics and in the world as a whole. Therefore, the relevance of the study of the use of the cognitive approach lies in the need of society to build adequate interaction at various levels. As a result of the conducted research, it is proved that the use of a cognitive approach in the analysis of directive speech acts helps to reduce the number of communicative failures of representatives of the English-speaking and Arabic-speaking academic discourses. The research materials can be used in universities of the humanities in the study of special courses in comparative linguistics and intercultural communication, as well as the data obtained can be applied in the process of educational and methodological activities in the creation of specialized textbooks.

Keywords:

cognitive approach, academic discourse, theory of speech acts, English language, Arabic language, communicative failure, Modern Standart Arabic, dialect, comparative analysis, eye-tracking experiment
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Moreover, after analyzing modern theoretical research in the field of speech acts, we conclude that much attention is paid to the study of speech acts from the point of view of a structural and functional approach, which is close to pragmatic and cognitive approaches. It should also be noted that within the framework of studying the theory of speech acts, the cognitive approach is mainly studied from the point of view of the reaction of human consciousness to indirect and directive speech acts in different linguistic cultures.

We see prospects for further research of the problem in a more detailed and narrowly focused study of the application of the cognitive approach to the analysis of directive language acts in multilingual academic discourses through the prism of comparative analysis.

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First Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The peer-reviewed article "Cognitive approach in the study of directive speech acts (using the example of English and Arabic academic discourses)", proposed for publication in the journal "Litera", is undoubtedly relevant due to the complexity, variability and uncertainty of the processes that form the discourse. Of particular interest is the fact that the author conducts a study of the discourse of two world languages, which are rarely the object of comparative study, and the practical significance will allow the results to be applied in the study of speech acts, to form a universal system of approaches, as well as to reduce communication failures between representatives of different language groups. However, there is doubt about the qualitative presentation of the material in the article, the volume of which is much smaller than the scale of the topic stated in the title. Another ambitious statement of the author is that research on the problems of forming a universal system of approaches is due to the fact that, according to the author, to date, works devoted to the theory of speech act rather question existing approaches to the study of directive and indirect speech acts than try to come to a common denominator. However, this paper does not provide a convincing solution to this issue. The disadvantages of the work include the lack of information about the practical material of the work, which are the examples given in Arabic and English. The second question is about the validity and quantifiability of the material: how relevant is the corpus and is its volume sufficient to form conclusions? The presented article is made in line with modern scientific approaches. The article is structured, consists of an introduction, in which the author identifies the goals and objectives of this study, and also provides a historical background on the development of the scientific problem under consideration, the main part, which includes descriptions of the research results and presentation of conclusions. The article presents a research methodology, the choice of which is quite adequate to the goals and objectives of the work. Such works using various methodologies are relevant and, taking into account the actual material, allow us to replicate the principle of research proposed by the author on other linguistic material. The article outlines the prospect of continuing the research, which consists in a more detailed study of directive language acts in academic discourses within the framework of comparative analysis. The bibliography of the article contains 48 sources in Russian and English, which include scientific articles, abstracts of reports at conferences. Unfortunately, there are no references to fundamental works, such as monographs, PhD and doctoral dissertations on the stated topic, which could enhance the theoretical significance of the work. The article will undoubtedly be useful to a wide range of people: Oriental philologists, Germanists, undergraduates and graduate students of specialized universities. We believe that the article requires revision in terms of strengthening the theoretical component (including a skeptical analysis of the list of submitted literature, which is not quoted in the work in a generally accepted way, but is included in the narrative with "batteries of numbers"), correlation of the title and content, the main part and the presented conclusions, etc. After finalizing the material and re-reviewing, the article may be recommended for publication in a scientific journal from the list of the Higher Attestation Commission.

Second Peer Review

The work submitted for publication has a pronounced academic character, because the topic raised in the essay often arises within the problem field. As the author notes, "the relevance of this study lies in the fact that there are currently few works devoted to Arabic academic discourse. Nevertheless, today a very large number of works from all over the world are devoted to the research of English academic discourse." Thus, the material is quite productive, interesting, and in demand. Judgments in the course of the unfolding of scientific thought are conceptual / evidence-based. For example, "the theory of speech acts is currently undergoing a process of formation and formation, and linguists have not come to a consensus on what approaches, methodologies, classifications can be used in the study of speech acts. The main problem of all research on speech acts is that they were conducted in a specific language, therefore, we cannot say that the research results are universal and applicable to all languages," or "the cognitive approach to language involves the analysis of linguistic facts in their connection with the organization the conceptual system. At the same time, language structures are considered through the prism of a person's general knowledge of the world, his accumulated experience of interacting with the environment and in close dependence on psychological, communicative and cultural factors. Linguistic analysis from the point of view of proponents of cognitive linguistics should take into account not only linguistic behavior as such, but also the mental processes that dictate the appropriate behavior. At the same time, great importance is attached to the identification, description and explanation of the internal cognitive structure, which is the basic one for the speaker and listener...", etc. The purpose and objectives of the work are formulated precisely, without distortions of direct meaning. The actual formulations set the strict logic of the study. The novelty of this work "lies in the fact that the widespread use of the cognitive approach for the analysis of speech acts in different language groups has not been sufficiently studied, which leads to communicative failures between communication participants. The study of ways to prevent these communication failures is an important component in building global interaction between communication participants both in linguistics and in the world as a whole." I believe that the methodology chosen by the author to analyze the problem is relevant and modern. The differentiation of the text into so-called semantic blocks is justified, thus the author forms a stable dialogue with a potential reader, objectifying the importance and significance of the problem. I note that the work is clearly practical in nature, examples / illustrations allow us to effectively understand the nature of the study of directive speech acts. Style / The language of the article is actually scientific: "to conduct a comparative analysis using a cognitive approach, we take as a basis three types of a directive speech act: an order, a demand and an urge. All the examples below are the result of a questionnaire, as well as personal observation of the authors during the collection and analysis of language material on the territory of Georgetown University in the USA (English–speaking examples) and on the territory of the Levant countries (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine). An order within the framework of academic discourse allows the teacher (prescriptor) to give instructions for action to the student (addressee), and in case of non-fulfillment of the causative action (order) to apply punishment," or "the basis of the directive speech act requirement is the pragmatic position of the student's unwillingness to commit the action that the teacher (prescriptor) requires of him, which may be due, for example, to the psychological state of the student," etc. The author is literate, professionally correct, accurate, convincing. In my opinion, the main tasks of the study have been solved, the point of view is written out reliably. The final block contains general conclusions that do not contradict the main part, the collected data can be used to further expand the topic. The volume of the bibliographic list is impressive, the relevance of the data is obvious. The text does not need serious editing and revision, the basic requirements of the publication are taken into account. I recommend the article "On the possibility of using a cognitive approach in the study of directive speech acts (using the example of English and Arabic academic discourses)" for open publication in the journal "Litera".

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Possibility of using a cognitive approach to directive speech acts: case of study of English and Arabic academic discourses