Refusal strategies by the Emirati participants
| No. | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Performative | 1 | 0.20 |
| Nonperformative (saying no) | 77 | 15.4 |
| Nonperformative (negative willingness/ability) | 287 | 57.3 |
| Nonperformative (Emirati-specific seeking forgiveness) | 137 | 27.3 |
| Direct | 502 | 24.31 |
| Statement of regret | 222 | 19.07 |
| Wish | 97 | 8.33 |
| Excuse | 532 | 45.70 |
| Statement of alternative | 116 | 9.97 |
| Condition | 24 | 2.06 |
| Promise | 84 | 7.22 |
| Principle | 19 | 1.63 |
| Philosophy | 1 | 0.09 |
| Dissuade interlocutor | 35 | 3.01 |
| Acceptance that functions as refusal | 25 | 2.15 |
| Avoidance | 9 | 0.77 |
| Indirect | 1,164 | 56.37 |
| Consent | 26 | 1.26 |
| Positive opinion | 12 | 3.22 |
| Empathy | 9 | 2.41 |
| Pause fillers | 1 | 0.27 |
| Gratitude | 30 | 8.04 |
| Swear by God | 122 | 32.71 |
| God’s will | 87 | 23.32 |
| Congratulations | 21 | 5.63 |
| Prayer to the hearer | 89 | 23.86 |
| Evil-eye | 2 | 0.54 |
| Adjunct | 373 | 18.06 |
| Refusal | 2,065 |
Initiators by the Emirati participants
| No. | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Greetings | 24 | 15.79 |
| Address terms | 56 | 36.84 |
| Terms of endearment | 72 | 47.37 |
| Initiators | 152 |
The effect of gender on the use of refusal strategies
| Males | Females | Total | χ 2 | p | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |||
| Performative | 1 | 0.48 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.20 | 1.428 | FE p = 0.412 |
| Nonperformative | 206 | 99.52 | 295 | 100.0 | 501 | 99.80 | ||
| Direct | 207 | 23.31 | 295 | 25.06 | 502 | 24.31 | 0.845 | 0.358 |
| Statement of regret | 95 | 17.76 | 127 | 20.19 | 222 | 19.07 | 1.109 | 0.292 |
| Wish | 40 | 7.48 | 57 | 9.06 | 97 | 8.33 | 0.951 | 0.329 |
| Excuse | 256 | 47.85 | 276 | 43.88 | 532 | 45.70 | 1.837 | 0.175 |
| Statement of alternative | 42 | 7.85 | 74 | 11.76 | 116 | 9.97 | 4.937* | 0.026* |
| Condition | 13 | 2.43 | 11 | 1.75 | 24 | 2.06 | 0.664 | 0.415 |
| Promise | 28 | 5.23 | 56 | 8.90 | 84 | 7.22 | 5.814* | 0.016* |
| Principle | 18 | 3.36 | 1 | 0.16 | 19 | 1.63 | 18.501* | <0.001* |
| Philosophy | 1 | 0.19 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.09 | 1.177 | FE p = 0.460 |
| Dissuade interlocutor | 24 | 4.49 | 11 | 1.75 | 35 | 3.01 | 7.427* | 0.006* |
| Acceptance that functions as refusal | 10 | 1.87 | 15 | 2.38 | 25 | 2.15 | 0.366 | 0.545 |
| Avoidance | 8 | 1.50 | 1 | 0.16 | 9 | 0.77 | 6.729* | FE p = 0.014* |
| Indirect | 535 | 60.25 | 629 | 53.44 | 1,164 | 56.37 | 9.535* | 0.002* |
| Consent | 16 | 1.80 | 10 | 0.85 | 26 | 1.26 | 3.691 | 0.055 |
| Positive opinion | 7 | 5.38 | 5 | 2.06 | 12 | 3.22 | 3.011 | FE p = 0.120 |
| Empathy | 0 | 0.0 | 9 | 3.70 | 9 | 2.41 | 4.934* | FE p = 0.030* |
| Pause fillers | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.41 | 1 | 0.27 | 0.536 | FE p = 1.000 |
| Gratitude | 10 | 7.69 | 20 | 8.23 | 30 | 8.04 | 0.033 | 0.856 |
| Swear by God | 49 | 37.69 | 73 | 30.04 | 122 | 32.71 | 2.253 | 0.133 |
| God’s will | 28 | 21.54 | 59 | 24.28 | 87 | 23.32 | 0.356 | 0.551 |
| Congratulations | 8 | 6.15 | 13 | 5.35 | 21 | 5.63 | 0.103 | 0.748 |
| Prayer to the hearer | 27 | 20.77 | 62 | 25.51 | 89 | 23.86 | 1.050 | 0.306 |
| Evil-eye | 1 | 0.77 | 1 | 0.41 | 2 | 0.54 | 0.203 | FE p = 1.000 |
| Adjunct | 130 | 14.64 | 243 | 20.65 | 373 | 18.06 | 12.336* | <0.001* |
| Refusal | 888 | 1,177 | 2,065 | |||||
The situational variations in the realisation of refusal
| # | Scenario | Direct | Indirect | Consent | Adjunct | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Declining a wedding invitation from a friend | 80 | 135 | 2 | 114 | 331 |
| 2 | Refusing to lend money to a colleague | 74 | 135 | 3 | 33 | 245 |
| 3 | Declining a dinner invitation from a relative | 51 | 158 | 2 | 61 | 272 |
| 4 | Refusing to offer a ride to a friend | 65 | 157 | 1 | 28 | 251 |
| 5 | Refusing to fix some things at a neighbour’s home | 63 | 162 | 0 | 16 | 241 |
| 6 | Declining a trip invitation from a friend | 54 | 146 | 1 | 51 | 122 |
| 7 | Declining a mother’s request to go out | 51 | 130 | 16 | 30 | 227 |
| 8 | Refusing to help a friend at a community event | 64 | 141 | 1 | 40 | 246 |