Dynamic interplay of social variables in request strategies of workplace e-mails

Abstract

This study explores how contextual and situational factors shape linguistic politeness used in English request e-mails, with a focus on the workplace setting. More specifically, it investigates how sociopragmatic variables associated with the speech act of request—such as rights, obligations, and hierarchical rank—influence (in)directness and selection of substrategies. A systematically operationalized Discourse Completion Test (DCT) was administered to Korean corporate employees who use English as a foreign language, as well as native American employees, across six comparable e-mailing scenarios. These scenarios varied by three levels of hierarchical rank (equal, low, high) and two degrees of imposition (low, high). The findings revealed the significance of degree of imposition and insignificance of hierarchical rank, along with the occurrence of the interaction between the two. Furthermore, degree of imposition emerged as a more decisive factor than hierarchical rank, with the task-oriented nature of workplace efficiency playing a crucial role.