Publications by Year: 2012

2012
Bella S. Length of residence and intensity of interaction: Modification in Greek L2 requests. Pragmatics. 2012;22(1):1-39.
Bella S. Pragmatic awareness in a second language setting: the case of L2 learners of Greek. Multilingua [Internet]. 2012;31(1):1-33. Publisher's VersionAbstract
This study explores the pragmatic awareness of instructed L2 learners of Greek (economic migrants) by examining the extent to which these learners display differences in their recognition and rating of pragmatic and grammatical violations. Methodologically, the study is largely based on the Bardovi-Harlig & Dörnyei (1998) study on pragmatic awareness. However, unlike the former, it does not compare SL and FL learners, but two groups of SL learners with different length of residence in Greece. Hence, it attempts to reach conclusions with respect to the impact of residence on the development of pragmatic awareness. It is shown that both learner groups consistently recognise grammatical violations with greater frequency than pragmatic ones and rate the former as more severe than the latter. It is concluded that for this particular learner sample, length of residence alone is not a sufficient condition for the development of pragmatic awareness. The suggestion is made that this is due at least partly to the special circumstances of the participants, which do not allow for sufficient opportunities for social contact with native speakers. The conclusions have important implications both for the role of the L2 setting in pragmatic development and for language instruction.
Bella S. Pragmatic development in a foreign language: A study of Greek FL requests. Journal of Pragmatics [Internet]. 2012;44(13):1917-1947. Publisher's VersionAbstract
This study investigates developmental patterns in the requestive behavior of foreign language learners of Greek. Drawing data from a DCT it attempts to explore the head acts and external/internal modification devices that learners of three different proficiency levels (lower intermediate, intermediate and advanced) employ when performing requests in one formal (+P, +D) and two informal (−P, −D) situations. The results suggest that although several aspects of the learners’ pragmatic competence develop with increasing proficiency, even the advanced learners’ performance lags far behind native speakers in several respects. Furthermore, it is shown that these learners’ behaviors lend considerable support to both the developmental stages of pragmatic competence acknowledged in the relevant literature (0125 and 0005) and to Bialystok's model regarding the acquisition of pragmatic competence. What is more, it lends a great deal of cross-linguistic validity to earlier finding regarding the development of requests in the interlanguage of FL learners.
Greek student e-mail requests to faculty members
Bella S, Sifianou M. Greek student e-mail requests to faculty members. In: R.L. de Zarobe & Y. de Zarobe (eds.), Speech Acts and Politeness Across Languages and Cultures. . Bern: Peter Lang; 2012. pp. 89-113.