The realization of the speech act of suggestion in Alexandrian and Najdi Arabic: a variational pragmatic study

The study addresses how native speakers of two Arabic varieties (Alexandrian Egyptian Arabic and Najdi Saudi Arabic) realize the speech act of suggestion, a directive act that can threaten face in some frameworks. Motivated by gaps in traditional dialectology and the scarcity of variational pragmatics (VP) research in Arabic, the paper investigates pragmatic variation across nations rather than within one, and beyond phonology/grammar/lexicon to pragmatics. The purpose is to compare strategies of suggestion across two regions with extensive contact (Alexandria, Egypt and Najd/Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), and to examine the impact of social variables (region, gender, social distance, social dominance). The study is important for advancing VP in Arabic, informing Arabic as a foreign language pedagogy, adding L1-focused evidence on suggestion, and engaging with theories of politeness and cultural communication. Four research questions target similarity of strategies across dialects, and the influence of gender, distance, and dominance on realization patterns.

The paper frames the work within Variational Pragmatics (VP), focusing on actional level variation (speech acts) and the effects of macro-social (region, gender) and micro-social (distance, dominance) variables. It adopts Martínez-Flor’s (2005) taxonomy of suggestion strategies spanning a directness continuum: direct (performatives, nouns of suggestion, imperatives, negative imperatives), conventionalized forms (specific interrogatives such as "Why don’t you...?", possibility/probability modals such as could/might, should, need, conditionals), and indirect strategies (impersonals, hints). Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory is discussed alongside cultural models (Hall’s high vs low context; Hofstede’s individualism-collectivism), with the caveat that classifying suggestions as face-threatening may be culture-specific; in Arab contexts suggestions can be supportive/cooperative. Prior studies largely focus on L2 settings; native speakers typically use a wider range of strategies than L2 learners. Some L2 studies show preferences for conventionalized or direct forms depending on context. Limited L1 studies (Farsi, American English in task settings, Chinese governmental discourse) show preferences varying with culture and task/genre. Gaps identified include the rarity of L1 and VP studies on suggestions; the present study fills this by examining Alexandrian vs Najdi Arabic and the roles of gender, distance, and dominance.

Participants: 240 undergraduate native Arabic speakers aged 18–23 (mean 20.4 Egyptians; 19.5 Saudis). Two equal groups by region and gender: 120 Alexandrians (60 men, 60 women) recruited from Business Administration and Engineering at a private university in Alexandria; 120 Najdis (60 men, 60 women) recruited from Business Administration, Architecture and Design, Computer Science and Information Systems, Engineering, Humanities and Sciences, and Law at a private university in Riyadh. Instrument: A discourse completion task (DCT) with six scenarios reflecting commonly mentioned suggestion contexts (elicited via a focus group of 10 students). Separate gendered versions ensured interlocutor gender matching (due to campus segregation in Saudi universities). Instructions in Standard Arabic; mini-dialogues presented in the local dialect (Najdi or Alexandrian) to elicit dialectal responses. Four PhD holders in Applied Linguistics validated the instruments; feedback incorporated. Social variables operationalization: The six scenarios balanced social distance (three distant vs three intimate) and social dominance (addressees with higher, equal, and lower power; two scenarios each). Table 2 mapped situations: (1) distant-high, (2) distant-equal, (3) distant-low, (4) intimate-high, (5) intimate-equal, (6) intimate-low. Data collection: Conducted by region-matched researchers (Najdi with Najdi participants; Alexandrian with Alexandrians) to promote dialectal responses. Participants consented, read a dialect-matched example, and completed the six items in 10–20 minutes. Coding: Strategies coded using Martínez-Flor (2005). External and internal modifiers also coded. External modifiers: comments, apology, promise, question, reason, God willing, address term, term of endearment, respect term (e.g., hadretek), attention grabbers. Internal modifiers: downgraders (subjectivizers, hedges, understaters) and upgraders (intensifiers, overstaters) drawing on Trosborg (1995). Two independent coders achieved 87% inter-coder agreement; disagreements resolved through discussion. Illustrative examples provided from Arabic data with coded English glosses.

- Overall strategy preference: Both groups favored direct suggestions, especially imperatives and negative imperatives; conventionalized forms were next; indirect strategies were minimal. - Quantitative distribution (Table 3): - Direct strategies: Alexandrians 509 (52.3% of 974), Najdis 666 (70.6% of 943). Imperatives: Alexandrians 419 (43.0%), Najdis 537 (56.9). Negative imperatives: Alexandrians 72 (7.4%), Najdis 104 (11.0). Performative verbs: 12 (1.2%) vs 22 (2.3). Nouns of suggestion: 6 (0.6%) vs 3 (0.3). - Conventionalized forms: Alexandrians 459 (47.1%), Najdis 235 (24.9). Specific formulas: 63 (6.5%) vs 29 (3.1). Possibility/probability modals: 357 (36.7%) vs 150 (15.9). Should: 3 (0.3%) vs 6 (0.6). Need: 36 (3.7%) vs 50 (5.3). Conditional: 0 for both. - Indirect strategies: Alexandrians 6 (0.6%), Najdis 42 (4.5). Impersonal: 5 vs 42; Hints: 1 vs 0. - Modifiers (Table 4): External modifiers overwhelmingly dominated (>90%): Alexandrians 462 (92.4% of 500 modifiers), Najdis 492 (96.7% of 509). Most frequent external modifiers were reason (31.4% Alex; 31.2% Najdi), comment (19.0%; 23.4%), and promise (9.4%; 9.2%). Internal modifiers were scarce (Alex 7.6%; Najdi 3.3%), with a slight predominance of downgraders over upgraders for both. - Between-group statistical differences (Table 5): Najdis produced significantly more direct strategies (imperatives, negative imperatives) than Alexandrians and also more indirect strategies overall (though indirect totals were small). Alexandrians produced significantly more conventionalized strategies (specific formulas, possibility/probability) than Najdis (multiple comparisons p < 0.001 in most cases). - Gender effects: - Alexandrians (Table 6): Women produced significantly more suggestions overall and more in certain categories (e.g., negative imperatives, possibility/probability, and impersonal forms) than men; women also showed a higher use of conventionalized forms. - Najdis (Table 7): Men produced significantly more direct strategies (including imperatives and negative imperatives) than women, whereas women showed higher use only of the conventionalized possibility/probability strategy. - Social distance (Tables 8–9): Both groups produced significantly more suggestions to intimate than to distant addressees. Direct strategies (imperatives, negative imperatives) were used more with intimate addressees; conventionalized strategies, especially possibility/probability, were preferred with distant addressees. Najdis used more specific formulas with distant addressees; Alexandrians used "need" more with intimate than distant addressees. - Social dominance (Tables 10–11): Both groups produced the highest number of suggestions to equal-status addressees, accompanied by more direct strategies (imperatives, negative imperatives). With higher and lower status addressees, conventionalized forms increased. For Alexandrians, "need" was notably associated with higher power addressees. For Najdis, possibility/probability was most associated with lower-status addressees, then higher-status; indirect strategies, though rare, appeared more with equals.

Findings show a robust preference for direct suggestion strategies among both Alexandrian and Najdi speakers, aligning with a collectivistic orientation in which suggestions are perceived as supportive and cooperative rather than intrusive. This challenges a universal application of Brown and Levinson’s categorization of suggestions as face-threatening and complicates Hall’s portrayal of Arab cultures as high-context and favoring implicitness; in these speech-act contexts, explicitness was preferred. Najdis used more direct strategies than Alexandrians, suggesting relatively stronger collectivistic tendencies and a greater inclination to mark interpersonal support via directness. Despite the prominence of directness, participants mitigated potential imposition through external and internal modifiers (notably reasons and promises; downgraders), partially aligning with Politeness Theory predictions about redressive action and highlighting sensitivity to contextual variables. Gender differences were evident and culture-specific: Alexandrian women contributed more suggestions and conventionalized forms than men; Najdi men were more direct, with women favoring conventionalized options. Social distance and dominance shaped strategy selection: intimacy invited more directness and higher suggestion frequency, while distance favored conventionalized strategies; equal-status interactions promoted directness, while hierarchical interactions prompted more conventionalized forms (with patterns like "need" for higher status among Alexandrians and possibility/probability for lower status among Najdis). These results substantiate VP’s claim of pragmatic variation across regional varieties and social variables, and complement prior L1 and L2 research by situating Arabic varieties within broader theoretical debates.

The study advances variational pragmatics in Arabic by demonstrating systematic regional and social variation in the realization of suggestions between Alexandrian and Najdi Arabic. It shows that direct strategies predominate, conventionalized forms are secondary, and indirect strategies are rare, with significant modulation by gender, social distance, and dominance. Theoretically, the findings question blanket classifications of suggestions as face-threatening and nuance cultural models of explicitness/implicitness and collectivism by revealing context-sensitive behavior within the Arab World. Pedagogically, the results call for raising AFL learners’ awareness of pragmatic variation across Arabic dialects and clarifying that suggestions in Arab contexts may signal support rather than imposition, thus preventing cross-cultural misinterpretations. Future research should expand VP studies across additional Arabic varieties and cultures, incorporate larger and more diverse samples, and triangulate DCT data with ethnographic and naturalistic data to enhance authenticity and generalizability.

- Sample size, while sizable for experimental pragmatics (n=240), is small relative to the populations of Alexandria and Najd, limiting generalizability. - Only two regional varieties (Alexandrian and Najdi) were examined; findings should not be overgeneralized to Egypt or Saudi Arabia broadly. - Data were elicited via DCTs, which are efficient and controllable but somewhat artificial; ethnographic and naturally occurring data are needed for validation and richer ecological validity.