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Argentinean Spanish Requests


In comparison to Australian English, Hebrew, Canadian French, and Argentinean English requests, Argentinean Spanish requests are probably the most direct. While Australian English speakers employ indirect requests 90% of the time, only about 60% of Argentinean Spanish requests are indirect (Blum-Kulka et al., 1989):

Direct:

Limpia la cocina, por favor. ‘Clean the kitchen, please.’

Indirect:

Podrías ordenar la cocina, por favor? ‘Could you clean the kitchen, please?’

Above passages from Blum-Kulka et al. (1989), p. 135.

 

References

Blum-Kulka, S., House, J., & Kasper, G. (1989). Cross-cultural Pragmatics: Requests and Apologies. Norwood, NJ: Alblex Publishing Corporation.

 

 

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