ABSTRACT
According to Thomas (1983: 97), ‘while grammatical errors may reveal a [non-native] speaker to be a less than proficient language user, pragmatic failure reflects badly on him/her as a person’ . This can work both ways. Consider this testimony from a teacher of English as a Foreign Language at an Irish university:
Every year I teach university students from around Europe who come to our university to take courses in their subject areas. They come to me for English classes. Once they have settled in, I always spend some time teasing out the cultural differences which they have become aware of. Invariably, they comment on the insincerity of their Irish counterparts. When I delve deeper, the same scenario is used to exemplify insincerity each time. They explain that when they walk around the campus, Irish classmates seem very friendly. They smile and say, ‘“Hello, how are you?” but as I stop to tell them how I am, they have kept walking.’ I have to explain to them that ‘How are you?’ in the context of a greeting is actually not meant as a question as to one’s welfare, it is simply a greeting, best replied to with ‘How are you?’ or a short reply, like ‘Great, see you around.’
