Main category Subcategory Examples
Oral speech
Initiation words
Hi / Hey/ Hello/ Salaam/ salamu AlaykomTerms of address
Names / my friend/ you/ my dearDeclarative sentences
long time no see/ it is nice to see you/ I miss you/ glad to meet you hereInterrogative sentences How are you?/ How you doing?/ What’s up
with you?/ How do you do?Occasion phrases
Happy New Year/ Happy Holidays/ Merry Christmas/ Happy Eid/ Ramadan Mubarak/Happy Chinese New Year
Politeness strategies
Offering help/ introducing self/ compliment/showing gratitude
Body language Handshake/ Cheek kiss/ Hug/ waving hand
Others
Non-initiation
Wait for the other part to initiate the greetingIgnoring
Ignore the other person and walk awayBringing gift
Flowers, dessert... etc.Conditional sentences
‘If we have eye-contact, I will say Hello’‘If the lady offers her hand first, I will shake hands with her.’
Interview data were first transcribed, and then analysed to provide a better understanding of the perspectives of participants, including Arabs and Americans greeting usage. The interview findings will be presented and integrated in the Discussion chapter.
Chapter Four Results
Chapter four presents the results of the present study. It is organized according to the research questions. The observation data are presented first, and then the DCT questionnaire data are analyzed and presented to compare the Arab data with the American data. The interview data were presented in Chapter 5 (Discussion) to provide participants’ perceptions of greetings.
The major topics under investigation are the number of greetings and the use of greeting strategies. The first step in each section is an overall description of the topic, then an examination of whether contextual variables (e.g., gender, social distance) have any effect on the language use, followed by an examination of how the topic is used in situations.
The number and the use of greeting strategies are evaluated and interpreted on the basis of descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis. Where graphs are given for illustrative purposes, the tables of exact figures are found in Appendix (E).
Comparison of Greeting Strategies by Arabs and Americans through Observation This section provides a general finding of greeting strategies observed in natural situations. Two types of religious gatherings are presented: (a) Arabs in Christmas and Thanksgiving, and (b) Americans in Ramadan and Eid.
Arabs in Christmas and Thanksgiving.
In terms of oral speech, Arab participants, in general, tended to start the greetings with opening words like Hi or Hello, followed by terms of address such as everyone or guys. They
also frequently used phrases relate to the occasion like Merry Christmas, Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays. Politeness strategies were also used by Arabs. For example, they offered help to the host (e.g., Can I help you? or Please let me give you hand with that), showing gratitude (e.g., Thank you so much for inviting me), and compliment the party or the food (e.g.,
The food looks so yummy! or Very nice party!). Additionally, in terms of body language, Arab
participants mostly used handshakes and cheek kisses.Gender differences between males and females were quite noticeable in terms of using oral speech and body language greeting strategies. Although the first three most used strategies by males and females were the same (opening words, terms of address, and occasion phrases), females used much more politeness strategies than males. They offered help, complimented the host and the food, and showed gratitude to be invited. Females also used more body language strategies than males. In addition to handshakes, females also used cheek kisses and hugs with other females in the parties, but they only used waving hand to greet other male guests.
Arabic male participants used a little less oral speech strategies, however, they tended to engage more in the party and talk with everyone. Instead of greeting people one by one- like females did- they chose to greet the whole group and then start regular conversations with other guests. I also noticed that Arab males tended to use humor or jokes to break the ice between them and other people they are not familiar with, unlike females who preferred to chat and stick with close friends. In terms of body language, male participants used only handshakes and hand waves to greet others.
Americans in Ramadan and Eid.
The most frequent used greeting strategies by American group in Ramadan and Eid were:
Using opening words (e.g., Salaam, Salamu Alaykom, or Hello), followed by phrases related to the occasion (e.g., Ramadan Mubarak, Happy Eid, or Eid Mubarak), and then using interrogative sentences to ask about well-being (e.g. How are you?, Kefak?, or How you doing?). As for body language strategies, they mostly used handshakes and cheek kisses.
For gender differences, American females produced a little more oral speech by using more politeness strategies than males. For example, females used compliments, such as, You look
very beautiful today, I like your dress, or The food is so delicious!, and showing gratitude, like;
Thanks for the invitation!, or I am so glad to be here. Thank you for inviting me. Females also
used more declarative expressions, such as, I miss you!, or long time no see!. For body language strategies, females used handshakes, hugs and cheek kisses.American males, on the other hand, tended to use more Arabic words or sentences than females in terms of oral speech. For instance, they used opening words like Salaam ‘Hello or peace’, Marhaba ‘Hello’, or Salaamu Alaykom ‘peace be upon you’. Females also used these terms, but not as much as male participants did. Males also used more interrogative sentences like How you doing? or Kefak? ‘How are you?’ than females. Male participants were more open to talk and interact with other people in general. They mostly used handshakes or waves as body language greeting. Finally, I noticed that none of American females used any kind of body language with other males, and same for American males who never used body language with any other females.
Comparison of Greeting Strategies by Arabs and Americans through DCT Questionnaires This section provides the comparisons of greeting strategies between Arab and American groups in terms of number of strategies and use of strategies.
Number of strategies.
The total number of all greeting strategies is 1263 strategy. Arab participants used a total of 586 strategies. Each Arabic participant used an average of 3.25 (SD= 1.13) strategies per situation, ranged from 1 to 9 strategies. American group, on the other hand, used a total of 677 strategies. On average, each American participant used 3.76 (SD= 1.99) strategies, ranging from 1 to 8 strategies.
Among all gender groups, American males produced the highest number of strategies (368), with average of 4.01. The second highest is followed by American females, who used a total of 309 greeting strategies, and an average of 3.43 strategies. These numbers are very similar to the number of strategies produced by Arab females (308), with average number of 3.42 for each participant. Arab males came in last among the four groups, as they used 278 strategies, with a mean of 3.09 greeting strategies.
Table 4.1 displays the results by each situation. It shows that Arab females contributed the most numbers of strategies on Situation 2 (30.84%), Situation 6 (21.75%), and Situation 1 (15.58%). On the other hand, the top three situations where the numbers of strategies for Arab males are: Situation 1 (22.30%), Situation 2 (19.78%), and Situation 5 (16.91%).
American females produced the most strategies in Situation 2 (33.98%), Situation 1 (25.89%), and Situation 5 (13.59%). Whereas, American males used most number of strategies
in Situation 1 (29.08%), Situation 2 (22.55%), and Situation 5 (14.95%). Interestingly, all groups –except for American males- used the least number of strategies in Situation 3.
Table 4.1