Pragmalinguistic Variation and Barista Perceptions in US Café Service Encounters∗

Abstract

This chapter examines pragmatic variation at the production and perception levels in requests for service in US café service encounters. Drawing on a revised framework of variational pragmatics (Schneider and Barron 2008, Barron and Schneider 2009, Schneider 2010), the present study analysed pragmatic variation in the request for service at the actional level (request head act and internal and external modification). It also looked at pragmatic variation according to the gender of the customer and the barista. The natural data — comprising 330 requests for service and the ensuing responses (165 male customers and 165 female customers) — were collected in a café in the Midwestern US using the field notes method (Beebe 1995). In addition to the customer requests for service, perception data were collected from two baristas who completed a questionnaire regarding their perceptions of politeness in different types of requests. With regard to pragmalinguistic variation, results showed that of the six types of request forms found in the present study, conventional indirect forms, ellipticals and assertions were frequently produced in the college café community of practice. Two forms were often used to downgrade a request for service, namely ‘please’ and ‘just’. The preference for these forms was influenced by the gender of both the customer and the barista. This chapter ends with a qualitative analysis of US café baristas’ perceptions of the (im)politeness of request forms, internal modifications and external modifications.

This chapter is a revised version of Lisa Fink’s honors thesis (first author).