The process of globalization entails the acquisition of a construct, cultural intelligence, with which EFL students can function appropriately in intercultural situations. This study was, first, intended to find the relationship between cultural intelligence and the use of expressions of gratitude by Iranian EFL learners. Second, it sought to determine whether there were any significant differences between low and high culturally intelligent EFL learners in the way they used expressions of gratitude in English. To this end, 118 intermediate learners were selected through convenient sampling, with their proficiency level being controlled. A discourse completion test (DCT) for the expressions of gratitude and a cultural intelligence scale were given to the participants of the study. Learners’ DCT responses were rated on a five-point Likert scale and then analyzed. Statistical tests including Pearson Correlation Coefficient and t-test were used to investigate the research questions. The results of the analysis revealed that there was not a significant relationship, either positive or negative, between cultural intelligence and use of expressions of gratitude. Furthermore, no difference was found between the two groups, high and low culturally intelligent, in the way they used English expressions of gratitude. These findings have implications for the instruction of pragmatic competence.

This study aimed at extrActing and categorizing the range of strategies used in performing the Speech Act of apologizing in Persian. The first objective was to see if Persian apologies were as formulaic in pragmatic structure as in English apologies are said to be (Wolfson, 1983; Holmes, 1990; Bergman and Kasper, 1993). The other issue explored in this study was the investigation of the effect of the values assigned to the two context-external variables of social distance and social dominance on the frequency of the apology intensifiers. To this end, Persian apologetic utterances were collected and analyzed. The research findings indicated that Persian apologies are as formulaic in pragmatic structures as are English apologies. Also, the values assigned to the two context-external variables were found to have significant effect on the frequency of the intensifiers in different situations.

This study aimed at investigating the Speech Act of condolence in Ilami Kurdish in the light of Austin (1962) and Searle (1969) Speech Acts theories. A discourse completion test (DCT) was developed to collect the data. It included 20 scenarios in which people usually express appreciation. The DCT was then completed by 240 Ilami speakers. The results illustrated 20 appreciation strategies out of which “ simple thanking” , “ recognition of imposition” , and “ repayment or promise to compensate” were respectively the most frequently used strategies. Also, 14 strategies were found to be unique for the Iranian or Islamic contexts, nine of which were different prayers (30. 7%) such as “ prayers for blessing increase” , “ being safe from predicaments” and “ health” . The other five strategies were more associated with ethical issues and focused on the complimenting the person and mentioning the favor they have done. Further, the results indicated that there is not a meaningful difference between males and females, and also between individuals in different age groups, education levels and occupations with regards to the use of thanking strategies.

This study examined the effects of individual difference (ID) fActors on changing pragmatic abilities among L2 learners of English. Participants were 48 Japanese EFL students in an English-medium university in Japan. They completed a pragmatic speaking test (k=12) that assessed their ability to produce two Speech Acts: requests and opinions, in high- and low-imposition situations. The measure was given three times during one academic year. Speech Acts were evaluated for appropriateness and fluency. Three ID fActors (proficiency, orientation towards English study, and lexical access skill) were measured, and their effects on changes in appropriateness and fluency of Speech Act production were assessed. Results revealed significant effects of individual fActors on pragmatic change, but the effects appeared differently between appropriateness and fluency.

One of the remarkable aspects of the holy Qur’an is the use of diverse linguistic methods to convey a particular idea. This study aims to evaluate the commissive Act in the Qur’an using Searle's Speech Act theory, a theory useful in comprehending deeper semantic levels of holy scriptures. The study used a descriptive-analytical method, and the data were analyzed through a qualitative analysis of statistical results to answer the following questions: What linguistic forms does the Qur’an use to represent commissive Speech Acts? And what themes or topics are included in these commissive Speech Acts' utterances? First, employing a desk research approach, the Qur’anic verses containing the commissive Speech Acts were selected based on syntActic, lexical, and semantic criteria. The distinguishing charActeristics of each case were then identified, including the discursive structure of the Act, the committed person, and the theme of the commitment. Finally, the relationship between the linguistic form and the theme of the Speech Acts was examined. The findings reveal that the Qur’an expresses commissive Speech Acts through four linguistic structures: oath, promise (al-wa‘d), threat (al-wa‘īd), and pledge, each includes divine and non-divine conceptions, and each has a unique charActeristic. The quantitative comparison of these four shows that “promise” is the most commonly cited sub-Speech Act, distinguishing it from other linguistic forms. “Threat”, “oath”, and “pledge” are the other most frequently cited sub-Speech Acts. Moreover, the evaluation of the Speech agents and their status as aspects of the situational context reveals that the Speech participants are not equal in terms of position and power, which is a decisive fActor in the selection of linguistic forms. In all of these cases, the language structures and their intricacies, particularly modality (modal marking), illustrate the relationship between the linguistics style and power dynamics between the participants. The focus of the themes, domain, and frequency differ throughout the four categories mentioned above, with some overlap in certain instances.

The Speech Act of promise can be accompanied by two other Speech Acts: encouragement and pledge. Since, in this Speech Act, we have the concept of volunteer promise, and the speaker willingly makes a commitment to his/her addressee, according to George Austin’s typology of Speech Acts, this Speech Act is considered to be an instance of commissive Speech Acts. Moreover, since the main features of performative verbs, i.e. “I, you, here and now”, are present in promises, promise is also regarded as a performative Act. In political promises, given the objectives of the discourse as well as the personal traits of the speaker, Grice’s maxims-quality, quantity, relevance and manner-may be violated. In a political promise, there may be as much brevity as there is repetition. Most of political promises serve merely as advertising goals and are not intended to be fulfilled. The maxim of relevance is generally heeded in political promises and the violation of this maxim before elections is fairly rare. Political Activists usually make use of efficient and influential manner of Speech in their election campaigns.

Speech Act Theory is one of the significant ideas in the field of discourse and textual analysis. This theory, which is a branch of the philosophy of language, examines verbs and sentences in different situations. The Speech Act Theory was first introduced by Austin, and then, Searle completed his unfinished work in five persuasive, declarative, effective, commissive, and declarative Speech Acts. In the model presented by Searle, the information exchanged by verbs and their equivalent sentences is evaluated. This theory addresses investigating verbs and sentences in religious texts, including the Qur'an and Nahj al-Balagha, as well as discovering the underlying layers and the deepening of the word in the production of new chapters. Moreover, Nahj al-Balagha, as one of the most masterful texts of religious literature, has the most eloquent sentences and words. This invaluable book, including sermons, letters, and the words of Imam Ali (AS) in political, social, economic and cultural fields, has been a complete and strategic encyclopedia of all time. Political aspects of Nahj al-Balagha is one of its important dimensions because social justice, equality and equality and the proper management of the administrative system have been the main concerns of Imam Ali (AS).

The core issue in any security theory is the referent object of security. This is the case with respect to Imam Khomeini’s views on security too. Based on this assumption, the current paper is trying to recognize the nature of the referent object of security; in the mean time, it treats Imam Khomeini’s relevant views as a “Speech Act”. Because the author is of the view that not only Imam Khomeini was the security theorist of the Islamic Republic of Iran but he was its securitizing Actor too.Within this framework, the author believes that the referent object of security in Imam Khomeini’s Speech Act is “Islamic Government” which comprises the followings: “Ideological Islam”, “Velayat Faqih” and the “People”.