Examining the Impact of Perceived Cultural Distance on the Pragmatic Choices of Saudi Customers in Service Encounters

This study examines service encounters in Saudi Arabia from a pragmatic perspective. Its aim is to investigate the possible impact of perceived cultural distance between customers and providers on choices. It specifically how construct their when talking same (versus different) cultural/ethnic background terms discourse structure; strategies request internal modifications, stylistic strategies. Three cafés with three different ethnic/cultural backgrounds are chosen. One has providers, second café Arab (non-Saudi) third non-Arab providers. Forty socially minimal encounter interactions that take place each observed manually recorded. The uses framework ‘rapport management’ by Spencer-Oatey (2002) as its approach for data analysis. findings indicate there differences among sets structure, realization speech act request, aspect interactions. According special nature encounters, customers’ choices explained expressing certain degrees social rather than politeness. More specifically, closer more functioning achieve closeness solidarity employed.