Pragmatic Modifiers Across Languages: English versus Macedonian Apologies

Language is not only a system that conveys information but it is also a linguistic tool
that performs actions. These utterances or acts were introduced by Austin in the foundations of
Speech act theory, which were later developed by Searle and many other linguists. The focus of this
paper is the speech act of apologizing or more specifically the pragmatic modifiers that interlocutors
use to modify or shape the act for different purposes. The aim of the paper is to emphasize the role
of pragmatic modifiers and their significant influence on the communication process itself. The
comparison of two unrelated languages will help provide valuable insight into cross-cultural
communication. Different languages and cultures employ similar speech acts, but vary in the type,
frequency and distribution of the applied modifiers. These variations help determine broader
sociocultural norms and interactional expectations. Hence the comparison of modifiers in American
English and Macedonian will show how even subtle modifiers play a crucial role in shaping the
appropriateness and politeness of an apology across two different speech communities. This
research paper confirms that modifiers are pragmatically conditioned both by situational and socio-
cultural context and highlights their significant influence over the appropriateness of the act of
apologizing.