Cross-cultural study of intensifiers in face-threatening situations: A gender perspective in English and Bahasa Indonesia

Intensifiers play a crucial role in everyday communication, varying in frequency, function, and socio-pragmatic significance across languages. However, gender-based variation in their use remains underexplored. This study examines intensifier usage among native speakers of English and Bahasa Indonesia, focusing on male and female speakers in spontaneous, face-threatening contexts. Data were collected through Elicited Oral Responses (EOR) from 40 university students – 20 English speakers from an Australian university and 20 Bahasa Indonesia speakers from a university in Jambi. Participants responded in their native language to an apologetic scenario in which a close friend had broken a promise. Their responses were recorded, transcribed, and analysed for intensifier frequency and type. Findings indicate that both language groups use intensifiers to amplify emotions and signal heightened face-threat. However, English speakers employed intensifiers more frequently and with greater variety than their Indonesian counterparts. Gender differences were also evident, with males and females differing in both the types and frequency of intensifiers used. This study contributes to sociolinguistics and pragmatics by elucidating gendered language use in intercultural communication. It also holds pedagogical implications for language learning, enhancing awareness of how intensifiers function in spoken discourse across cultures. This study contributes to cross-cultural pragmatics by examining differences in intensifier use between native English and Bahasa Indonesia speakers in face-threatening contexts. The findings enhance understanding of gender's impact on intensifier use and supply information for language instruction, particularly in teaching emotional expressions in everyday conversations.