This dissertation compares the performances of request speech acts by native and non-native speakers of Russian in role-play situations frequently used in the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). Previous research in cross-cultural pragmatics, which aims to ascertain to what extent speech acts are universal in nature or culturally and language specific, as well as research in interlanguage pragmatics, which investigates the process by which pragmatic competence is acquired in a second language, form the basis of this study. Within a rigorous theoretical framework, the dissertation identifies differences in native speaker (NS) and non-native speaker (NNS) linguistic performances in request scenarios, and examines the development of pragmatic competence in non-native speakers of various proficiency levels and study-abroad experience.; The research data consist of 60 NS and 84 NNS role-plays performances in OPI role-play situations. The NNS interviews were conducted either before or after a term of study in Russia; OPI scores range from Novice-Low to Superior. The degree of directness of the request strategies (the linguistic means chosen by speakers to voice requests) generated in the role-plays were analyzed using two taxonomies: The Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) taxonomy, and a modified taxonomy developed for this study. A comparison of the results achieved using the two taxonomies to code the data shows that the modified taxonomy reveals differences in directness levels among NS and NNS groups that the CCSARP taxonomy obscures.; Using the modified taxonomy, the comparison of NS and NNS groups shows that more proficient learners better approximate NS preferences for directness in request strategies than do less proficient learners. The analysis of the data also suggests that study abroad experience alone, regardless of proficiency level, leads to more native like strategy selection. At the same time, even the Advanced-Superior rated NNS speakers, who closely approximate NS preferences for directness levels, fail to make use of the negative and conditional particles to mitigate their requests that the native speakers typically employ. These findings offer insights into the development of pragmatic competence in non-native speakers of Russian, and isolate potential areas of difficulty that can be addressed through language instruction.
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