Chapter 6: Results
6.1. Comparison of British English versus German complaints
6.1.4. Data set: Item was different than expected (double complaints)
Finally, the results of the statistical comparison of the British English and German data set Item was different than expected (double complaint) (Item DIFF-D) are illustrated. The following Table 6.28 and Figure 6.28 show the results of the comparison of the use of complaint strategies, level of directness, and amount of strategy combinations.
Table 6.28: BrE and German traders’ use of complaint strategies, level of directness, and amount of strategy combinations in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Data set: Item DIFF-D
Explicit complaint 100 100
Negative judgement 11 13 0.542
Strategy combination 50 48 0.779
Figure 6.28: Graphic representation of BrE and German eBay traders’ use of complaint strategies and combinations of them in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Similar to the results of the other data sets, Table 6.28 and Figure 6.28 reveal that again the strategy explicit complaint is by far the most frequently employed strategy by both British English and German eBay traders. In contrast to the other data sets, British English and German traders do not use the same range of
strategies, because the expression of annoyance is only present in the British English data set Item DIFF-D. However, since it occurs just once, this finding is not expressive. Table 6.28 and Figure 6.28 further show that the British speakers show a tendency to use the expression of disappointment and insult to a larger extent, however, without significant differences. On the other hand, the German speakers use the strategy drawing one’s own conclusion significantly more often than their British English counterparts, whereby p reveals highly significant differences between them (p = 0.003**, see Table 6.28). The remaining strategies as well as strategy combinations are used to an almost similar extent and also the directness level British English and German eBay members choose to formulate their online complaint is very similar.
What follows are the results of the amount of strategies British English and German traders use to formulate their complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D (see Table 6.29 and Figure 6.29).
Table 6.29: The amount of strategies BrE and German eBay traders use to formulate their complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Data set: Item DIFF-D Amount of strategies
per complaint
BrE complaints relative frequencies
(%)
German complaints relative frequencies
(%)
Significance (p)
Use of one strategy 50 52 0.779
Use of a combination of
two strategies 44 38 0.391
Use of a combination of three strategies
6 10 0.300
Use of a combination of four strategies
0 0
Use of a combination of five strategies
0 0
Figure 6.29: Graphic representation of the amount of strategies BrE and German traders use to formulate their complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
As Table 6.29 and Figure 6.29 reveal, the British English and German eBay traders use minimally one and maximally three strategies to formulate their online complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D. In this regard, no significant differences are obtained. The use of one strategy is favoured by both the British English and German speakers, which is, however, closely followed by the use of a combination of two strategies. The frequent occurrence of both a single strategy and a
combination of two strategies is thereby similar to the results of the data set Item NR-D.
What follows are the results of the strategy sequences British English or German eBay traders use in at least 5% of the complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D (see Table 6.30 and Figure 6.30).
Table 6.30: The strategy sequences BrE or German eBay traders use in at least 5% of the complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Data set: Item DIFF-D traders’ use in at least 5% of the complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Table 6.30 and Figure 6.30 show that, as in the data set Item NR-D, the use of one strategy goes along with the strategy explicit complaint. The use of a combination of two strategies is, on the other hand, again more variable in that the strategy explicit complaint is combined with different types of strategies, including among
others the ones illustrated in Table 6.30 and Figure 6.30, i.e. warning others, drawing one’s own conclusion, expression of disappointment, or negative judgement. When comparing the results displayed in Table 6.28 and Table 6.30, it becomes apparent that the strategy drawing one’s own conclusion is in almost all cases combined with the strategy explicit complaint. It is hence not surprising that not only the use of the strategy drawing one’s own conclusion but also the use of the combination of the strategy drawing one’s own conclusion with the strategy explicit complaint results in a highly significant difference between the British English and German data set (p = 0.003**, see Table 6.30). Specifically, it occurs significantly more often in the German complaints.
Turning to the amount of different strategy sequences British English and German eBay traders use to formulate their complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D, the results are presented in the following Table 6.31 and Figure 6.31.
Table 6.31: The amount of different strategy sequences BrE and German eBay traders use to formulate their complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Data set:
Item DIFF-D
BrE complaints absolute frequencies
German complaints absolute frequencies
Significance (p) Amount of different
strategy sequences
20 18 0.746
Figure 6.31: Graphic representation of the amount of different strategy sequences BrE and German eBay traders use to formulate their complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
As Table 6.32 and Figure 6.31 demonstrate, the British English and German eBay traders use almost the same amount of different strategy sequences. Consequently, no significant difference is observed, which is similar to the results of all other data sets.
Shifting the focus to the use of modification, the following Table 6.32 and Figure 6.32 illustrate the use of upgrading modifiers in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Table 6.32: BrE and German eBay traders’ use of upgrading modifiers in their complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Data set: Item DIFF-D Upgrading modifiers
BrE complaints relative frequencies
(%)
German complaints relative frequencies
(%)
Significance (p)
Intensifier 30 31 0.708
Aggressive interrogative 0 2 0.158
Time reference 5 7 0.554
Sarcasm 0 1 0.320
Figure 6.32: Graphic representation of BrE and German eBay traders’ use of upgrading modifiers in their complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
As far as the use of modification is concerned, Table 6.32 and Figure 6.32 show that there are no significant differences in the use of upgrading modifiers between the British English and German data set. Similar to the results of all other data sets, the intensifier is the most frequently used upgrading modifier in both the British English and German complaints.
All other types of upgrading modifiers are, as in the data set Item DIFF, only rarely used. The time reference can thereby be found in both the British English and German data set, while the aggressive interrogative and sarcasm occur only in the German complaints, but only once.
The results of the use of downgrading modifiers in the complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D are shown in Table 6.33 and Figure 6.33.
Table 6.33: BrE and German eBay traders’ use of downgrading modifiers in their complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Data set: Item DIFF-D Downgrading
modifiers
BrE complaints relative frequencies
(%)
German complaints relative frequencies
(%)
Significance (p)
Expression of regret 0 3 0.083
Play down 1 2 0.563
Understater 0 0
Politeness marker 1 0 0.320
Disarmer 4 0 0.045*
Intensifier (downgrading)
0 0
Figure 6.33: Graphic representation of BrE and German eBay traders’ use of upgrading modifiers in their complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Regarding the use of downgrading modification, Table 6.33 and Figure 6.33 demonstrate that they are, as in all other data sets, only used very rarely.
Furthermore, only the play down is used by both the British English and German eBay traders. In contrast to that, the expression of regret occurs only in the German and the politeness marker and disarmer only in the British English data set. With
regard to the use of disarmers p reveals a significant difference between the British English and German complaints (p = 0.045*, see Table 6.33). However, due to the infrequent occurrence of this downgrading modifier, this significance is not expressive. Last but not least, Table 6.33 and Figure 6.33 show that understater and intensifier used to aggravate the softening effect of downgrading devices are not employed at all.
Shifting the focus to the use of pronouns, Table 6.34 and Figure 6.34 illustrate the results of the data set Item DIFF-D.
Table 6.34: BrE and German eBay traders’ use of pronouns in the complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Data set: Item DIFF-D Use of pronouns
BrE complaints relative frequencies
(%)
German complaints relative frequencies
(%)
Significance (p)
First person pronouns 18 4 0.001**
Second person pronouns 1 1 1.000
Third person pronouns 6 1 0.055
Demonstrative pronouns 1 0 0.320
Pronouns (complainee) 8 2 0.052
Pronouns (eBay community)
2 0 0.158
Indefinite pronouns 1 0 0.320
Figure 6.34: Graphic representation of BrE and German eBay traders’ use of pronouns in the complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Table 6.34 and Figure 6.34 reveal that, similar to all other data sets, the British English speakers use more pronouns than the German traders, whereby they clearly favour the use of the first person pronouns. The statistical comparison with regard to the use of the first person pronouns hence again results in a significant difference, whereby p, as in all other data sets, reveals a highly significant difference between the British English and German data set (p = 0.001**, see Table 6.34). It further becomes apparent that the British English traders use the
third person pronouns slightly more often than the Germans. Consequently, also the pronouns referring to the complainee occur more often in the British English than German complaints, however, without a significant difference. All other types of pronouns can only rarely be found.
The following Table 6.35 and Figure 6.35 display British English and German eBay traders’ use of features of CMC in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Table 6.35: BrE and German eBay traders’ use of features of CMC in the complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Data set: Item DIFF-D Use of features of
CMC
BrE complaints relative frequencies
(%)
German complaints relative frequencies
(%)
Significance (p)
Emoticons 1 1 1.000
Visual signs 0 1 0.320
Capitalisation (words) 15 9 0.194
Capitalisation (message) 7 2 0.089
Ex. m. (single) 15 35 0.003*
Ex. m. (repeated) 20 21 0.900
Repet. other punct. m. 2 2 1.000
Repet. letters 0 0
Intensifying features CMC (downgrading)
0 0
Figure 6.35: Graphic representation of BrE and German eBay traders’ use of features of CMC in the complaints in the data set Item DIFF-D.
Turning to the features of CMC, Table 6.35 and Figure 6.35 demonstrate that also in the data set Item DIFF-D, emoticons and visual signs can only rarely be found.
As in the data sets Item DIFF and Item NR-D, capitalisation of words or the whole message are more frequently employed by the British English traders, however, without significant differences.
As far as the use of single exclamation marks is concerned, the results once more reveal clear differences between the British English and German complaints.
Specifically, the Germans use single exclamation marks significantly more often, whereby p reveals a highly significant difference between the British English and German data set (p = 0.003**, see Table 6.35). In contrast to that, exclamation marks are almost similarly often repeated by both the British English and German speakers.
Punctuation marks other than exclamation marks are again only rarely repeated, thereby almost similarly often. Finally, the repetition of letters as well as intensifying features of CMC used to aggravate the softening effect of downgrading modifiers are not employed at all.
Finally, the results of the occurrence of sum variables in the British English and German data set Item DIFF-D are presented in Table 6.36 and Figure 6.36.
Table 6.36: The results of the sum variables in the BrE and German data set Item DIFF-D.
Data set: Item DIFF-D
Sum variables BrE complaints relative frequencies
(%)
German complaints relative frequencies
(%)
Significance (p) Total use of mitigating
features
7 4 0.585
Total use of intensifying
features 73 77 0.394
Figure 6.36: Graphic representation of the results of the sum variables in the BrE and German data set Item DIFF-D.
As in all other data sets, the British English and German traders also in the data set Item DIFF-D use by far less mitigating features than intensifying features (see Table 6.36 and Figure 6.36). Both types of features are thereby almost similarly often employed, which equals the results of the data set Item NR-D.