Paper Example on Generations X and Y

Introduction

Generation X comprises values work-life balance and independence. They can adapt quickly to new working environments and are resourceful in the use of digital technology and communicate with the latest tech tools. The Millenniums (generation Y) are also known as "Gen X on steroids." They value work-life balance and flexibility even more than Gen X. They believe in freedom and always advocate for equal treatment to everyone. They have numerous channels of expressing gratitude. According to Beutell and Wittig-Berman (2008), "They communicate through internet media more than physical interaction." They may act unappreciative sometimes, but they may show more with time. This generation doesn't fear authority and seeks challenging and meaningful work they are fast to correct mistakes, and they also engage a lot in communication with their peers. "And they're the most tech-savvy of the three groups, preferring to communicate quickly via texting" (Beutell and Wittig-Berman, 2008).

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Generational influences also affect the use of language a great deal (Weiler, 2005). For instance, use of language by baby boomers is different from the use of language by the generation X and generation Y. The baby boomers tend to be restricted to the traditional ways of life, less flexible to change and less creative than the Xers and the Generation Y. This way, the baby boomers are likely to restrict themselves to the language adopted from their parents while the Xers' and Yers' use of language are prone to be influence by variation of the external environment (Weiler, 2005). For example, the Generation Y has a high inclination to technology and the Internet, and this is likely to manifest in their language skills. For example, elements of coding and programming language may be expressed in their language use in ways such as using short forms in communication. Similarly, Generation Y like digitalized methods of communication, unlike baby boomers that are inclined to traditional means of communication (Weiler, 2005).

Previous Studies

The current study is based on previous studies conducted by the prior researchers. The studies are elaborated comprehensively in this section. Cheng (2005) conducted a study to find the similarities and differences between native speakers of English and native speakers of Chinese. He examined the length of the expressions and the strategies through discourse completion task questionnaire. "He found out that there is a contribution of the first language to the expressions of gratitude uttered in the speech act behavior among Chinese learners of English" (Cheng, 2005). The research also established that, there was a distinct difference between the choice of thanking strategies between the Chinese and native English users. Their speech length was found to be different with a positive effect on the learners residing in the United States. According to Cheng (2005), "the use of these linguistic strategies and the length of speech were also affected by other factors which included familiarity, social status, and imposition."

Al-Khawaldeh, (2014) investigated "the number and the type of strategies used by Jordanian and English speakers." The study involved 46 English natives and 46 Jordanian, and it found out that there were substantial cross-cultural differences regarding how the respondents expressed gratitude. The similarities were found out to be minimal regarding their perception. The age and gender of the speaker and the interlocutor contribute big difference for Jordanian in the way they express their gratitude. According to Al-Khawaldeh (2014), "an essential hypothetical result was that the information, while steady with numerous perspectives found in the current writing, did not concur with Brown and Levinson's (1987) guarantee that imparting appreciation naturally debilitates the speaker's negative face." Or maybe, it is contended that appreciation ought to be seen as a method for setting up and maintaining social connections.

The discoveries propose that social variety in offering thanks is because of the high level of affectability to the interchange of a few social and logical factors. Each social-cultural group has unique cultural ways hence there exists a deep relationship between linguistics and social facts. The reflection helps in minimizing the possibility of cross-cultural conflicts. "The study by contributed to linguistics by obtaining the information about the cultural difference between Jordan and England in a way that bridged the gap left by previous researchers" (Al-Khawaldeh, 2014). Also, the data from this study was the basis of most generalizations and explanations of intricate data that had limited variables

The previous studies have similarities in assessing linguistic development based on different lingual backgrounds. They are also different in their approaches on the cause of different lingual expressions of gratitude. Based on these previous studies, expressing gratitude was investigated across cultural and pragmatic development. There is no study on expressing gratitude while comparing the cross-cultural within two generations. The present study will examine the American and Indonesian context of expressing gratitude by basing on the comparison between Generation X and Y of these countries. The present study will include one additional DCT situation which covers all higher social and contextual variables that were not included in the previous study. It will, therefore, provide insights on the linguistic forms employed when expressing gratitude, which is deemed socially appropriate during social interactions by members of the two countries.

Findings

This section presents data collected in this study. The data are presented in two parts. First, the data on the overall expressions of gratitude will be presented. Then, the obtained data on the nine different situations are also presented.

The Overall Expressions of Gratitude in the United States and Indonesia

The overall findings between the respondents in the US and those in Indonesia indicate a small difference between their expressions of gratitude to the various situations in the study. It was found out thanking was the most expressed recording 94.4 percent for Indonesia and 91.7 percent in the USA. On the other hand, recognition of imposition was the least expression at 3 percent for Indonesia and 3.9 percent for the USA. The second most preferred response was found to be Alerter in Indonesia and is also the 3rd in the USA with a percentage of 37.4 and 23.1 respectively. The other answers were as follows. In Indonesia, the third most preferred response was repayment with 22.6 percent, followed by positive feeling with a response score of 9.3 percent; appreciation, appreciation 14.3 percent; apology, 9.4 percent; and other, 7.2 percent in that order. In the USA the 3rd most used response was alerter which represent 23.1 percent followed by positive feeling scoring 21.9 percent; appreciation, 21.1 percent; other, 11.9 percent and finally apology with 5.8 percent in that order.

Overall Expressions of Gratitude of Generations X and Y in the US Indonesia

The respondents used thanking the most in both the Xers and the Y generation in both countries. For Indonesia, the difference between the two ages was highly witnessed in the other responses. The Y generation recorded 9.3 percent while generation X recorded 5.2 percent and the calculated difference between the two generations was 4.1 percent. The second highest difference was noticeable in those who responded with an apology. Among the respondents, 7.8 percent of the Xers responded with an apology, while 11.1 percent of the members of generation Y preferred the same. This data indicated a disparity of 3.7 percent. Those with a positive feeling showed the lowest difference. Both generations scored a similar value which was 19.3 percent. The next response that scored a small disparity between the two groups was appreciation whereby the Xers scored 14.4 percent as the generation Y scored 14.1 percent representing a difference of 0.3 percent. In the USA, the highest disparity was recorded in the positive feeling response which scored 25.6 and 18.3 for the X and Y generations respectively. The difference represented 7.3 percent. On the other hand, those who responded in thanking recorded that lowest disparity between the two generations; generation X represented 92.2 percent while Y marked 91.1 percent. The calculated difference was 1.1 percent. This disparity was higher than that witnessed in Indonesia.

Comparisons of Expressions of Gratitude by Situations

Situation 1 (S = F + I -)

The case involved individuals who belong to the same social class with a high social familiarity hence a low imposition. It was found out that all the respondents in both countries preferred thanking thus recording 100 percent under that category. The least chosen categories were the recognition for imposition and apology which had a nil entry for all categories. More of generation X members in Indonesia showed appreciation at 9 percent compared to Yers who recorded 3 percent, whereas, both X and Y generation in the USA indicated a similar score of 6 percent.

Situation 2 (S = F - I -)

In this category, thanking was preferred by 100 percent of the Xers and Yers in the USA. The same category in Indonesia was favored by 96.6 percent of the study population. More Indonesians used alerter comparing to the Americans. Recognition of imposition was not recorded, and apology received 1 percent for the Xers in Indonesia only as the other variables in the same category received nil.

Situation 3 (S = F + I +)

The members belong to an equal social class with a high social familiarity resulting to a high imposition. This case indicated a considerable difference between generation X and Y which recorded 95 percent and 65 percent respectively in the USA. Indonesians also depicted the same trend with 96.6 percent for the Xers and 90 percent for the Yers. The others category was the least represented means of expression of gratitude.

Situation 4 (S = F - I +)

The fourth situation constituted of a case whereby the two parties had an equal social status, a low social familiarity yielding to a high imposition. The least represented category was recognition of imposition which recorded a single respondent for Yers in the USA while the most represented being the thanking category. The apology and others categories also received a minimum preference. The positive feeling was the second most preferred way of expressing gratitude with a representation of 53.3 percent, 30 percent, 65 percent and 35 percent for IDX, IDY, USX, and USY respectively.

Situation 5 (S - F + I -)

Represented an individual with a low social status but with a high familiarity with the other party hence resulted in a low imposition. In this situation, all categories were represented except the USX under apology. More Indonesians preferred alerter than the US respondents; they recorded 46 percent and 43.3 percent for the Xers and Yers respectively in Indonesia whereas the Americans recorded 30 percent and 15 percent for Xers and Yers respectively. The thanking category received the highest preference percentage.

Situation 6 (S - F + I +)

A high imposition was achieved where the individuals involved had a high social familiarity and a low social status. Thanking, alerter, appreciation and positive feeling recorded the most preferred linguistic ways of expressing gratitude among the respondents. The Yers in the United States recorded 100 percent preference for the thanking category. Indonesians preferred alerter more than the Americans as they recorded 70 percent and 66.6 percent for the Xers and...