Persuasive messages of some married men in Xhosa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Issues relating to persuasive-message production motivated this study to investigatethe extent to which married Xhosa men use persuasive messages in theirconversations. The study also explored the influence goals that married Xhosa menwish to attain when they engage in persuasive interactions. The study furthermoreaimed to determine the persuasive strategies used by married Xhosa men in theirpersuasive messages.Dillard and Marshall (2003) defined persuasion as an occurrence that compriseslonger, naturally impromptu messages concentrating mainly on a large body ofdiscussion with preferred topics of social, political and commercial importance.Goals have been given much attention, since they play a major role in persuasivemessages. Dillard and Marshall (2003) distinguished between two types of goals:primary goals and secondary goals. Primary goals are also referred to as influencegoals and are defined as the state of affairs that people wish to bring about (Dillard &Marshall, 2003). The two authors mentioned also identified different types of primarygoals, referring to them as motivations behind the source's influence attempt.Different types of primary goals have been found in various works, including theworks of Dillard (2003), Wilson and Sabee (2003), Wilson (2002), Cody et al. (1994),Dillard et al. (1989), Wilson and Kunkel (2000) and Schrader and Dillard (1998).This study examined the approaches, such as directness or indirectness, thatmarried Xhosa men use when conveying their messages. It endeavoured to discoverthe persuasive problems encountered by these men and other issues related to theproduction of a persuasive message. In this study, the goal of giving advice appearedto be the one used most by the men. The study revealed that the main reason for themen giving advice was to help people in their society to lead healthy lifestyles. It alsoshowed that the common use of the advisory goal is valued in Xhosa culture and thatit is, to a certain extent, appreciated by those who are being advised.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University