1. Introduction

Introduced the concept of interactive collaboration, pointed out its existence at different levels of language representation, and emphasized pragmatic collaboration as a new research direction for interactive collaboration. Meanwhile, it was pointed out that there have been many studies on the verification of pragmatic synergy effects, but the influencing factors are still unclear. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of second language pragmatic competence and working memory capacity on the pragmatic synergy effect of refusal speech acts in second language interactions.

2. Research background

The concept of pragmatic synergy was discussed, which refers to the accurate understanding of the pragmatic meaning of each other's discourse by both communicators in interaction, and the dynamic coordination of the use of the same pragmatic representation. The pragmatic synergy effect was illustrated through specific examples, such as the pragmatic performance of two movie fans who violated the cooperative principle when evaluating Peter Dinklage. Domestic and foreign researchers have confirmed the existence of pragmatic synergy through different interactive tasks, but existing research has not fully examined the influencing factors. This study chose second language pragmatic competence and working memory as influencing factors for examination, as second language proficiency has an impact on language representation coordination, and high-level second language learners often have higher second language pragmatic competence. Working memory capacity, as an important cognitive factor affecting language processing, may play a significant role in the synergistic effect, but there is controversy in academia regarding this. This study will conduct pragmatic synergy experiments through refusal speech acts, as refusal speech acts involve factors such as politeness and social distance, providing multidimensional evidence. Refusal pragmatic strategies, social cues, and empathetic person cues are observable and measurable pragmatic phenomena in refusal speech acts. Proper use of these pragmatic phenomena can help maintain interpersonal relationships and establish a friendly communicative atmosphere.

3. Research Design

This chapter elaborates on the research design, including three research questions related to the impact of second language pragmatic competence and working memory on second language pragmatic strategies, social cues, and empathetic person cues. The research tools include English pragmatic competence test, working memory test, and oral discourse completion test, which are used to evaluate the subjects' English pragmatic competence, working memory capacity, and refusal implementation methods, respectively. 80 students were selected from 246 participants and divided into two groups based on their high and low levels of second language pragmatic competence. Each group was further divided into high and low groups according to their working memory capacity. Prior to the experiment, a second language pragmatic competence and working memory test was conducted. The formal experiment was conducted through an online collaborator script task, requiring collaborators and participants to engage in role-playing English oral conversations. After the experiment, transcribe the recording, screen and count the synergy of refusal pragmatic strategies, social cues, and empathetic person cues. Finally, a linear mixed effects model was established using R software to analyze the pragmatic synergy data of different groups, with second language pragmatic competence and working memory as fixed effects and participants as random variables.

4. Research results

The impact of second language pragmatic competence and working memory on the synergistic effect of second language pragmatics was analyzed through a linear mixed effects model. The results showed that second language pragmatic competence has a significant positive effect on pragmatic strategy coordination and empathetic person indicator coordination, but has no effect on social indicator coordination. Working memory has a significant impact on pragmatic strategy coordination, but has no effect on the coordination of social cues and empathetic person cues. There is no interactive effect between second language pragmatic competence and working memory.

5. Discussion

This chapter explores the impact of second language pragmatic competence and working memory on the synergistic effect of second language pragmatics. Research has found that second language pragmatic competence and working memory are important factors affecting the synergistic effect of second language pragmatics, but their synergistic effects on second language pragmatic strategies, social cues, and empathetic person cues differ. In terms of second language pragmatic strategy synergy, the higher the second language pragmatic competence, the greater the synergy intensity, which may be related to the higher level of development of pragmatic strategy representation in high-level second language pragmatic competence learners. The higher the working memory capacity, the greater the collaborative intensity, which is related to the differences in individual attentional control abilities. However, second language pragmatic competence and working memory did not significantly affect the synergy of social cues, which may be related to the lower processing difficulty of social cues and the development of social cue representation in the subjects. The stronger the second language pragmatic ability, the greater the collaborative strength in the use of empathetic pronouns, while working memory has no effect on the coordination of second language empathetic pronouns. This study validates the hypothesis that collaborative automation in foreign languages reduces language proficiency, indicating that pragmatic level collaboration is not completely automated for second language learners.

6. Conclusion

This chapter summarizes the impact of second language pragmatic competence and working memory on the synergistic effect of second language pragmatics. Research has found that second language pragmatic competence and working memory are important factors affecting the synergistic effect of second language pragmatics, but their impact on different synergistic effects varies. Specifically, second language pragmatic competence and working memory have a significant impact on the synergy of second language pragmatic strategies, but have no significant impact on the synergy of social cues. The synergy of empathetic pronouns is significantly influenced by second language pragmatic competence, but not by working memory. Research has shown that the emergence of second language pragmatic synergy is a process influenced by individual differences. This study enriches the research on second language interaction collaboration, but there are also shortcomings, such as the limitations of online experimental forms and sample representativeness issues. Future research needs to expand the sample size to obtain more universal conclusions.