I came across this really interesting site last night. CARLA at the University of Minnesota.
Speech Acts are the intersection of language and culture. It's all very well to say "This pen is red", but how do you ask for a pen; apologise for losing it; praise your friend's taste in pens; thank someone for their present of a pen; say you don't have a pen?. What is the appropriate thing to say and how to behave. Not just try to make do with your first language culture and word by word translation in social situations.
It covers topics raised elsewhere here about using keigo and "the space between the lines".
It is actually about the way language is used in many other languages but it has a large Japanese component.
http://www.carla.umn.edu/speechacts/
http://www.carla.umn.edu/speechacts/descriptions.html
The description of how compliments work in Japanese was a bit of a surprise for me. It's interesting how "hard wired" my social behaviour is and how that might be a problem in another culture. Apparently my praise of a friend is distancing rather than helping form a bond!
The deeper link below goes to a series of excercises. Do you know what's going on and what to do in social situations? It also compares American ways of behaving with Japanese ways. The Introductory ones I've done so far don't need Japanese language to complete. The later excercises are grouped into areas such as Apologies, Compliments, Refusals, Requests and Thanks. and seem to be very instructive.
http://www.iles.umn.edu/introtospeechacts/
