Decoding Apology Terms in Anglo-American English and Saudi Arabic: Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM)

Abstract

This dissertation proposes explications for the most used apology terms in American and Saudi cultures within the framework of Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM). I present key American terms, such as sorry, apologize, and excuse me, alongside their Saudi counterparts, including a'atather, a'asif, and ma'alish, examining their meanings and functions. These explications provide insight into the cultural scripts of American and Saudi societies. The examples are drawn from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), Saudi Arabian literature, the Arabic Corpus, and Google, offering a comparative analysis of how apology is expressed across these two cultures.