INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATION STYLES

KROSNO STATE COLLEGE POLAND , 14-16 OCTOBER 2013

Conclusion of the conference

• Style is• a way of doing something• an assemblage of design choices

• A style marks out or indexes a social difference.• Part of our social competence is being able to understand these indexical links.

[Coupland, N. 2007. Style. Language Variation and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 1]

What is style?

• Public discourse• Business/corporate communication• Scientific discourse• Cultural institutions (e.g. museums, dance)• Education and classroom discourse (as part of students’ critical cultural awareness)

• Online social networks

•Style has been investigated in a variety of contexts…

• Media genres • TV series• Cartoons• News reports• Lifestyle magazines• Advertisements• Online memorials to pets

• Novels• Political speeches• Letters of application• Narratives

•Across different genres…

• Rhetorical and persuasion strategies• Speech acts

• Threats• Accusations• Condemnations• Insults

• Discourse markers• ‘Abstract rhetor’ nouns• Metaphors• Loanwords and calques• Spelling conventions• Ceremonial wishes

•And by focusing on specific stylistic features…

• Ethnic/cultural characteristics• Gender• Professional roles• Language contact and inequality• Public vs. private contexts

• They are also important in translation processes.

•Stylistic choices are influenced by (and indicative of)…

Two other topics have been discussed

in relation to style…

1. Humor2. Stereotypes

• In scholarly communication• In folklore• In sitcoms• In newspapers

• As a means of identity construction• As a source of miscommunication

•Humor appears to be a significantstylistic resource…

• Business communication• Popular culture (e.g. sitcoms, entertainment programs)

• History• Proverbs• Students’ written essays• Political discourse on multiculturalism

•Stereotypes are circulated via stylistic choices and humor in…