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CommunicationTRANSCRIPT
I N T E R L A N G U A G E A N D I N T E R C U L T U R A L P R A G M A T I C S
Communication Across Cultural Contexts
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
New Material
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Purpose of this Class
Introduce you to the field of pragmatics
Explore the notions of context, presupposition & inference
Give you an overview over several fields where pragmatics plays a crucial role, including
Speech Act Theory
Politeness Theory
Interlanguage pragmatics
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
What Pragmatics is not
Unlike linguistic philosophers or syntacticians, the truth value of a sentence is of little interest to pragmaticians
Pragmaticians aren‟t interested in whether what someone says constitutes a well-formed sentence
Pragmaticians aren‟t interested in whether what someone says is true or false
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
What is Pragmatics
Pragmaticians are interested in why people say something and why they say it in this particular way
Pragmaticians are interested in how an utterance gains meaning from the surrounding social and situational context
Pragmaticians are interested in how speaker and addressee create and negotiate meaning
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Context
“Context can be understood as the particular environments in which communication, texts and meaning making occur and in which they function as meaningful” (Schirato & Yell, 2000: 109-110)
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Context
Physical
I want that book
Be here at 9 tonight
Linguistic
I can‟t believe you said that
Social
I do hereby humbly request that you might endeavor to telephone me with news of your arrival at your domicile when such arrival occurs.
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Context
Context is a conceptual dimension, a way of reading what is going on „out there‟
Context is a subjective interpretation
Idiosyncratic perception
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Context
Contextual factors to consider
What is going on
Where it is happening
Those involved
The role of the text in the situation
The other texts (intertexts) which are related to this one
The wider social and cultural context
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Context
Example: A member of the opposite sex asks you out for a coffee What is going on – an invite Where it is happening –
a) where is the invite made (in class, a nightclub, at a conference, in the street) b) where is the meeting proposed (the nearest starbucks, a private home, coffee
shop at place of business, in a romantic garden setting)
Those involved – a friend, a stranger, a boss The role of the text in the situation – out of the blue, after discussing organising a
get-together to do your group work, after a presentation at a conference, after a job interview
The other texts (intertexts) which are related to this one – did you just have a discussion about where you can get the best coffee in town, what have you just been talking about previously, what is your joint history of interaction together
The wider social and cultural context – is it appropriate in your culture society to ask a friend/stranger/employee our for a coffee under the given circumstances and is it appropriate for you to accept this?
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Presupposition
Unchallenged Acceptance
Common ground
Assumptions
It must:
Be mutually known or assumed by the speaker and addressee for the utterance to be considered appropriate in context
Generally remain a necessary assumption whether the utterance is placed in the form of an assertion, denial or question
Generally be associated with a specific lexical item or grammatical feature (presupposition trigger) in the utterance
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Presupposition
An implicit assumption about the world or background belief relating to an utterance whose truth is taken for granted in discourse.
Examples: Jane no longer writes fiction
Presupposition: Jane once wrote fiction
Have you stopped eating meat? You had previously eaten meat
Example: The utterance John regrets that he stopped doing linguistics before he
left Cambridge has the following presuppositions: There is someone uniquely identifiable to speaker and addressee as John. John stopped doing linguistics before he left Cambridge. John was doing linguistics before he left Cambridge. John left Cambridge. John had been at Cambridge.
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Inference
An act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true
The non-logical, but rational, means, through observation of patterns of facts, to indirectly see new meanings and contexts for understanding
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Inference
Syllogism: correct three part inferences, that can be used as building blocks for more complex reasoning Example:
All men are mortal Socrates is a man Therefore, Socrates is mortal
Fallacy: An incorrect inference - Philosophers who study informal logic have compiled large lists of them, and cognitive psychologists have documented many biases in human reasoning that favor incorrect reasoning Example:
All tall people are Greek John Lennon was tall Therefore, John Lennon was Greek
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Inference
Speaker
Implied
Suggested
Meant
Addressee
Meaning derived from context
Interpretation of utterance
Deriving intended meaning
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Areas of Interest within Pragmatics
Speech Act Theory
Politeness Theory
Interlanguage Pragmatics
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Speech Act Theory
Speech acts are language in action
By making an utterance, people perform the action
Name some speech acts
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Speech Act Theory
Speech acts by nature are relatively scripted and conventionalized
Rules govern which behaviour is appropriate for which speech act
Such rules and conventions vary across cultures
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Speech Act Theory
Example: Disagreement
Researchers have argued that:
We mostly aim for agreement and conflict avoidance in interaction
Fundamental tendency to cooperate and align
We avoid threatening social bonds
Disagreement is downplayed or at least weakened
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Speech Act Theory
Preferences differ across cultures
Cultures that avoid dissent include: Anglo-Saxon cultures, Japanese culture, Chinese culture, other Asian cultures
Cultures that enjoy a heated debate and like to engage in a confrontational style include: Jewish culture, German culture, Turkish culture, Polish culture, Spanish culture, some South American cultures
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Speech Act Theory
Emphasis on the expression of surface-level agreement and maintenance of harmony
Whether disagreement is seen as harmony-destroying
Whether disagreement is seen as social event that builds bonds
Whether disagreement is seen to have a sociable nature
Whether cultures have a high involvement style
Whether it is seen as more face-threatening not to be able to defend own opinion
Genre-dependent
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Speech Act Theory
Leave-taking
In British culture if dinner guests indicate they want to leave, the British let them go
Reasons?
Acknowledging their autonomy
Acknowledging their wish for self-determination
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Speech Act Theory
Leave-taking
In Polish culture the hosts will try to persuade the guests to stay
Reasons?
Display of warmth and caring is more important than respect for autonomy
Seen as uncaring and cold if they didn‟t
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Speech Act Theory
Consequence:
British see Poles as lacking consideration for others and showing a tendency to being inflexible, bossy and to interfere
Poles regard Brits as lacking in warmth, spontaneity and sincerity
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Speech Act Theory
Example Compliments
Different cultures have different norms on
Compliment formulae
Who to compliment
When to compliment
How frequently to compliment
What to compliment on
How to respond to compliments
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Speech Acts
For a speech act to be successful it is not enough to have the right intentions
It has to meet the cultural expectations
If it doesn‟t comply with what a culture considers appropriate it will fail
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Example
On Germans: How they would like others to see them
“They would like to be respected for their devotion to truth and honesty. They are surprised that this is sometimes taken as tactlessness, or worse. After all, if I know you to be in error, surely it is my duty to correct you? Surely the truth is more important than pretending to like your ghastly shirt or sports coat? Foreigners just cannot seem to appreciate this.”
(Xenophobe‟s guide to the Germans)
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
How does this relate to Pragmatics
Speech acts acquire their meaning in the cultural context in which they occur
For a speech act to be successful a speaker‟s and a hearer‟s cultural expectations of what is (in)appropriate must align
The speaker‟s and hearer‟s respective evaluation of the situation, context, social aspects and the interlocutor must be accurate (and similar)
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Applied Politeness
Utterances are never innately polite or impolite
What makes an utterance polite depends on the social and situational context in which they occur
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Speaker intention
Cultural & social influences on the speaker (out of awareness)
Speaker
Assessing
applicable social & cultural norms
(conscious)
Assessing situational context
Assessing addressee
Assessing the level
of politeness perceived as appropriate
Utterance
Cultural & social filter (out of awareness)
Addressee
Assessing
applicable social & cultural norms
(conscious)
Assessing applicable social &
cultural norms (conscious)
Assessing situational context
Assessing speaker
Assessing politeness, prosody & non-verbal cues
of an utterance
Addressee interpretation
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
How does politeness relate to pragmatics?
What is polite is a culture-bound perception
Politeness is also strongly context dependent
The social context and situational circumstances influence when something is or is not polite
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Sociopragmatic Factors
There are 3 main factors that influence our choices
How these 3 factors are perceived and weighted is culture-dependent
Power
Distance
Imposition
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Sociopragmatic Factors
Power
Does a person have a lot or little power?
Is the person I am talking to in a higher or lower power position than myself?
Which impact does my culture attribute to such differences?
Which strategies are appropriate in my culture to use?
H -> L
Equals
L -> H
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Sociopragmatic Factors
Distance
How well do I know the person?
How close a relationship do we have?
Strategies will depend on whether they are:
Strangers
Acquaintances
Friends
Family/intimate relationships
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Sociopragmatic Factors
Degree of Imposition
What is it that I am asking for?
How much is it that I am asking for?
How easy or difficult is it for the other person to comply?
How much of an imposition is it on the other person?
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Misconception
If people speak the same language they automatically understand each other
Wrong, because:
Language is just a message medium
Understanding stems from:
Appropriate „packaging‟ of a message (i.e. when to say what to whom under which circumstances)
Appropriate „unwrapping‟ of a message (i.e. culturally correct interpretation of context, presupposition, inference)
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Interlanguage Pragmatics
Interlanguage Pragmatics is the relationship between L1 and L2
Pragmatic transfer
Difficulties arising for learners from pragmatic transfer
Pragmatic failure
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Interlanguage Pragmatics
Relationship between L1 and L2
How similar are the pragmatic norms of the cultures
Do L1 strategies work in L2
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Interlanguage Pragmatics
Pragmatic Transfer
Is to transfer L1 sociocultural competence in performing L2 aspects of communication
Learners impose their own cultural norms on target language
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Interlanguage Pragmatics
Pragmatic Transfer
Types of transfer
Interference/negative transfer
Facilitative/positive transfer
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Interlanguage Pragmatics
Pragmatic Transfer
Factors in pragmatic transfer
Perception of language distance between native and target language
Learning context
Instructional effect
L2 proficiency
Access to target language
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Interlanguage Pragmatics
Pragmatic Transfer
Transferability is determined by learner‟s assessment of:
Contextual appropriateness of a given strategy in their L1
Assessment of equivalence of strategies in native and target language
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler
Interlanguage Pragmatics
Pragmatic failure
Miscommunication arising from pragmatic transfer
Communication breakdown due to lack of pragmatic understanding
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Interlanguage Pragmatics
Pragmatic failure results from
Overgeneralization
Simplification
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Homework
Reading:
Zegarac, V. and Pennington, M. (2008). Pragmatic Transfer. In H. Spencer-Oatey (ed.), Culturally Speaking, 141-163.
HG8004 Stefanie Stadler