Communication across Cultures: Mutual Understanding in a Global World

212 Pages·9.134 MB·English

by  Heather Bowe, Kylie Martin, Howard Manns

Heather Bowe and Kylie Martin
Mutual Understanding in a Global World
Cambridge
(Mustves)
Communication Across
Cultures
Mutual understanding in a
global world
Communication Across Cultures examines the ways in which spoken
and written language may be interpreted depending on the context
and expectations of the participants. Key concepts are drawn from
linguistic pragmatics and discourse analysis, and studies of politeness
and cross-cultural communication. The book has many examples from
a variety of languages and cultures — from Japan to Germany, from
the Americas to Africa, and to Australia.
This book is intended for students of linguistics and related dis¬
ciplines, and interdisciplinary researchers who have no specialised
knowledge of linguistics. Relevant literature and recent research are
featured and explained throughout for the benefit of students who are
learning how research in this field is conducted, and also for interdisci¬
plinary researchers wishing to incorporate some of these perspectives
into their own work.
Dr Heather Bowe is Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at Monash
University and Director of the Language and Society Centre.
Kylie Martin is completing a PhD at Monash University on the
socio-cultural situation of the Ainu language in Japan. She has lived
and worked in Indonesia as well as in Japan.
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Communication
Across Cultures
Mutual understandin
in a global world
Heather Bowe and Kylie Martin
Monash University
School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics
gg CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo
Cambridge University Press
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/978052l695572
© Heather Bowe, Kylie Martin 2007
First published 2007
Reprinted 2009, 2012,2013
Printed in Australia by Ligare
A catalogue recordfor this publication is available from the British Library
National Library of Australia Cataloguing in Publication data
Bowe, Heather). (HeatherJoan), 1947—.
Communication Across Cultures: Mutual Understanding in a Global World.
Bibliography.
Includes index.
ISBN-13 978-0-521-69557-2 paperback
ISBN-10 0-521-69557-0 paperback
1. Intercrdtural communication. 2. Politeness (Linguistics). 3. Speech acts (Linguistics).
4. Discourse analysis. 5. Translating and interpreting. 1. Martin, Kylie. 11. Title. 302.2
ISBN-13 978-0-521-69557-2
ISBN-10 0-521-69557-0
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Contents
List of figures page ix
List of tables x
Transcription conventions xi
Preface and acknowledgments xiii
Chapter 1: Culture, communication and interaction 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Culture, communication and intercultural interaction 2
Suggested further reading 8
Chapter 2: Direct and indirect messages: The role of social
context identified by Grice and Searle 9
2.1 Grice’s maxims 10
2.2 Speech acts 15
2.3 Summary 22
2.4 Review 22
Suggested further reading 25
Chapter 3: Politeness and face 26
3.1 Theories of politeness: Brown and Levinson 27
3.2 Different perspectives on politeness 32
3.3 Criticisms of Brown and Levinson 34
3.4 The study of cross-cultural pragmatics using natural semantic
metalanguage 38
VI CONTENTS
3.5 Cognitive and cultural schema 41
3.6 Summary 42
3.7 Review 43
Suggested further reading 45
Chapter 4: Speech acts and politeness across cultures 46
4.1 Requests: Indirectness and politeness 47
4.2 Complaints 50
4.3 Apologies 52
4.4 Acceptance of an apology 55
4.5 The gender factor 56
4.6 Summary 57
4.7 Review 58
Suggested further reading 60
Chapter 5: The analysis of conversation 61
5.1 Turn-taking in conversation 61
5.2 Some differences in turn-taking in intercultural contexts 65
5.3 The role of back-channelling 66
5.4 Repetition as back-channelling in successful intercultural
communication 66
5.5 Greetings and leave-taking 68
5.6 Some functions of laughter 72
5.7 Another function of humour: Joking 74
5.8 Cultural differences in conversational routines 75
5.9 Summary 75
5.10 Review 76
Suggested further reading 79
Chapter 6: Power relations and stereotyping 80
6.1 Hofstede and the dimensions of culture 80
6.2 Power relations in interactions 84
6.3 Stereotyping and ideology 37
6.4 Summary 39
CONTENTS VII
6.5 Review 90
Suggested further reading 93
Chapter 7: Naming and addressing: Expressing deference,
respect, and solidarity 95
7.1 Pronouns of address 95
7.2 Nouns of address 102
7.3 Honorifics 109
7.4 Summary 114
7.5 Review 114
Suggested further reading 119
Chapter 8: Cultural differences in writing 120
8.1 Linearity: A key principle of English written discourse 120
8.2 Non-linear discourse structures 122
8.3 Multiple perspectives: The example of Japanese 123
8.4 ‘Digressiveness’: A feature of German academic register 127
8.5 The form/content distinction 128
8.6 Letter writing 129
8.7 Summary 137
8.8 Review 137
Suggested further reading 139
Chapter 9: Interpreting and translating 140
9.1 Types of interpreting 140
9.2 Primacy of the mother tongue l4l
9.3 Difficulties in achieving a balance between pragmatic
equivalence and impartiality l4l
9.4 Interpreters assuming the role of institutional gatekeeper:
A case study 142
9.5 Advertising: A true challenge for intercultural communication 143
9.6 The development of interpreting/translating services in Australia 146
9.7 Some tips for translating and interpreting in the business context 152
9.8 Conclusion 153
/
CONTENTS
9.9 Review 154
Suggested further reading 156
Chapter 10: Intercultural communication issues in professional
and workplace contexts 157
10.1 Two different workplace cultures in contact 157
10.2 Differences of expectation in intercultural business encounters 159
10.3 Information gathering in medical and legal practice 162
10.4 Australian Indigenous clients in the courtroom 163
10.5 Workplace communication: From factory to office 165
10.6 Conclusion 166
10.7 Review 166
Suggested further reading 167
Chapter 11: Towards successful intercultural communication 169
11.1 The elaboration of repetition as a creative strategy to help avoid
miscommunication 169
11.2 Turn-sharing as collaboration between non-English-speaking
workers: Ancillary staff at a Melbourne hospital 174
11.3 The response of the individual to the challenges of intercultural
communication 176
11.4 The emergent and distributed nature of cultural cognition:
The locus of new conceptual interpretations 177
11.5 Conclusion 178
11.6 Review 179
Suggested further reading 180
References 181
Index 193