Functional Approach to Professional Discourse Exploration in Linguistics

336 Pages·2020·3.201 MB·English

by  Elena N. Malyuga

Elena N. Malyuga Editor
Functional Approach
to Professional
Discourse Exploration
in Linguistics
Functional Approach to Professional Discourse
Exploration in Linguistics
Elena N. Malyuga
Editor
Functional Approach
to Professional Discourse
Exploration in Linguistics
123
Editor
ElenaN.Malyuga
Department ofForeign Languages
Peoples’Friendship University ofRussia
Moscow,Russia
ISBN978-981-32-9102-7 ISBN978-981-32-9103-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9103-4
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Contents
Introduction: Professional Discourse in the Focus of Functional
Linguistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Evgeniya V. Ponomarenko, Oksana V. Magirovskaya
and Svetlana N. Orlova
Professional Discourse: Functional-Linguistic Perspective
(Based on Academic Discourse) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
OlgaS.Chesnokova,DmitryS.KhramchenkoandMilanaE.Kupriyanova
Expressive Syntactic Devices as Means of Forming Advertising
Discourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Olga V. Aleksandrova, Ekaterina A. Korableva
and Antonina A. Kharkovskaya
Functional and Linguistic Features of Humour in Economic
Discourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Elena N. Malyuga, Alex Krouglov and Maria V. Ivanova
Study of Precedent Text Pragmatic Function in Modern Economic
Discourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Victoria V. Sibul, Victoria V. Vetrinskaya and Elizaveta G. Grishechko
Peculiarities of Argumentative Strategies of Modern English
Political Discourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Samvel A. Abrahamyan and Maria A. Banshchikova
Discursive Construction of “Others” in the Semiotic Space
of Political Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Lyudmila V. Kulikova and Juliya I. Detinko
Medical Professional Discourse in Terms of Cognitive Linguistic
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Elizaveta A. Vishnyakova, Olga D. Vishnyakova and Irina V. Smirnova
v
vi Contents
Professional Discourse Situations as Quanta of Professional
Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Igor V. Chekulai, Olga N. Prokhorova and Anna V. Kiseleva
Word-Building Processes in Professional Romance Languages
(Exemplified by Professional Terminology in the Area of Fashion) . . . . 305
Galina V. Ovchinnikova, Natalia V. Poliakova and Aryuna G. Ivanova
Introduction: Professional Discourse
in the Focus of Functional Linguistics
Evgeniya V. Ponomarenko, Oksana V. Magirovskaya
and Svetlana N. Orlova
The Functional Approach to Professional Discourse Exploration in Linguistics
comprises the papers by mostly Russian scholars who combine their research work
withdifferentforms ofputting linguisticknowledge togoodpractical use (teaching,
translation, management, PR, advertising, journalism, editing, etc.). They see their
ultimate goal in transmitting the results of their theoretical contemplations to the
actual forms of professional communication, thus making it more sophisticated and
harmonised for both parties of the process and trying to develop such skills in their
students,futureprofessionals.Thisvisioncorrelateswiththemessageofthefamous
functionalist M. A. K. Halliday about a theory of language being ‘essentially con-
sumer oriented’ (Halliday 1985: 7), and hence, exposed to extralinguistic influence.
Thelinguisticanalysisofprofessionaldiscoursehasemergedfromtheareawhich
hasbeenverypopularfordecades,thatofmanagementandorganisationstudies.It
coverssuchissuesasorganisationalcommunication,managementintheworkplace,
effective communication atwork,communicativemodelsandterminologiesindif-
ferent professional spheres (politics, business, advertising, finance, engineering,
medicine,education,etc.).Theabundanceofbooks,dissertations,articles,manuals
andcoursebooksdevotedtoprofessionalcommunicationseemstoembraceallfacets
oftheproblem.However,theembarrassingquestionmayarise:why,havingacquired
numerous professionally related skills, do people participating in professional
E.V.Ponomarenko(&)
MoscowStateInstituteofInternationalRelations(MGIMOUniversity),Moscow,Russia
e-mail:[email protected]
O.V.Magirovskaya
SiberianFederalUniversity,Krasnoyarsk,Russia
e-mail:[email protected]
S.N.Orlova
Peoples’FriendshipUniversityofRussia(RUDNUniversity),Moscow,Russia
e-mail:[email protected]
©SpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.2020 1
E.N.Malyuga(ed.),FunctionalApproachtoProfessionalDiscourse
ExplorationinLinguistics,https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9103-4_1
2 E.V.Ponomarenkoetal.
communicationsometimesfailtosucceedinachievingtheevidentpurposeoftheir
interaction,amutuallyacceptablecompromise?
Leavingasidethepossibilityofgravecollisionsoftheparties’basicinterests,we
have to state that one of the significant reasons for the named failures is commu-
nicators’ insufficient linguistic proficiency. Back in 1937 Dale Carnegie in his
famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People quoted J. D. Rockefeller
whoadmittedtheabilitytodealwithpeopletobe“aspurchasableacommodityas
sugarorcoffee”andwasreadyto“paymoreforthatabilitythanforanyotherunder
the sun” (Carnegie 2005: 9). In fact, the famous billionaire’s idea is that it is very
good to be an expert in one’s profession, but it is still better to be an expert who
knowshowtoproperlycommunicateprofessionalknowledgeandexpertisetothose
concerned,usingittothebestadvantageofbusinessandthecompany(oranyother
institution) one represents.
Hence, factors of professional communication effectiveness are of primary
importance for linguistic analysis, and that makes up the subject matter of the
present book. The book incorporates issues of structural, semantic, cognitive and
pragmatic characteristics of different types of professional discourse, strategies of
argumentation,humourinprofessionaldiscourse,word-buildingprocesses,etc.The
purpose of the research is to study professional discourse from the angle of its
qualifying markers and other characteristics related to discourse communicative
efficiency. This book is designed to give an overview of today’s analytical modes
practised in Russian linguistics in reference to professional communication, with
the Russian research work being largely based on international accomplishments.
The global science of language has generated diverse theories and concepts
through which professional communication is investigated. They are almost
exhaustively enumerated by Nickerson (2017): genre analysis, narrative theory,
discourse analysis, media richness theory, social constructionism, action research,
content analysis, rhetorical analysis, conversation-analysis ethnography, accom-
modation theory, macro-theories on intercultural communication, framing, theory
of hypermodality and others (Nickerson 2017: 54).
In some way or other the authors of the present book make use of the helpful
insights peculiar to different analytical approaches which clearly complement, not
deny each other. Furthermore, most of them inevitably include elements of func-
tionalanalysis,sincethefunctionalparadigmisinasenseoverwhelminginrespect
toverbalcommunicationeffectiveness,andtheRussianresearchersgiveduecredit
to it.
Scientific literature provides numerous definitions of professional communica-
tion,someofthemfocusingontextpeculiarities,othersonthecontextoftheiruse.
Its characteristic as an academic discipline may be generalised as “the use of all
forms of semiotic resources (linguistic as well as multimodal) in and for academic
aswellasprofessionalcontexts,bothspokenandwritten”(Bhatia2017:xvi);more
utilitariandefinitionscomedownto“workplacecommunication”(Ibidem);socially
concerned specialists describe communication of this type as “social action
in business contexts” (Bargiela-Chiappini et al. 2007: 5). Whatever orientation
Introduction:ProfessionalDiscourseintheFocus… 3
prevailsinscholars’definitions, they cannot avoid analysingtwoinseparable sides
of the phenomenon in question—its language features and their connection to the
corresponding field(s) of application. Therefore, the appearance of such scientific
and learning areas as Professional Language, or Language for Specific Purposes
(LSP),inparticularEnglishforSpecificPurposes(ESP),orLanguageatWorkand
the like was an organic outcome of a natural course of things in professional
communication studies.
No doubt, nowadays English plays the leading role as a means of professional
interactionacrosstheworldduetoglobalisationtendenciesandtheadvancedpositions
ofEnglish-speakingcountriesinmanyareasofeconomyandinternationalpolicies.As
a whole, we accept the view of professional communication in English as the “inte-
grationofESPandbusinesscommunication”(Bhatia2017:xvii),taking“business”in
thebroadsenseoftheword,i.e.notrestrictingittotrade,managementandfinance,as
some researchers do, but including various kinds of professional activities.
Inthe1970s–80s,professionallanguagesinglingoutasaseparateresearchfield
and academic discipline was largely influenced by foreign language teachers’
efforts,sincetheyneededclearlydefinedparametersofLSPaslearningmaterial,so
that the language of coursebooks could be similar to that of actual professional
communication. This accounts for the language sources largely used as empirical
materials in this volume and other projects:
– professionallyrelatedaudioandvideoresources(interviews,pressconferences,
newsreviews,lectures,scientificandfeaturefilmsonthecorrespondingthemes,
radio and TV programmes);
– institutional reports, professional journals and quality press publications;
– coursebooks in foreign languages and in professional subjects proper;
– fiction books describing the professional community lifestyle or other peculiar
practices (what is sometimes called “quasiprofessional discourse”).
Withtheprocessofglobalisationgainingmomentum,LSPhasgrownintooneof
the most dynamically developing areas of both research and teaching activities
throughout the world. However, its rapid progress is inevitably accompanied by
challenges which are being gradually met, like prevalence of written forms over
oral ones used as exemplary language sources in the past (Dudley-Evans and St.
John 1996), or the necessity to master numerous and ever-renovating technologies
in the digitising global world, including educational facilities (Carrier et al. 2017),
or facing intercultural difficulties in multiethnic communities.
Thelatterpointisunanimouslyrecognisedbyeducationistsandprofessionalsas
one of critical importance in all modes of communication (not only verbal): “An
awareness of cultural differences, adapting to and accommodating them implicitly
(such as catering for all dietary needs) sends the right messages about meeting the
interlocutorhalfwayandstartsarelationshipontherightnoteandhasthepotential
to further cement it” (Bahri and Williams 2017: 25). What is more, a cultural
perspective “needs to be there from day one” (Crystal 2017: 13), as it often
4 E.V.Ponomarenkoetal.
accounts for a success or failure of interaction in case of cultural sensitivities:
“some topics simply cannot be talked about comfortably at all, for religious,
political,or other reasons” (Ibidem: 21). Barry Tomalin,one of thegurus ofdoing
business internationally, warns against underrating cultural basics in professional
contexts: “Understanding a culture too often becomes something you do after the
event,whenyourrelationshipwithaclienthasbrokendown.Butthat’sshuttingthe
stabledoorafterthehorsehasbolted.Failuretorelatetoanotherculturecanleadto
business disaster” (Tomalin and Nicks 2007: 4).
With all the significance attached to cultural awareness, these questions of
professional interaction are more thoroughly investigated from sociological and
psychologicalanglesthanintermsoflinguistics.Butlackoftherelevantlinguistic
knowledgemayputrestrictionsonourclearunderstandingofthepotentialofverbal
means’influenceonpeople’smindsandfeelings,andthatneedstobereplenished.
Therefore, nowadays the issue of intercultural professional and business commu-
nication (IPBC) has moved to the forefront of linguists’ research interests and
despite decades of research efforts is still topical and far from being exhausted.
Thus, the monograph Linguistic Pragmatics of Intercultural Professional and
Business Communication (2018, Springer) by Prof. Elena Malyuga and Dr.
SvetlanaOrlovaisamongthelatestdevelopmentsintheframeworkoftheproblem
outlined.Forthepurposesofthepresentworkthefollowingpointsdisclosedinthe
monograph are essential as basic theoretical premises.
Firstly, the authors determined a range of prominent linguistic peculiarities of
IPBC:
1. AlthoughIPBCtendstorevealsomespecificpatternsintheuseofgrammatical
forms, its lexical composition appears to be its most striking characteristic.
2. IPBCischaracterisedbytheuseofalargenumberoftermsrepresentedbyboth
codified and uncodified lexical units.
3. IPBC abounds in jargonisms which serve as identifiers of a person’s profes-
sional group affiliation.
4. IPBC in the sphere of economy and business commonly utilises a wide variety
of euphemisms (Malyuga and Orlova 2018: 26).
The above characteristics give certain guidelines to the contributors to the pre-
sentvolumeastopointsofspecialattentioninprovidingtheiranalyticaloperations
on the selected empiric material.
Secondly, a clearly formulated definition of IPBC makes the necessary starting
pointforoutliningthescopeofstudymaterial:IPBCisviewedbytheauthorsas“a
complex process of the establishment, maintenance, and development of interper-
sonal contacts between people of different national identity in the professional
sphere. This process takes place in the context of divergent national and cultural
stereotypes of reflection and behaviour, as well as the regulations and standards
recognised in the society, and emerges in the setting of business consensus
established between the parties” (Malyuga and Orlova 2018: 7). The given defi-
nitionleadstotheanalysisofdiscursivefeaturesofprofessionallanguage,sincethe