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Copyright of Eurasian Journal of Philology: Science & Education is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study investigates how people from different cultures negotiate meanings in email interactions. The data is composed of 120 emails written by two groups of students: sixty emails are written by Jordanian university students and sixty by American university students. The emails are supposed to be written to hypothetical friends. The data were analysed qualitatively, relying primarily on discourse analysis complemented by the theory of politeness, in addition to the notion of cultural stereotypes. The evaluation of the data indicated that the American students used much more indirect strategies than their Jordanian counterparts. The results of this study offer insights into the nature of politeness strategies as employed by the two groups of students. This study argues for the importance of including pragmatic and intercultural communication instruction in language classes to teach students how to be polite in a foreign language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a genre-based approach to the study of negotiation within EAP classes and reports on results obtained using a negotiation model meant to increase students' awareness concerning the generic features of this communicative activity. The presented model is based on the Pragma-dialectical theory of argumentation, which offers a double perspective on the argumentation discourse analysed, namely a descriptive and normative perspective. The paper, based on desk and field research, aims to help business language students improve their abilities in argumentation and negotiation by developing discourse skills beyond a simple stage by stage negotiation strategy. In order to do so it examines the advantages and disadvantages of traditional teaching of negotiation skills and introduces the Pragma-dialectical theory of negotiation developed by van Eemeren and Grootendorst (1992) at the University of Amsterdam. The author demonstrates how the practical application of this approach has improved the performance of MA students in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although significant attention has been devoted to the notion of facework and its functions, facework among L2 speakers, whose cultural backgrounds and language proficiencies vary, has remained unexplored. The present study attempts to explore situations of intercultural communication in which facework is used as a way to remedy moments of potential face loss. The data are drawn from communication among Korean, Malaysian, and Japanese students who were enrolled in an online synchronous class. On the basis of these data, three different types of facework were identified: self-mocking humour, group embarrassment, and attempts to build group cohesion. Tensions among the intercultural group, which could have led to a potential break in face maintenance, emerged. These tensions resulted from discrepancies within the cultural groups concerning recognition of face, cultural assumptions, and language use. When participants did not find an equitable resolution of tension in words, nonverbal face-saving strategies functioned to resolve conflict and mitigate loss of face by re-contextualising the interaction. Overall, this paper highlights the complexities of intercultural communication in relation to face maintenance and offers insights for future research into L2 speakers’ use of facework in intercultural communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates and compares the use of discourse markers (DMs) by native speakers and learners of English based on a corpus of adolescent intercultural exchange students. The study employs a discourse analytical approach, in which Fung and Carter's (2007) multi-category framework is applied with a view to examining DMs used by a group of Taiwanese and British adolescents in an intercultural setting. The analytical framework contains four main functional categories: Interpersonal, referential, structural and cognitive DMs. Each DM was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively in order to identify the functions it serves in its original context and to further reveal the different uses of DMs between Taiwanese and British participants. The findings demonstrate that the DMs used by both groups of participants serve the four central functions, and in particular Taiwanese participants display a significant use of interpersonal (e.g., yeah, oh) and structural DMs (e.g., so, okay), while British participants have a significantly higher usage of referential (e.g., coz/because, and) and cognitive DMs (e.g., like, well). The results of this study have direct pedagogical implications that can enhance the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to better prepare learners for real life communication scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the discursive construction of corporate identity on the web from a glocalization perspective. Adopting a corpus-assisted discourse analysis approach, it compares English websites of top 10 energy companies in China and the US. The findings suggest that both global patterns and local preferences can be identified in their corporate identity construction. It is argued that they can be explained in terms of the special functions of the discourse itself and the particular socio-cultural context in which these companies are situated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of intercultural communication, which is adopted in mainstream applied linguistics and communication studies, aims to explain the meaning of cultural differences and identities in the present global world. The present analysis of intercultural communication is based on theories of cultural variability, which highlight the basic distinctions between values determining cultural differences and identities. Some studies in applied linguistics observe cultural variability as a discursive construction based on a form of epistemological essentialism, produced in the Western part of the world to give meaning to its hegemony. However, these studies share some epistemological foundations with theories of cultural variability. This paper proposes a theorization of intercultural communication, which explains cultural differences and identities as constructed in communication systems and based on their particular structural presuppositions. In this perspective, the hegemonic structure of intercultural communication is ethnocentrism, including the presuppositions of Us/Them basic distinction, positioning of individuals as members of cultural groups and normative expectations about displays of We-identities. This theorisation also provides an explanation of the discursive construction of new hybrid forms of identity, which are observed as a result of globalisation, and of the interdependence between local and global communication systems. Finally, this theorization leads to explain the meaning of intercultural dialogue, which is presented as an alternative to ethnocentrism. The open question regards the explanation of dialogue as either a new discursive construction of hegemonic Western culture or a new structure, introducing equality in participation, sensitivity for participants' personal expressions and expectations of participants' empowerment in local and global communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing global mobility, and growing awareness of language rights in many parts of the world, issues related to minority language speakers' participation in the legal process are now attracting increasing attention from scholars and those in the legal profession. As Tiersma (1993: 135) argues, '[f]ew professions are as concerned with language as is the law'. One manifestation is the disadvantage suffered by lay people unfamiliar with how language works in legal contexts such as police interviews and courtroom cross-examination. This gap in the access to linguistic repertoire between lay people and legal professionals can be widened when people participating in the legal process come from linguistic and cultural backgrounds that are different from those who speak the language of the court and are familiar with the culture in which the legal system is embedded. This paper discusses the participation of minority language speakers in the legal process, and some of the challenges that linguists face in trying to improve legal processes for minority language speakers. The following key aspects of communication are discussed: access to language assistance; quality of language assistance; attitudes towards minority language speakers; and intercultural issues. Drawing on the author's own studies of interpreter-mediated police interviews and multilingualism in criminal courts, as well as other relevant studies, the paper presents linguistic analyses that elucidates problems in legal interaction involving minority language speakers and legal professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]