Discourse
Analysis
It covers an
extremely wide range of activities, from the narrowly focused investigation of
how words such as ‘oh’ or ‘well’ are used in casual talk, to the study of dominant
ideology in a culture as represented, for example in its educational or
political practices.
However,
within the study of discourse, the pragmatic discourse is more specialized. It
tends to focus specifically on aspects of what is unsaid or unwritten (yet
communicated) within the discourse being analyzed. It also pays much more
attention to psychological concepts such as background knowledge, beliefs, and
expectations.
Coherence
What language users have most in mind in an assumption of coherence, that
what is said or written will make sense in terms of their normal experience
things.
For example:
- Plant sale (means that someone is selling plants)
-
Garage sale (does not mean that someone is selling
garages)
Although
these notice have an identical structure, they are interpreted differently.
Indeed, the interpretation of (1b), that someone is selling household items
from their garage, is one that requires some familiarity with suburban life.
For example:
- how many animals of each type did Moses take on the Ark?
If you immediately thought of ‘two’, then you accessed some common
cultural knowledge, perhaps even without noticing that the name used (Moses)
was inappropriate. We actually create a coherent interpretation for a text that
potentially does not have it.
- A motor vehicle accident was reported in front of Kennedy Theatre
involving a male and a female.
We automatically ‘fill in’ details (for example, a male person driving
one of the motor vehicles) to create coherence.
We also construct familiar scenarios in order to make sense of what might
first appear to be odd events, as in the newspaper headline in the example
below;
- Man robs Hotel with Sandwich
The sandwich (perhaps in a bag)
being used as if it was a gun, than you activated the kind of background
knowledge expected by the writer (as confirmed by the rest of the newspaper
article) or it can be interpreted (the man was eating the sandwich while
robbing the Hotel). Whatever it was, it was inevitability based on what you had
in mind and not only on what was in the ‘text’ in that example.
Our ability
to arrive automatically at interpretations of the unwritten or unsaid must be
based on pre-existing knowledge structures. These structures function like
familiar patterns from previous experience that we use to interpret new
experiences. The most general term for a pattern of this type is a schema
(plural, schemata). A schema is a pre-existing knowledge structure in memory.
Example : Apartment for rent. $ 500. 763-6683
A normal (local)
interpretation of the small fragment of discourse example will be based on not
only an ‘apartment’ frame of the basis of inference (if X is an apartment, then
X has a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom), but also an ‘apartment from rent
advertisement frame. Only on the basis of such a frame can the advertiser
expect the reader to fill in ‘per month’ and not ‘per year’ after ‘$500’ here.
If the reader expects that it would be ‘per week’, for example, then the reader
clearly has a different frame (i.e. based on a different experience of the cost
of apartment rental!).
Pragmatic point will nevertheless be the same: the reader uses a
pre-existing knowledge structure to create an interpretation of what is not
stated in the text.
SCRIPT
A script is a
pre-existing knowledge structure involving event sequences. We use scripts to
build interpretations of accounts of what happened.
ex; I stopped to get groceries
but there weren’t any baskets left so by the time I arrived at the check-out
counter I must have looked like a juggler having a bad day.
Part of this speaker’s
normal script for ‘getting groceries’ obviously involves having a basket and
going to the check-out counter. Everything else that happened in this event
sequence is assumed to be shared background knowledge (for example; she went
through a door to get inside the store and she walked around picking up items
from shelves)
The concept of a script is simply a way of recognizing some expected
sequence of actions in an event. Because most of the details of a script are
assumed to be known, they are unlikely to be started. For members of the same
cultures, the assumption of shared scripts allows much to be communicated that
is not said. However, for members of different cultures, such an assumption can
lead to a great deal of miscommunication.
CULTURAL
SCHEMATA
We develop our cultural schemata in the contexts
of our basic experiences.
we can readily modify the details of a cultural schema. For many other
subtle differences, however, we often don’t recognize that there may be a
misinterpretation based on different schemata
For example: You have five days off. What are you
going to do?
n The Vietnamese worker immediately
interpreted the utterance in terms of being laid off (rather than having a
holiday). Something good in one person’s schema can sound like something bad in
another’s.
Cross
Cultural Pragmatics
The study of differences in expectations based on cultural schemata is
part of a broad area of investigation generally known as cross-cultural
pragmatics. To look at the ways in which meaning is constructed by speakers
from different cultures will actually require a complete reassessment of
virtually everything we have considered so far in this survey.
When we explored types
of speech acts, we didn’t include any observations on the substantial
differences that can exist cross-culturally in interpreting concepts like
‘complimenting’, ‘thanking’, or ‘apologizing’. Indeed, it’s unlikely that the
division one cultural group makes between any two social actions such as
‘thanking’ or ‘apologizing’ will be matched precisely within another culture.
Ex. Complimenting
Situation:
John (teacher in the united states). Anh (John’s student who originated from
Philippines)
John: Anh,
your English is improving. I’m pleased with your work.
Anh:
(looking down). “oh no, My English is not very good”
John: why do
you say that, Anh? You should be proud of your English
Anh: No, you
are a good teacher. I’m not good student
John:
(Puzzled and stop giving her compliments)
Cultural schemata between Anh and John are
different in complimenting. Anh’s culture (people from South East Asia,
generally humbly/modesty when they get the compliment from another). John
didn’t understand Anh’s culture, and became puzzled.
A German
student disagrees with a Chinese student (AGREEMENT MAXIM)
- the German
student voices disagreement directly, even highlights dissent (‘No, no, that’s
not right’)
- the
Chinese speaker signals consent before indicating disagreement
(‘I believe
not, but I must say there is’).
- the
Chinese speaker concedes the argument to end the conflict.
ô€€¾ the Chinese speaker perceives the
German speaker as aggressive
ô€€¾ the German speaker perceives the
Chinese speaker as boring (or insincere)
- East Asian inductive style: start
with topic/background, then move to main point
- Western deductive style: start with
main point, then give reasons
The study of
these different cultural ways of speaking is sometime is called contrastive
pragmatics. When the investigation focuses more specifically on the
communicative behavior of non-native speakers, attempting to communicate in
their second language, it is described as interlanguage pragmatics. Such
studies increasingly reveal that we all speak with what might be called a pragmatic
accent, that is, aspects of our talk that indicate what we assumed is
communicated without being said.
Intercultural Communication
Balances
1. Knowledge
(about other cultures, people, nations,
behaviors…)
2. Empathy
(understanding
feelings and needs of other people)
3. Attitude
(Compassion,
Trust, Openness, Honesty, Non Judgmental)
Improving Intercultural
Communication
¢ Avoid using slang and idioms, choosing words
that will convey only the most specific denotative meaning;
¢ Listen carefully and, if in doubt, ask for confirmation
of understanding (particularly important if local accents and pronunciation
area problem);
¢ Recognize that
accenting and intonation can cause meaning to vary significantly; and
¢ Respect the
local communication formalities and styles, and watch for any changes in body
language.
¢ Investigate their culture's perception of your
culture by reading literature about your culture through their eyes before
entering into communication with them. This will allow you to prepare yourself
for projected views of your culture you will be bearing as a visitor in their
culture.
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