Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach, 2nd Edition

by Ron Scollor (Georgetown University); Suzanne Wong Scollon (Georgetown University)

• ISBN13: 9780631224181
• ISBN10: 0631224181
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This newly revised volume is both a lively introduction and practical guide to the main concepts and problems of intercultural communication. Viewed from within the framework of interactive sociolinguistics associated with Tannen, Gumperz, and others, the authors focus in particular on the discourse of westerners and of Asians, the discourse of men and women, corporate discourse and the discourse of professional organizations, and intergenerational discourse. Views intercultural communication from within the framework of interactive sociolinguistics, with an emphasis on discourse analysis Numerous examples demonstrate the relationship between culture and communication Outlines the methodology of ethnography, and shows how it is used for new research in intercultural communication Illustrates the value of ethnographic research for conducting training and consultation programs.

Author Biography

Ron Scollon is Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University.

Suzanne Wong Scollon is Research Coordinator for Asian Sociocultural Research Projects, in the Department of Linguistics at Georgetown University.

They have written extensively on intercultural communication, from academic positions in North American universities as well as Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, and in consultancies with over fifty governmental and corporate organizations in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	x
Series Editor's Preface	xi
Preface to the First Edition	xii
Preface to the Second Edition	xv
What is a Discourse Approach?	1	(25)
The Topic	2	(4)
Professional communication	3	(1)
Interdiscourse communication	4	(1)
Discourse	5	(1)
The Limits of Language	6	(6)
Language is ambiguous by nature	7	(4)
We must draw inferences about meaning	11	(1)
Our inferences tend to be fixed, not tentative	11	(1)
Our inferences are drawn very quickly	12	(1)
What this Book is Not	12	(4)
Language, discourse, and non-verbal communication	14	(2)
Methodology	16	(5)
Four processes of ethnography	17	(1)
Four types of data in ethnographic research	18	(2)
Interactional sociolinguistics and critical discourse analysis	20	(1)
What is Successful Interdiscourse Professional Communication?	21	(2)
Expecting things to go wrong	22	(1)
Two Approaches to Interdiscourse Professional Communication	23	(3)
Increasing shared knowledge	23	(1)
Dealing with miscommunication	23	(3)
How, When, and Where to Do Things with Language	26	(17)
Sentence Meaning and Speaker's Meaning	28	(1)
Speech Acts, Speech Events, and Speech Situations	29	(2)
Grammar of Context	31	(1)
Seven Main Components for a Grammar of Context	32	(11)
Scene	34	(2)
Key	36	(1)
Participants	37	(1)
Message form	38	(1)
Sequence	39	(1)
Co-occurrence patterns, marked and unmarked	40	(1)
Manifestation	41	(2)
Interpersonal Politeness and Power	43	(17)
Communicative Style or Register	43	(1)
Face	44	(2)
The ``Self'' as a Communicative Identity	46	(1)
The Paradox of Face: Involvement and Independence	46	(2)
Politeness Strategies of Involvement and Independence	48	(3)
Linguistic strategies of involvement: some examples	50	(1)
Linguistic strategies of independence: some examples	51	(1)
Politeness (or Face) Systems	51	(3)
Power (+P, -P)	52	(1)
Distance (+D, -D)	53	(1)
Weight of imposition (+W, -W)	53	(1)
Three Politeness Systems: Deference, Solidarity, and Hierarchy	54	(3)
Deference politeness system (-P, +D)	54	(1)
Solidarity politeness system (-P, -D)	55	(1)
Hierarchical politeness system (+P, +/-D)	55	(2)
Miscommunication	57	(3)
Conversational Inference: Interpretation in Spoken Discourse	60	(26)
How Do We Understand Discourse?	61	(2)
Cohesive Devices: Lexical and Grammatical	63	(3)
Reference	63	(1)
Verb forms	64	(1)
Conjunction	64	(1)
The causal conjunction ``because''	65	(1)
Cognitive Schemata or Scripts	66	(4)
World knowledge	68	(1)
Adjacency sequences	69	(1)
Prosodic Patterning: Intonation and Timing	70	(6)
Intonation	70	(3)
Timing	73	(3)
Metacommunication	76	(6)
Non-sequential processing	79	(3)
Interactive Intelligence	82	(4)
Topic and Face: Inductive and Deductive Patterns in Discourse	86	(20)
What Are You Talking About?	86	(1)
Topic, Turn Exchange, and Timing	87	(3)
The call-answer-topic adjacency sequence	88	(1)
The call	88	(1)
The answer	89	(1)
The introduction of the caller's topic	89	(1)
Deductive Monologues	90	(1)
The Inductive Pattern	91	(4)
Inside and outside encounters	92	(1)
Hierarchical Confucian relationships and topic introduction	93	(1)
The false east-west dichotomy	94	(1)
Face: Inductive and Deductive Rhetorical Strategies	95	(2)
Topics and Face Systems	97	(2)
Face Relationships in Written Discourse	99	(5)
Essays and press releases	101	(1)
The press release: implied writers and implied readers	102	(1)
The essay: a deductive structure	103	(1)
Limiting Ambiguity: Power in Discourse	104	(2)
Ideologies of Discourse	106	(29)
Three Concepts of Discourse	106	(4)
The Utilitarian Discourse System	110	(19)
Ideology of the Utilitarian discourse system	111	(1)
The Enlightenment: reason and freedom	112	(1)
Kant's view of the ``public'' writer	113	(1)
Bentham and Mill's Utilitarianism	113	(3)
Socialization in the Utilitarian discourse system	116	(2)
Forms of discourse in the Utilitarian discourse system	118	(6)
The Panopticon of Bentham	124	(1)
Face systems in the Utilitarian discourse system	125	(1)
Internal face systems: liberte, egalite, fraternite	126	(3)
Multiple Discourse Systems	129	(6)
What is Culture? Intercultural Communication and Stereotyping	135	(42)
How Do We Define ``Culture''?	138	(2)
Culture and Discourse Systems	140	(27)
Ideology	141	(1)
Face systems	142	(8)
Forms of discourse	150	(11)
Socialization	161	(6)
Cultural Ideology and Stereotyping	167	(4)
Negative Stereotypes	171	(1)
Positive Stereotypes, the Lumping Fallacy, and the Solidarity Fallacy	172	(2)
Differences Which Make a Difference: Discourse Systems	174	(3)
Corporate Discourse	177	(30)
Discourse Systems	177	(4)
Voluntary and involuntary discourse systems	179	(2)
Five Characteristic Discourse Systems	181	(2)
An Outline Guide to the Study of Discourse Systems	183	(2)
The Corporate Discourse System (Corporate Culture)	185	(22)
Ideology	186	(5)
Socialization	191	(5)
Forms of discourse	196	(8)
Face systems	204	(1)
The size and scope of corporate discourse systems	205	(2)
Professional Discourse	207	(11)
The Professional Discourse System (ESL Teachers)	207	(11)
Ideology	208	(3)
Socialization	211	(2)
Forms of discourse	213	(2)
Face systems	215	(1)
Other professional discourse systems	216	(2)
Generational Discourse	218	(24)
Involuntary Discourse Systems	218	(18)
The ideologies of American individualism	220	(2)
Four generations of Americans	222	(12)
The shifting ground of American individualism	234	(2)
Asian Generational Discourse Systems	236	(2)
Communication Between Generations	238	(4)
Gender Discourse	242	(24)
Intergender Discourse	242	(15)
Directness or indirectness?	242	(3)
Different interpretive frames	245	(5)
The origin of difference: ideology and paradox	250	(3)
The maintenance of difference: socialization	253	(2)
Mesages and metamessages: forms of discourse	255	(1)
The struggle for equality, the struggle for power	256	(1)
Further Research on Gender Discourse Systems	257	(1)
Discourse Systems and the Individual	258	(3)
Intersystem Communication	261	(5)
Using a Discourse Approach to Intercultural Communication	266	(20)
The Theoretical Framework	266	(9)
Principle One	267	(5)
Principle Two	272	(1)
Principle Three	272	(3)
From System to Action	275	(1)
Projects in Intercultural Communication	276	(4)
Methodology and Use	280	(3)
Focus on a task, action, or practice	280	(1)
Use the ``Grammar of Context'' as a preliminary ethnographic audit	281	(1)
Use the ``Outline Guide'' to pin down the relevant discourse systems	282	(1)
Change in Action or Interpretation?	283	(3)
References	286	(16)
The Research Base	286	(4)
References for Further Study	290	(12)
Index	302