How Different are We?

Spoken Discourse in Intercultural Communication

Helen FitzGerald, Dr. Helen Fitzgerald

• Publisher: Multilingual Matters
• Year: 2002
• Print ISBN:
  9781853596193
• eBook ISBN:
  9781853596216
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Multicultural Education
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

This book examines the influence of cultural values and communication styles on intercultural communication and demonstrates how training can develop intercultural communication competencies. A large number of interactions between well-educated immigrants from all continents and from more than a hundred countries, together with some including native speakers, are examined and participants’ answers to questionnaires compared with their actual communicative behaviour. The author raises questions of interest to many groups: linguists, educators, business people and sociologists. Which values are most salient and enduring, and which cause clashes between cultural groups? To what extent do people retain the communication style identified with their first language and how do these different styles impact on others?

Table of contents

• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Transcribing Symbols
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 The Data
• Chapter 3 Cultural Value Systems: An Overview of the Literature
• Chapter 4 Data Analysis: Cultural Values Reflected in the Discourse
• Chapter 5 Communication Styles: An Overview of the Literature
• Chapter 6 Data Analysis: Discourse Organisation and Rhetorical Strategies
• Chapter 7 Data Analysis: Turn-Taking Patterns and the Distribution of Talk
• Chapter 8 Data Analysis: Assertiveness, Disagreement and Conflict
• Chapter 9 Developing Communicative Competencies: Intercultural & Linguacultural
• Chapter 10 Conclusion
• Appendix 1 The Participants
• Appendix 2 Problems
• Appendix 3 Intercultural Communication Training: Methods and Materials
• Appendix 4 Explanations for Exercise 2
• Appendix 5 Explanations of Case Studies: Exercise 5
• Appendix 6 Explanations of Non-Verbal Behaviour: Exercise 6
• References
• Index