Jump to: Coverage · Topic Overview · Core Readings · Key Concepts · Frameworks · Applied Examples · Discussion Questions · Research Link
1. Coverage
Reporters are expected to cover the following subtopics in detail:
- Core definition of cross-cultural pragmatics and its scope within pragmatics.
- Pragmatic norms across cultures: directness vs. indirectness, high-context vs. low-context communication.
- Variation in speech act realization (e.g., requests, apologies, compliments, refusals).
- Politeness and facework in intercultural settings.
- Sources of pragmatic failure in intercultural communication.
- Impact of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) on pragmatic norms.
- Cross-cultural pragmatics in digital communication and online multilingual spaces.
- Research potential: implications for intercultural communication, language teaching, and global digital interaction.
2. Topic Overview
- Define cross-cultural pragmatics and its relevance to communication across languages and societies.
- Discuss how cultural values shape speech act strategies, politeness norms, and interpretation.
- Explain the role of pragmatic failure in misunderstandings.
- Highlight how digital globalization reshapes cross-cultural pragmatics.
3. Core Readings & References
- House, J., & Kádár, D. Z. (2021). Cross-Cultural Pragmatics (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108954587
- Kecskes, I. (Ed.). (2022). The Cambridge Handbook of Intercultural Pragmatics (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108884303
- Kecskes, I., & Huang, Y. (2017). Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Pragmatics. In The Oxford handbook of pragmatics. Oxford University Press.
- Wierzbicka, A. (2003). Cross-Cultural Pragmatics: The Semantics of Human Interaction (2nd ed.). Mouton de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110220964
4. Key Concepts & Terms
- Cross-Cultural Pragmatics (CCP)
- High-context vs. Low-context cultures (Hall)
- Directness vs. Indirectness
- Speech Act Variation
- Pragmatic Failure (pragmalinguistic vs. sociopragmatic failure)
- English as a Lingua Franca (ELF)
- Intercultural Pragmatics
5. Analytical Frameworks & Methods
- Contrastive analysis of speech acts across cultures.
- Ethnographic approaches to intercultural communication.
- Role-play and elicited discourse completion tasks (DCTs).
- Corpus-based studies of intercultural pragmatics in ELF contexts.
6. Applied Examples
- Requests: Direct (“Give me the book”) vs. Indirect (“Could you possibly hand me the book?”).
- Apologies: Varying use of explanation, repair, or compensation across cultures.
- Compliments: “You look great” → acceptance in some cultures, deflection in others.
- Digital: Multilingual chatrooms where politeness strategies clash or hybridize.
7. Discussion Questions
- To what extent are pragmatic norms universal or culturally specific?
- How does pragmatic failure affect intercultural relationships?
- How is cross-cultural pragmatics changing in online and ELF contexts?
8. Research Link — possible paper directions
- Comparative study of refusals across two cultures.
- Analysis of pragmatic failure in ELF online interactions.
- Investigation of digital politeness strategies in intercultural social media exchanges.