Alle Publikationen
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2016
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(2016): Smell in Polish. Lexical Semantics and Cultural Values. In: JOURNAL OF SLAVIC LINGUISTICS 24 (2), S. 273-299
Abstract: Verbs of perception have been typically classified into three semantic groups. Gisborne (2010) calls the three categories agentive (listen class), experiencer (hear class), and percept (sound class). Examples pertaining to the sense of smell in English use the same lexical item (smell), while in Polish, the three senses of smell are expressed with different verbs: wąchać (agentive), czuć zapach (experiencer), and pachnieć (percept). In metaphorical extensions of the verbs of sensory perception these verbs often stand for mental states, as meaning shifts typically involve the transfer from concrete to abstract domains. I show that the metaphorical extensions of pachnieć and percept to smell are quite different. Not only does pachnieć not suggest bad character or dislikeable characteristics, it actually conveys the opposite, as in the expression coś komuś pachnie ‘something is attractive to someone’ or when used without a modifier. These differences stem from the positive meaning of pachnieć and the negative meaning of to smell. Since the percept verbs of smell seem to be intrinsically positively or negatively valued, they do not lend themselves to universal Mind-as-Body extensions. I also consider some of the dramatic frequency contrasts between Polish and English smell constructions and show they can have their root in different cultural scripts underlying modes of speaking (pachnieć jak vs. smell like), framing of experiences (czuć zapach vs. experiencer to smell), polysemy, and different constructional capabilities (wąchać vs. to sniff).
Keywords: Agent, Agentive, Biologische Marker, Disziplin, Erlebender, Experiencer, frame semantics, Geräuschhören, Gisborne, Hear, Hören, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Kulturspezifizität, Kulturtheorie, Kulturvergleich, Linguistik, Listen, Percept, Perzept, Riechen, schnüffeln, Semantik, Semantische Gruppen, Smell, Smell like, Sniff, sound, Sprachgebrauch, Sprachverstehen, Status, Verben, Wahrnehmung, Wahrnehmung und Sprache, Wahrnehmungsverben, Zuhören -
(2016): ’Walking’ and ’running’ in English and German The conceptual semantics of verbs of human locomotion. In: REVIEW OF COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS 14 (2), S. 303-336
Abstract: This study examines the conceptual semantics of human locomotion verbs in two languages – English and German – using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach. Based on linguistic evidence, it proposes semantic explications for English walk and run, and their nearest counterparts in German, i.e. laufen (in two senses, roughly, ‘run’ and ‘go by walking’), rennen (roughly, ‘run quickly’), gehen (roughly, ‘go/walk’), and the expression zu Fuß gehen (roughly, ‘go on foot’). Somewhat surprisingly for such closely related languages, the conceptual semantics turns out to be significantly different in the two languages, particularly in relation to manner-of-motion. On the other hand, it is shown that the same four-part semantic template (with sections Lexicosyntactic Frame, Prototypical Scenario, Manner, and Potential Outcome) applies in both languages. We consider the implications for systematic contrastive semantics and for lexical typology.
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(2016): The Detour of an Obstetric Technology. Active Management of Labor Across Cultures. In: Medical anthropology 35 (1), S. 17-30. DOI: 10.1080/01459740.2015.1091817
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26484745 Abstract: Active management of labor (AML) is an obstetric technology developed in Ireland in the 1970s to accelerate labor in nulliparous women. This technology achieved rapid success in Great Britain and in English-speaking countries outside America, which adopted it before many other states around the world. In this article, I explore AML's technical and social characteristics when it was first designed, and then examine its local inflections in a Jordanian and a Swiss maternity hospital to shed light on the ways its transnational circulation modifies its script. I argue that its application is shaped by local material constraints and specific sociocultural configurations, gender regimes, and hospital cultures. Finally, I make a comparative analysis of AML practices in these two settings and in the foundational textbook to disentangle the technical and sociocultural components modeling its local applications.
Keywords: Active management of labor (AML), ANTHROPOLOGY, Disziplin, Ethnology, Female, Geburt, Gender, Human Body, Humans, Jordan, Konventionen, Kriterien für sozial angemessenes Verhalten und dessen Bewertung, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Kulturspezifizität, Kulturtechnik, Kulturtheorie, Kulturvergleich, labor, Medical, Medizin, Normen, Observablen, Obstetrics, Pregnancy, script, Switzerland, Women 2015
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(2015): Variational pragmatics and responding to thanks – revisited. In: Multilingua 34 (4), S. 527-546. DOI: 10.1515/multi-2014-0106
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2014-0106 Abstract: In 2005, Klaus P. Schneider published a fascinating article with the title “‘No problem, you’re welcome, anytime’: Responding to thanks in Ireland, England, and the U.S.A.”. Adopting the then emerging and now established framework of variational pragmatics, Schneider’s pioneering paper presents the results of a study on differences between responses to thanks across different varieties of English using experimental discourse completion tasks (DCTs). The paper at hand revisits this cross-varietal analysis and presents the results of an empirical investigation of this same speech act based on natural data collected with the help of Labovian-style fieldwork methodology common in variationist sociolinguistics. The results reveal fundamental differences between the two data types and underline the fact that these different datasets address different research questions. The findings also highlight the existence of regional variation in the use of this speech act in spontaneous real-life interaction. Finally, the paper also puts forward the term imbalance reducer after thanks (IRAT) as a more appropriate term for the speech act of responding to thanks.
Keywords: Danksagung, Disziplin, Höflichkeit, IRAT, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Kulturelle Normen, Kultursensibilität, Kulturspezifizität, Kulturtheorie, Linguistik, Pragmatics, Pragmatik, Real-Life Interaction, Regionale Varianz, Soziale Angemessenheit, Soziolinguistik, Sprachgebrauch, Sprechakt, Thanks 2014
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(2014): Cross-cultural differences in processing of architectural ranking. Evidence from an event-related potential study. In: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE 5 (1), S. 45-53
Abstract: Visual object identification is modulated by perceptual experience. In a cross-cultural ERP study we investigated whether cultural expertise determines how buildings that vary in their ranking between high and low according to the Western architectural decorum are perceived. Two groups of German and Chinese participants performed an object classification task in which high- and low-ranking Western buildings had to be discriminated from everyday life objects. ERP results indicate that an early stage of visual object identification (i.e., object model selection) is facilitated for high-ranking buildings for the German participants, only. At a later stage of object identification, in which object knowledge is complemented by information from semantic and episodic long-term memory, no ERP evidence for cultural differences was obtained. These results suggest that the identification of architectural ranking is modulated by culturally specific expertise with Western-style architecture already at an early processing stage.
2013
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(2013): Chinese requests. In comparison to American and Japanese requests and with reference to the “East-West divide”. In: Journal of Pragmatics 55, S. 140-161. DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2013.05.012
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2013.05.012 Abstract: This paper reports an empirical investigation of Chinese requests using Hill et al's (1986) methodology. The study has yielded the following findings. (1) Chinese requests seem to be determined by Brown and Levinson's notions of power and distance, as are Japanese and American English requests as reported in Hill et al., (2) Chinese requests may not be as direct as has been argued in the literature. We view these findings as evidence for Brown and Levinson's universal theory of politeness but against the claim that East and West are fundamentally different in their respective politeness systems (cf. Chen, 2010 and Leech, 2007).
Keywords: American English, Anfrage, Anfragenforschung, Bitte, Brown and Levinson's model, Chinese, Disziplin, East-West divide, Höflichkeit, Höflichkeitsforschung, (In)directness, Japanese, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Kulturelle Normen, kulturrelativ, kulturspezifisch, Kulturspezifizität, Kulturtheorie, Linguistik, Politeness, Request, Soziale Angemessenheit, Speech Act, Sprachgebrauch, Sprechakt 2012
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(2012): Politeness and impoliteness in ethnic varieties of New Zealand English. In: Journal of Pragmatics 44 (9), S. 1063-1076. DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2011.11.006
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.11.006 Abstract: Many aspects of New Zealand English (NZE) have been well described, especially the distinctive vocabulary, phonology, and some syntactic differences in relation to other varieties of English. Building on earlier research describing pragmatic features of NZE, and identifying ways in which politeness is expressed in NewZealand(NZ) workplace talk, this paper extends the socio-pragmatic analysis of NZE in several ways. Using the theoretical model that we have developed to analyse workplace interaction, we adopt an emic approach, focussing on intercultural interactions between Māori and Pākehā, and data from both Māori and Pākehā workplaces to throw light on distinctive features of politeness in NZE workplace discourse. With this goal,we examine the important value of egalitarianism in NZ society, and explore its pervasive influence on the ways in which politeness is interactionally achieved in different NZ communities of practice. Wethendiscusshowthisrelatestothestylisticdimensionofformality,exemplifyingsomedistinctivelyNZwaysinwhich formality andinformalityareindexedinworkplaceinteraction.Theanalysisillustrateshowtheseinfluencesaremanifestinanumberof specific aspectsofworkplaceinteraction,includingsmalltalk,humour,meetingprotocols,andintheextensionofthedistinctivepragmatic particle eh to newdomains.
Keywords: Community of practice, Disziplin, Egalitarianism, Höflichkeit, Höflichkeitsforschung, Im/politeness, Informality, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Kulturelle Normen, Kulturspezifizität, Kulturtheorie, Linguistik, New Zealand English, Soziale Angemessenheit, Sozialer Raum / Kultureller Kontext, Sprache, Sprachgebrauch, Umgangsformen -
(2012): Appropriate behaviour across varieties of English. In: Journal of Pragmatics 44 (9), S. 1022-1037. DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2011.09.015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.09.015 Abstract: Corpus evidence is presented which suggests that from a first-order perspective ‘appropriateness’ and ‘inappropriateness’ are more salient notions than ‘politeness’ and ‘impoliteness’ or ‘rudeness’. It is then argued that norms of appropriate verbal behaviour in a community can be established empirically by employing experimental methods. Production questionnaire data may not reflect what participants would actually say in real life, but reveal what guides their expectations, perception and performance in a given social situation. It is shown that small talk between strangers at a party is governed by diverging norms in different national varieties of English, viz. American English, Irish English and English English. It is further shown that gender and age differences exist within a national variety and that norms of appropriate verbal behaviour seem to be subject to age-grading.
Keywords: Alter, Approriateness, Disziplin, English English, Experimental data, Gender, Gender and age variation, Höflichkeit, Höflichkeitsforschung, Im/politeness, Impoliteness, Inappropriateness, Irish English and American English, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Kulturelle Normen, kulturrelativ, kulturspezifisch, Kulturspezifizität, Kulturtheorie, Linguistik, Politeness, Small talk, Soziale Angemessenheit, Sprachgebrauch, Unangemessenheit, Unhöflichkeit, Variational pragmatics -
(2012): “It's rude to VP”. The cultural semantics of rudeness. In: Journal of Pragmatics 44 (9), S. 1051-1062. DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2012.02.002
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.02.002 Abstract: Over recent years, linguists have given an increasing amount of attention to impoliteness studies (Bousfield, 2008; Culpeper et al., 2003; Kienpointner, 1997; Meier, 1995a,b; Mills, 2009). Oddly however, little attention has yet been paid to the semantics of the English word rude. Lacking precise translation equivalents in many languages, rude is a keyword revealing much about socially accepted ways of behaving in Anglo society (Wierzbicka, 1997; cf. Fox, 2004). In Australian English, as in English generally, it is the primary ethno-descriptor in the domain of “impoliteness”. This paper provides a detailed lexical semantic analysis of rude in the productive formula It's rude to VP, and also in the fixed expression rude word. The semantic explications are framed in the simple universal primes of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) (Goddard and Wierzbicka, 2002; Peeters, 2006; Wierzbicka, 1996). The argumentation is supported by data on Australian English collected from Google searches.
2011
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(2011): No problem, you're welcome, anytime. Responding to thanks in Ireland England and the USA., S. 101-140
Abstract: [-]
2010
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(2010): Constituting face in conversation. Face, facework, and interactional achievement. In: Journal of Pragmatics 42 (8), S. 2078-2105. DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2009.12.021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2009.12.021 Abstract: Face Constituting Theory addresses the question “How do participants achieve face in everyday talk?” explaining face and facework as achieved by participants engaged in face-to-face communication in situated relationships. Outlining the theory involves first sketching the Conjoint Co-constituting Model of Communication as a conceptualization of the achieving of meaning and action in interaction, and second conceptualizing face as a relational phenomenon at both culture-general and culture-specific levels. Using these conceptualizations, Face Constituting Theory explains face as participants’ interpretings of relational connectedness and separateness, conjointly co-constituted in talk/conduct-in-interaction. Face Constituting Theory adds to this explanation a new conceptualization of how of face interpretings are evaluated as threatening to, in stasis, or supportive of relationships, drawing into a single explanation the full range of observations on facework from outright face threat, through face maintenance, to outright face support. Consistent with ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, Face Constituting Theory is framed from the participant's perspective, and applying the theory in examining the achievement of face in an instance of everyday interaction both illustrates the application of the new theory in research, and indicates how it is distinct from the approaches existing theories employ in studying face and facework.
Keywords: Angesicht, Communication, Conversation, Disziplin, Dritte Welle, Face, Face-Constituting View, Facework, Favoriten, Gesichtswahrung, Höflichkeit, Höflichkeitsforschung, Höflichkeitsforschung der dritten Welle, (Im)Politeness Research, Interaction, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Kulturelle Normen, Kulturspezifizität, Kulturtheorie, Linguistik, Modelle/Theorien, Observablen/Kriterien für sozial angemessenes Verhalten und dessen Bewertung, Relationship, Soziale Angemessenheit, Sprachgebrauch, Status / biologische Marker -
(2010): “Just tell us what to do”. Southern African face and its relevance to intercultural communication. In: Journal of Pragmatics 42 (8), S. 2158-2171. DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2009.12.017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2009.12.017 Abstract: This paper contributes to the debate on the precise nature of face as a universal phenomenon, and the cultural variability within it. Specifically, we bring the 'Southern' perspective to the debate by discussing the previously neglected African dimension. Recent scholarship suggests that the concept of face and the notion of self in traditional African culture may have more in common with Eastern collectivist cultures than with Anglo-American culture. We examine the interactional management of an encounter between a Zimbabwean English speaker and British English speakers in a community singing group. We argue that, while face needs may be universally relevant in such a situation, the way in which they are oriented to in interaction depends on cultural understandings of which aspects of face are paramount in particular circumstances. Since these assumptions are deep-seated and invisible they are not easily open to explicit negotiation and hence can lead to misinterpretation. By conducting an ethnographic study of the communicative event and combining it with a detailed examination of the co-construction of meaning in this interaction, we show how the participants' contributions can be related to differing - and potentially conflicting - interpretation frameworks. These frameworks are informed by culture-specific notions of appropriate self-presentation.
2007
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(2007): (Im)politeness, national and professional identities and context. Some evidence from e-mailed ‘Call for Papers’. In: Journal of Pragmatics 39 (4), S. 760-773. DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2006.11.014
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2006.11.014 Abstract: This study aims to uncover whether or not factors such as national and professional identities and the medium of interaction (i.e., e-mails), affect the way Turkish and British conference organisers begin their Call for Papers for international conferences (CFPIC), and when and how they use inclusive ‘we’ pronouns in messages written in English. The survey also examines if there is a relationship between these three factors and the interpretation of (im)politeness by comparing whether or not writers with different cultural backgrounds, while trying to reach their aim (i.e., collect conference papers), (dis)obey some of the politeness rules proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987). The corpus for this study consisted of e-mailed CFPIC collected between January 2002 and February 2006. CFPIC were related to areas such as linguistics, foreign/second language education and literature. The findings of the research suggest intricate and dynamic relations between a number of the micro- and macro-contextual factors, and some features of e-mails in English written by members of Turkish and British cultures. It is hoped that the results of this study will contribute to enhancing knowledge in the field of politeness and electronic communication, raising awareness of the relationship between cultural and professional identities and the interpretation of (im)politeness, thus providing valuable insights into intercultural communication conventions.
Keywords: Art des Kommunikationsmediums, Brown and Levinson's model, CFP, Disziplin, Höflichkeit, Höflichkeitsforschung, Identität, Identitätsstiftung, Im/politeness, Kategorien für höfliche Sprache, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Kulturelle Normen, Kulturspezifizität, Kulturtheorie, Linguistik, Rolle (Beruf), Situationsbedingter Kontext, Soziale Angemessenheit, Überblick -
(2007): Being (im)polite in New Zealand workplaces. Māori and Pākehā leaders. In: Journal of Pragmatics 39 (4), S. 712-729. DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2006.11.016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2006.11.016 Abstract: This paper investigates the ways in which leaders in ethnically diverse workplaces in New Zealand construct themselves as effective leaders in interaction with subordinates, whilst also taking account of the politeness norms of their specific workplaces. Case studies of two leaders, one from a Pākehā and one from a Māori workplace, illustrate that shared ethnic values and attitudes impact on the behaviour of all members of the leaders’ communities of practice. The analysis of meeting openings and the use of contestive humour demonstrate that what is considered appropriate behaviour in one organisational context, and what is perceived as constituting polite behaviour by group members, may be considered inappropriate and even impolite by members of another organisation. By behaving in ways that are in accordance with the norms developed in their ‘ethnicised’ communities of practice, leaders and other organisational members reinforce, maintain and shape these politeness norms.
1999
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(1999): Core symbols in South African intercultural friendships. In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS 23 (1), S. 133-156
Abstract: Focus group discussions among Afrikaner, British, Coloured, Asian and Black groups in South Africa were held in which respondents discussed intercultural friendships. Groups were asked to suggest core characteristics for friendships, to describe instances in which they managed cultural differences, to describe rule violations which would necessitate the termination of the friendship, and to make recommendations for appropriate and satisfying friendship conduct to persons from different cultural groups. Afrikaner discourse about intercultural friendship centered upon themes of Pride in Cultural Identity and Decorum, British themes were Individualism and a Future Orientation the themes for Coloured respondents were Flexibility and Relationship Orientation, Asian themes were Responsibility for Actions and Openness, while Black themes were Honor, and Compassion. The core symbols were interpreted in the political and social context of transition in 1992. A positive relationship between level of sociocultural power in South Africa and the intensity and salience of the ethnic identity emerged in that groups with greater sociocultural power expressed the most negative ascriptions about members of other groups, as well as expressed preferences for their own group or individual norms for the intercultural friendship. While dialectic tensions in group and individual orientations were evident in the discourse of friends from all groups, group members with higher sociocultural power criticized Blacks as looking too much toward the past instead of the future.
Keywords: decorum, Disziplin, Fehlverhalten, Freundschaft, Grenzen, Grenzüberschreitung, Interaktion, Interaktionsabbruch, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Kulturelle Normen, Kulturspezifizität, Kulturtheorie, Kulturvergleich, Observablen/Kriterien für sozial angemessenes Verhalten und dessen Bewertung, Respekt, Soziale Angemessenheit, Soziale Klasse / Schicht, Umgangsformen -
(1999): Optimising conditions for learning sociocultural competencies for success. In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS 23 (1), S. 77-90. DOI: 10.1016/S0147-1767(98)00026-1
Abstract: Culturally different recent immigrants and sojourners lack familiarity with the social values, roles, and rules governing interpersonal relationships and this may hinder the attainment of their goals for career and educational success in the new country despite their qualifications and dedication. This paper identifies a number of psychosocial barriers to developing social competence in a different culture, including lack of coaching and practice opportunities, cross-cultural interpersonal anxiety, threat to the newcomers' original cultural identity, and various personal factors. the paper further discusses how integrating instructional implications from established models of operant and classical conditioning, and social cognitive learning in a role-based group training program, and address these potential psychosocial barriers and provide optimal conditions for learning intercultural social skills. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
1990
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(1990): Debating Decorum - Ethical Issues, Mythical Firms Part Of Inns Of Court Meeting. In: ABA Journal 76
Abstract: Imagine you are a member of the executive committee of the newly formed Washington, D.C., law firm Dewey, Cheatham and Howe. The firm has a Middle Eastern client named "Hanafi" who rules a country where women are disenfranchised and domestically submissive. Hanafi provides 40 percent of the firm's business and is insisting that a male lawyer be substituted for the female lawyer handling his case. Do you make the switch? The dilemma was part of a panel debate at the sixth annual meeting of the American Inns of Court (AIC), one of the nation's newest bench and bar organizations. (See May 1990 ABA Journal, 24)
Keywords: decorum, Diskriminierung, Ethics, Gender, Judikative, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Rechtswissenschaft, Werte 1985
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(1985): Different cultures, different languages, different speech acts. In: Journal of Pragmatics 9 (2-3), S. 145-178. DOI: 10.1016/0378-2166(85)90023-2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(85)90023-2 Abstract: This paper discusses a number of differences between English and Polish in the area of speech acts, and links them with different cultural norms and cultural assumptions. It is shown that English, as compared with Polish, places heavy restrictions on the use of the imperative and makes extensive use of interrogative and conditional forms. Features of English which have been claimed to be due to universal principles of politeness are shown to be language-specific and culture-specific. Moreover, even with respect to English, they are shown to be due to aspects of culture much deeper than mere norms of politeness. Linguistic differences are shown to be associated with cultural differences such as spontaneity, directness, intimacy and affection vs. indirectness, distance, tolerance and anti-dogmaticism. Certain characteristic features of Australian English are discussed and are shown to reflect some aspects of the Australian ethos. Implications for a theory of speech acts and for interethnic communication are discussed. In particular, certain influential theories of speech acts (based largely on English) are shown to be ethnocentric and dangerous in their potential social effects.
Keywords: Disziplin, Englisch, Höflichkeit, Höflichkeitsforschung, Höflichkeitsforschung der zweiten Welle, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Kulturelle Normen, Kultursensibilität, Kulturspezifizität, Kulturtheorie, Linguistik, Politeness, Polnisch, Soziale Angemessenheit, Sprache, Sprachgebrauch, Sprachspezifizität, Sprechakt, Wierzbicka
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