Reza Pishghadam; Shima Ebrahimi; Ali Derakhshan
Volume 8, Issue 2 , September 2020, , Pages 17-34
Abstract
The close relationship between language and culture has been highlighted by scholars in sociology, sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, psychology, and linguistics. They postulate that language is a tool to instantiate cultural concepts and delineate how individuals perceive the world. Regarding ...
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The close relationship between language and culture has been highlighted by scholars in sociology, sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, psychology, and linguistics. They postulate that language is a tool to instantiate cultural concepts and delineate how individuals perceive the world. Regarding such an outstanding impetus and triggered by the conceptualization of cultulings (culture in language), language structures and expressions can manifest the overt and covert cultural patterns. Not only can the cultuling analysis of a society disclose the cultural patterns entrenched in the language, but also it can unearth the effective and defective cultural memes. To this end, our cultural model, underpinned by environmental factors, cultural, emo-sensory, and linguistic differences, can provide a robust model to analyze cultulings of a given society. Therefore, to analyze and explain the cultulings, the cultural, emotioncy, and SPEAKING models are suggested to be collectively utilized to reflect the participants’ culture. The amalgamation of these models and the underlying environmental factors can delineate people’s specific behaviors and cultulings which can culminate in euculturing.
Huong Nguyen; Gavin Austin
Volume 6, Issue 1 , March 2018, , Pages 18-30
Abstract
In a “follow-up visit”, a patient seeks medical attention for an existing health problem. Using data from the Vietnamese public hospital system, we present a more nuanced analysis of follow-ups in health communication than the one currently available. To be specific, we discriminate between ...
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In a “follow-up visit”, a patient seeks medical attention for an existing health problem. Using data from the Vietnamese public hospital system, we present a more nuanced analysis of follow-ups in health communication than the one currently available. To be specific, we discriminate between “same follow-ups”, in which the doctor is the same one as in the last visit, and “different follow-ups”, in which the doctor has not treated the patient for their problem before. We then extend existing research on “inappropriate follow-ups”, in which the problem solicitation is more suitable for another type of visit, by teasing out additional typological distinctions within this category of follow-up. We go on to show that same and different follow-ups contrast with each other in terms of the format used for the problem solicitation. The broader implication of our findings is that the structure of a medical visit is not invariant, but is shaped by the cultural context in which it occurs.
I-Chung Ke; Tzu-Yu Lai
Volume 6, Issue 2 , September 2018, , Pages 19-31
Abstract
Desire has been a marginal topic in TESOL. This study investigated whether and to what extent English learning affects Taiwanese young females’ aspiration toward western males. Four hundred ninety-nine respondents filled out a questionnaire that investigates their English learning experience and ...
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Desire has been a marginal topic in TESOL. This study investigated whether and to what extent English learning affects Taiwanese young females’ aspiration toward western males. Four hundred ninety-nine respondents filled out a questionnaire that investigates their English learning experience and aspiration to cross–culture marriage with western males. Sixteen were interviewed. Results showed correlations between the acceptance of marrying a westerner and the following variables (in the rank of strength): 1. Preference for western movie stars, 2. Parents’ attitudes toward marrying a westerner, 3. Perceptions of compliments from native-English-speaking teachers, 4. Making foreign friends as the motivation to learn English, 5. The fondness of learning English, 6. Becoming more charming as the motivation to learn English, and 7. Going abroad as the motivation to learn English. The findings suggest that the experience and motivation of English learning did influence the female students’ aspiration toward western males, but not as strong as their inner motivation and the mass media.
Rachel Thompson; Kofi Agyekum
Volume 4, 1 (Special Issue on African Cultures and Languages) , March 2016, , Pages 20-33
Abstract
This paper highlights the folk perception of impoliteness among Ghanaians in view of Watts’ (2003) notion of first order impoliteness. The study showed that impoliteness is not just an opposite of politeness, but the manifestation of non-cooperation, disapproval, and mutual antipathy through certain ...
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This paper highlights the folk perception of impoliteness among Ghanaians in view of Watts’ (2003) notion of first order impoliteness. The study showed that impoliteness is not just an opposite of politeness, but the manifestation of non-cooperation, disapproval, and mutual antipathy through certain communicative behaviours that signal disrespect. These communicative behaviours include ‘interrupting others’, the use of ‘invectives’ and the use of ‘offensive non-verbal forms of communication (NVCs)’. The use of these impolite communicative behaviours destabilizes interpersonal relationships and shows that a speaker is communicatively incompetent. The study also proposed the ‘pardonability scale of impoliteness’. This scale showed that among Ghanaians, the use of invectives is the most offensive and least pardonable impolite communicative behaviour while the use of offensive NVCs is the least offensive and most pardonable impolite communicative behaviour. It was also noted that the degree of offensiveness or pardonability in the order of the arrangement displayed on the scale, is not strictly tied to all speech events.
Ulzhalgas Adilbayeva; Gulnaz A. Mussanova; Nurbakyt B. Mombekova; Nurbakhyt A. Suttibayev
Abstract
Currently, university teachers combine traditional pedagogical teaching methods with information and communication technology (ICT) to help students in the educational process of studying a course and controlling their own learning process. For this reason, there is a growing demand for creating high-quality ...
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Currently, university teachers combine traditional pedagogical teaching methods with information and communication technology (ICT) to help students in the educational process of studying a course and controlling their own learning process. For this reason, there is a growing demand for creating high-quality and effective digital tools to promote human activities. The present research is aimed at studying the use of digital communication technology for teaching English as a foreign language. The study was carried out quantitatively by examining how the use of ICT tools like websites and mobile applications can enhance students’ reading skills. The focus was on the students’ progress in reading comprehension and if the ICT tools contributed to the progress. The results of the study showed the effectiveness of using digital technology in teaching a foreign language and culture. Conclusions were drawn about the need to introduce digital technology into the educational system.
Ying Cui; Yanli Zhao
Volume 2, Issue 1 , March 2014, , Pages 25-36
Abstract
This research aimed to review the use of second-person reference in advertisement translation, work out the general rules, and provide guidance to translators. Using second-person reference is common in the advertising discourse. Addressing audiences directly involves their attention and in this way ...
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This research aimed to review the use of second-person reference in advertisement translation, work out the general rules, and provide guidance to translators. Using second-person reference is common in the advertising discourse. Addressing audiences directly involves their attention and in this way enhances their memorization of the advertised message. Second-person reference can be realized via second-person pronouns and the imperative tone. In this study, we investigated the differences between Chinese and English advertising texts. The statistics based on the corpus demonstrated a tendency of using second-person pronouns in the English texts and using imperatives or the implicit way of second-person reference in the Chinese texts. Analyses were provided as to the adjustment made in advertisement translation, referring to the basic human needs and communicative principles.
Masood Khoshsaligheh; Amir Arsalan Zoraqi; Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh
Abstract
Subtitling is one of the most widely used translation practices in the localization of video games and enjoys great popularity among end-users. Given the language-bound nature of subtitling practices, the present study seeks to shed light on the subtitling practices followed in Persian game localization ...
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Subtitling is one of the most widely used translation practices in the localization of video games and enjoys great popularity among end-users. Given the language-bound nature of subtitling practices, the present study seeks to shed light on the subtitling practices followed in Persian game localization and empirically provide a descriptive account of how game localization is carried out in the Iranian context. To this end, five video games were tested and played by the authors, and 300 subtitle segments were extracted from each title (totaling 1500 subtitle segments) and their respective translations in localized versions (totaling 3000 segments). Subtitles were analyzed in terms of subtitle length and segmentation, font (size adjustability, type, color, and background), character identification, sound effects, emotions, and line breaks. It was revealed that the Persian localized versions were very similar to the original regarding font, character identification, sound effects, and emotions. However, subtitle length and segmentation varied between the original and localized game versions.
Nanik Mariani; Marwah Firas Abdullah Al-Rawe; Ammar Abdel Amir Al-Salami; Tribhuwan Kumar
Abstract
The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of knowing a second language (i.e., English) on learning a third language (i.e., Indonesian). In total, 40 Iraqi learners attending a general Indonesian course were selected and divided into two groups. The first group included 20 students who had different ...
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The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of knowing a second language (i.e., English) on learning a third language (i.e., Indonesian). In total, 40 Iraqi learners attending a general Indonesian course were selected and divided into two groups. The first group included 20 students who had different levels of English language proficiency in addition to their mother tongue (i.e., Arabic). The second group encompassed 20 students who only knew their mother tongue. Their final exam scores were the criteria for determining their third language achievement. According to the results, bilingualism of the participants (familiarity with English as a second/foreign language) positively affected their level of achievement in the third language (Indonesian). Therefore, English language proficiency was a key factor for these students’ success in learning a third language. Overall, familiarity with a second language seems to influence the level of competence in a third language.
Gulshat Raisovna Galiullina; Khalisa Khatipovna Kuzmina; Alsou Minneakhmetovna Kamalıeva; Zilya Munirovna Kajumova
Volume 8, 3 (Special Issue on Russian Culture and Language) , December 2020, , Pages 19-27
Abstract
The article presents the results of the research of Tatar cosmonyms with regard to their origins. It is believed that the lexis of any language is heterogeneous in terms of origins and consists of both aboriginal and borrowed words. The language of the modern Tatars traces its roots to the ancient Turkic ...
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The article presents the results of the research of Tatar cosmonyms with regard to their origins. It is believed that the lexis of any language is heterogeneous in terms of origins and consists of both aboriginal and borrowed words. The language of the modern Tatars traces its roots to the ancient Turkic language, which was influenced by the Indo-European languages. The research revealed that all those lexical layers are reflected in the cosmonyms of the Tatar language. The smallest group is represented by ancient Turko-Tatar cosmonyms. The next group comprises cosmonyms, borrowed from Arabic. One more group is made up of cosmonyms borrowed from Russian and earlier derived from Latin and Greek. In the 20th century, many Russian cosmonyms (astrotoponyms, for the most part) were translated into Tatar. Lexemes of the first group are used in everyday speech. Meanwhile, Arabic and Latin names of celestial bodies are employed only in scientific and literary Tatar.
Aygul Alpysbayeva; Svetlana Ashymkhanova
Volume 9, 2 (Themed Issue on Modern Realities of National Languages of CIS Countries) , August 2021, , Pages 19-28
Abstract
The article examines the main challenges and common mistakes that may occur during the translation of culture-bound vocabulary. The article is aimed to identify the nature and reasons for national and cultural deviations in the Russian translation of the novel “Twilight” by Meyer. Research ...
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The article examines the main challenges and common mistakes that may occur during the translation of culture-bound vocabulary. The article is aimed to identify the nature and reasons for national and cultural deviations in the Russian translation of the novel “Twilight” by Meyer. Research methods are focused on a comprehensive research methodology: descriptive, comparative, and conceptual analysis. The authors applied both traditional and linguocognitive approaches to investigate culture-bound elements of the original novel “Twilight”, and therefore, to explain the reasons for discrepancies found in its Russian translation. The practical value of the article is determined by the fact that the material worked out in the research can be used in lecture courses on the general and partial theory of translation, and seminars on literary translation practice. Research findings have proved that reaching success in linguocultural translation largely depends on the ability of a translator to understand implicit information and apply adequate translation techniques to convey the national identity of the source text.
Gilda Sensales; Alessandra Areni; Alessandra Dal Secco
Volume 4, Issue 2 , September 2016, , Pages 22-38
Abstract
The study considers mass media communication as intertwined with social norms, as assumed by the perspective of social representations. It explores the Italian press communication by focusing on three pairs of men and women politicians with different political orientations and all serving as presidents ...
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The study considers mass media communication as intertwined with social norms, as assumed by the perspective of social representations. It explores the Italian press communication by focusing on three pairs of men and women politicians with different political orientations and all serving as presidents of the Houses of Parliament in three legislatures. The article concentrates on five newspapers in order to sound out the presence of a possible gender bias in favor of men in the coverage. It explores the strategic use of language to enhance or penalize the role of women politicians. In order to scrutinize the role of gender visibility and discrimination, the study compares how women and men presidents are named and examines the linguistic sexism/nonsexism used for women politicians also in relation to the ideological/cultural orientations of newspapers. Thereby, 591 headlines were collected and analyzed with SPAD-T statistical package. The results, for some cases, confirm the trends revealed in the international literature, in other cases, disprove expectations.
Edhy Rustan; Hisban Thaha
Abstract
This study examines the effectiveness of reflective writing pedagogy and elucidates students’ plagiarism behavior, causality, and compositional resources. Drawing on a mixed-methods sequential exploratory design, it addresses the problem of student plagiarism using second-semester graduate students ...
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This study examines the effectiveness of reflective writing pedagogy and elucidates students’ plagiarism behavior, causality, and compositional resources. Drawing on a mixed-methods sequential exploratory design, it addresses the problem of student plagiarism using second-semester graduate students at IAIN Palopo, Indonesia, as a sample and data collected via writing tests, interviews, and documentation studies using Turnitin software. A combination of descriptive and inferential statistical methods was used for evaluation, and a qualitative description was used to analyze the behavior and needs. The results show a 33.13% decrease in plagiarism following attendance of reflective writing classes, with a considerable value of 0.001. Students’ most ubiquitous form of plagiarism was direct quotations without proper citations. The factors driving plagiarism include difficulties with paraphrasing, crafting coherent paragraphs, time constraints, and incorrect utilization of Turnitin software. The study concludes that reflective-writing instructions are imperative for reducing plagiarism propensity as students require writing guidance.
Douglas Robinson
Volume 2, Issue 2 (Special Issue on Translation, Society and Culture) , September 2014, , Pages 25-40
Abstract
Drawing on Henri Meschonnic’s notion of an “inscient ethics,” and putting “inscience” into dialogue with the old ideal of a “science” of translation, the article explores the collective socio-affective ecologies that organize and regulate social and professional ...
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Drawing on Henri Meschonnic’s notion of an “inscient ethics,” and putting “inscience” into dialogue with the old ideal of a “science” of translation, the article explores the collective socio-affective ecologies that organize and regulate social and professional norms and values of translation below the level of conscious awareness—as the true underlying structure not only of “subjectivity” (somatics) but also of “objectivity” (“desomatized science”). Two models are developed for this dual structuring, the first circular or cyclical, with “objectification/desomatization” down one side and “subjectification/somatization” up the other; the other based on Gregory Bateson’s theorization of the double-bind, with both sides recursively intertwined. The circular model is developed in dialogue with Shoshana Felman; the double-bind model in dialogue with Juliane House’s model of Translation Quality Assessment. Both point us further to a retheorization of socio-affective ecologies in terms of ecosis/icosis.
Mehri Firoozalizadeh; Hassan Ashayeri; Yahya Modarresi; Mohammad Kamali; Azra Jahanitabesh
Volume 8, Issue 1 , March 2020, , Pages 25-43
Abstract
This study explores the metaphoric comprehension of normal Persian-speaking children, as well as theories of cognitive development and cultural and social impacts. The researchers discuss the improvement of the understanding of ontological conceptual metaphors through age growth and cognitive development, ...
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This study explores the metaphoric comprehension of normal Persian-speaking children, as well as theories of cognitive development and cultural and social impacts. The researchers discuss the improvement of the understanding of ontological conceptual metaphors through age growth and cognitive development, and how it helps to expand children’s thoughts and knowledge of the world. In this study, 121 normal native Persian-speaking children from the age of 5 to 13 with no language and cognitive disorders participated. Pearson correlation and one-way ANOVA were used to examine the relationships between pairs of variables. The results showed that children start to comprehend abstract concepts and primary ontological metaphors at about 5 years of age, which is in contrast with what Piaget has implied. Children’s metaphorical comprehension improved progressively with age, social, and cognitive development as other studies have also implied, and they understood more complex types of metaphors by age growth.
Rahul Chakraborty; Amy Louise Schwarz; Prasiddh Chakraborty
Volume 5, Issue 2 , September 2017, , Pages 26-36
Abstract
Accent bias is a consequence of ethnocentrism. No studies have examined accent bias across educational levels in the U.S., much less across students and professionals in speech language pathology (SLP), a field that requires multicultural sensitivity training. This study examines nonnative accent perception ...
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Accent bias is a consequence of ethnocentrism. No studies have examined accent bias across educational levels in the U.S., much less across students and professionals in speech language pathology (SLP), a field that requires multicultural sensitivity training. This study examines nonnative accent perception among three groups—high schoolers, SLP students, and SLP professionals. One-hundred-and-sixty-five respondents completed an online survey that determined whether respondents held unbiased associations between nonnative accent and personality traits, sociocultural factors, professional attire, and personal appearance, in addition to participants’ view of their own accent. Fixed-effect binomial logistic regression analyses indicated high schoolers were less likely to hold unbiased beliefs about persons with accents than would be expected by chance and that SLP students and professionals held significantly more unbiased beliefs than high schoolers. Surprisingly, despite the multicultural sensitivity training infused in the SLP curricula, SLP professionals still hold biased beliefs against people with accent. Potential suggestions are discussed to minimize accent-based biases.
Antony Luby
Volume 7, Issue 1 , March 2019, , Pages 27-39
Abstract
This research paper addresses secularization from both political and religious perspectives. One of its manifestations in the political sphere is that of globalization that can lead to alienation within society; and in the United Kingdom this is exemplified by Brexit. Within the religious sphere secularization ...
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This research paper addresses secularization from both political and religious perspectives. One of its manifestations in the political sphere is that of globalization that can lead to alienation within society; and in the United Kingdom this is exemplified by Brexit. Within the religious sphere secularization is usually couched in oppositional terms. This paper reclaims the original use of the word secular as envisaged in a three realms’ model of society comprising profane, sacred and secular realms. The secular realm acts as a buffer between the profane and sacred realms and in this neutral, public sphere the power of reason prevails. An educational starting point for such creation is pedagogy and through linguistic, psychological and cultural analysis, this paper identifies the development of reasoning through the dialogic skills of building consensus (cumulative talk) and constructive criticism (exploratory talk). Sixty-five students from a varied background of UK secondary schools have participated in the development of these dialogic skills.
Monir Ghasemi Mighani; Massood Yazdani Moghadam
Volume 7, 2 (Special Issue on Iranians Views of Cultural Issues) , September 2019, , Pages 27-39
Abstract
One way to develop intercultural sensitivity in learners is through the inclusion of intercultural training in ELT and teacher training courses. This study aimed at enhancing the intercultural sensitivity of EFL pre-service teachers through interactive culture-focused speaking tasks. Therefore, a task-based ...
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One way to develop intercultural sensitivity in learners is through the inclusion of intercultural training in ELT and teacher training courses. This study aimed at enhancing the intercultural sensitivity of EFL pre-service teachers through interactive culture-focused speaking tasks. Therefore, a task-based syllabus was designed based on the principles of constructivism and intercultural themes and implemented throughout one academic semester. An intercultural sensitivity scale was administered to find out any possible significant change in the level of intercultural sensitivity of the participants. At the end of the course, a self-report course evaluation survey was implemented in order to ask participants to evaluate different aspects and objectives of the course. The related data were collected and analyzed. The findings indicated that the level of intercultural sensitivity of the participants developed significantly through the intervention of mediating tasks. The findings of the self-report survey also showed that the participants` attitudes and evaluation of different parts and objectives of the course were positive.
Leyla Agdasovna Mardieva Mardieva; Vashunina Irina Vladimirovna
Abstract
The current study attempted to focus on periphrases with the general meaning of a person who created/founded something. Based on the analysis of the Russian printed periodicals (2009-2020), the authors found that this semantic group of periphrases is serial (typical). The studied group of descriptive ...
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The current study attempted to focus on periphrases with the general meaning of a person who created/founded something. Based on the analysis of the Russian printed periodicals (2009-2020), the authors found that this semantic group of periphrases is serial (typical). The studied group of descriptive names of a person is built according to the genitive model. The periphrase composition includes one of the following supporting components: a creator, a father, a founding father, a godfather, a mother, or an architect. The idea of “creation” is accurately expressed without additional semantic increments by the creator lexeme; other supporting components differ in semantic, figurative, and evaluative meanings and connotations. The variable qualifying component of the considered group of periphrases complements the meaning of the descriptive nomination supporting component, indicating the sphere of social activity in which the subject named by the periphrase has manifested himself (as a rule, this is politics, business, art, sport, or science).
Yong Lang; Lian Wang; Caihong Xie; Wencui Chen
Volume 3, Issue 1 , March 2015, , Pages 28-46
Abstract
This study explores the use of the English locution I love you in the American context. The data were collected through a focus discussion group and a survey questionnaire. 120 college undergraduate students from a large public American university participated in the study with 28 attending the focus ...
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This study explores the use of the English locution I love you in the American context. The data were collected through a focus discussion group and a survey questionnaire. 120 college undergraduate students from a large public American university participated in the study with 28 attending the focus discussion group and 92 completing the survey questionnaire. The findings indicated that the use of I love you is a daily phenomenon. It can be used across a variety of different relationships, in a variety of different modes, during a variety of different occasions, and with a variety of different meanings. The theoretical justification and explanation for Americans’ high frequent and varied use of I love you were tentatively probed. The results from this study delineated a preliminary ethnography of how I love you is used in the American context, which can help EFL teachers and learners understand it more thoroughly, translate it more accurately, and use it more appropriately.
Ali Derakhshan; Zohreh R. Eslami; Azizeh Chalak
Volume 9, Issue 3 , September 2021, , Pages 28-48
Abstract
Given the importance of complimenting and responding to compliments in everyday interactions, several studies have investigated the strategies used to compliment and also to respond to compliments. This systematic study offers a thorough review of research on Compliment Responses (CRs) in the Persian ...
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Given the importance of complimenting and responding to compliments in everyday interactions, several studies have investigated the strategies used to compliment and also to respond to compliments. This systematic study offers a thorough review of research on Compliment Responses (CRs) in the Persian language conducted over the past three decades. It outlines the theoretical frameworks, the categorization schemes used, and the main findings of the reviewed studies. The bibliographical search on this area yielded a database of 35 studies on Persian CRs for this systematic review. We provide a synthesis of the research conducted in this area, the theoretical frameworks, and the methodologies used in different studies, including data analysis and data collection procedures. We then scrutinize the studies conducted on compliment response patterns in Persian, addressing similarities and differences and any emerging trends. Based on the review of the existing literature, recommendations are provided with guidelines and directions for future research in this area.
Mohamed El-Nashar; Heba Nayef
Abstract
Sexist songs are among the key tools for disseminating masculine hegemony. They lead to the normalization of sexist practices. This study investigated how sexism is constructed in Egyptian society in one form of popular culture, i.e., songs. It examined songs in two music genres: Egyptian Pop songs and ...
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Sexist songs are among the key tools for disseminating masculine hegemony. They lead to the normalization of sexist practices. This study investigated how sexism is constructed in Egyptian society in one form of popular culture, i.e., songs. It examined songs in two music genres: Egyptian Pop songs and Sha’by (folk) songs. To deconstruct sexist strategies in songs, we devised an interdisciplinary analytical framework that draws upon Critical Discourse Analysis and Social Psychology. It is guided by Ideological Strategies, Objectification Theory, and Terror Management Theory. This study fills a gap in the literature as it linguistically investigates women’s representation in two different music genres. Findings showed that even though women in both genres were the target of oppression and unequal gender relations, it was the mind of the woman that was the target in Pop songs, while it was her body that was blazoned forth in Sha’by songs.
Eucabeth Ong’au-Mong’are; Augustine Agwuele
Volume 5, Issue 1 , March 2017, , Pages 29-43
Abstract
The stories we tell about our lives unveil their content just as much as the lexical choices we make index a certain worldview, attitude, positionality, and relationship to reality. In essence, in narratives, individuals construct the self and denote personal identities. The available narrative identity ...
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The stories we tell about our lives unveil their content just as much as the lexical choices we make index a certain worldview, attitude, positionality, and relationship to reality. In essence, in narratives, individuals construct the self and denote personal identities. The available narrative identity studies have largely ignored the language employed by the bewitched while narrating their experiences. Based on the personal narratives obtained from three self-professed previously bewitched individuals from the AbaGusii community of Kenya (Aba = people, hence AbaGusii = Gusii people), this article examines the verbal clauses employed by these narrators as they recounted their experiences. The goal is to understand how these individuals constructed their personal identities through the three different phases (i.e., pre-bewitchment phase, the bewitchment phase, and the post bewitchment phase) of their bewitchment experiences. The paper argues that understanding the various identity constructions by the bewitched is invaluable for understanding not only how they represented and structured events in their lives, but also how the identities represented them as particular agents in their world, and how they viewed themselves as particular community members.
Hamza R'boul
Volume 9, Issue 1 , March 2021, , Pages 30-42
Abstract
Conceptualizations of intercultural communication in English language teaching have largely been constructed on westerncentric and essentialist representations of interculturality. The failure to take into account power imbalances among Anglophone and Southern spaces may perpetuate the inequalities that ...
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Conceptualizations of intercultural communication in English language teaching have largely been constructed on westerncentric and essentialist representations of interculturality. The failure to take into account power imbalances among Anglophone and Southern spaces may perpetuate the inequalities that have long-existed. Questioning singularity of approaches in the intercultural language education is required to account for the complexity of intercultural interactions, especially in terms of power imbalances. The dialectic perspective, with its inclusiveness of varying discursive reasonings, can offer a discerning treatment of interculturality through reconciling the opposing dialectics in intercultural communication scholarship. This article (a) makes a case for the usefulness of incorporating multiple epistemological stances in order to develop more comprehensive insights about interculturality, (b) argues that, by developing pluriversal perspectives, we can simultaneously consider the multiplicity of individuals’ ontologies, identities, and cultures. This is realized by first advancing an inter-paradigmatic discussion of culture-communication research dialectics and then considering its theoretical relevance and practical applications in English language teaching.
Irina A. Golubovskaya; Daria D. Kharitonova; Natalia V. Rudaya
Abstract
This study analyzes the communicative behavior of politicians and the features of the Ukrainian-language political discourse implementation in the political space of Ukraine. This work studied about 8,000 microtexts taken from the political texts of Ukrainian politicians such as Poroshenko, Tymoshenko, ...
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This study analyzes the communicative behavior of politicians and the features of the Ukrainian-language political discourse implementation in the political space of Ukraine. This work studied about 8,000 microtexts taken from the political texts of Ukrainian politicians such as Poroshenko, Tymoshenko, Yanukovych, and Yushchenko for the period between 2004 and 2018. The selected microtexts were then analyzed using general scientific methods and structural semantics, linguo-communicative and discourse methods, and quantitative and qualitative analyses. The results demonstrated that in the Ukrainian-language political discourse, the binary opposition “own↔alien” is employed for manipulative influence and various cognitive scenarios. On the basis of the communication features of each of the interviewed politicians, we managed to determine that Ukrainian politicians adhere to four types of communicative behavior: conflict (Tymoshenko), conflict-neutral (Yushchenko), conflict-cooperative (Poroshenko), and cooperative-conflict (Yanukovych). The study enabled determining the features of the Ukrainian-language political discourse and the political space of Ukraine and characterizing the tiers of the communicative behavior of politicians in modern Ukraine.
Fabio Albuquerque; Bruno Silva; Daniel Silva
Abstract
Oral communication apprehension is perceived as anxiety at the time of communicating with a person or group and, as such, can be potentially influenced by cultural aspects. The study aimed to identify the relationship between accounting students’ oral communication apprehension and power distance ...
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Oral communication apprehension is perceived as anxiety at the time of communicating with a person or group and, as such, can be potentially influenced by cultural aspects. The study aimed to identify the relationship between accounting students’ oral communication apprehension and power distance as a cultural dimension, also considering sociodemographic variables, which included students’ age, gender, stage in the course, and professional experience. An online questionnaire was administered to accounting students, from which 365 valid answers were obtained. This research found differences by gender in the levels of both oral communication apprehension and power distance. Furthermore, it found that oral communication apprehension might be influenced by the levels of power distance, age, and gender, indicating that power distance may function as a preceding element in the communication process. By country, the findings remained stable, which confirms the historical roots between Brazil and Portugal, which is also corroborated by closer power distance indexes.