Email Discourse Among Chinese Using English as a Lingua Franca

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Yuan-shan Chen, Der-Hwa Victoria Rau, Gerald Rau

   Pages 1-7

3. Emails from Students to Professors

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-9

      PDF

   2. Negotiating Personal Relationship Through Email Terms of Address

      • Der-Hwa Victoria Rau, Gerald Rau

      Pages 11-36

   3. Discourse Organization and Features of Email Writing Among EFL Students in Taiwan

      • Li-Jung Huang

      Pages 37-59

   4. Do Chinese Students Waffle in Their Apologies?: An Exploration into EFL Learners’ Emails

      • Miao-Hsia Chang, Jean Curran, Yueh-Kuei Hsu, Chih-Chun Hsu

      Pages 61-90

   5. Politeness and Effectiveness of English Email Requests: Taiwanese Professors’ Perspectives

      • Wan-jing Li, Yuan-shan Chen

      Pages 91-111

4. Emails from Students to the International Academic Community

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 113-113

      PDF

   2. Emailing Requests to International Researchers: The Construction of Identity by Chinese EFL Graduate Students

      • Xinren Chen

      Pages 115-134

   3. Intercultural Taoci Email: New Wine in an Old Bottle

      • Lin Xiao, Yihong Gao

      Pages 135-162

   4. Strategies Used in Chinese University Students’ ELF Emails to Remedy or Prevent Problems in Understanding

      • Wei Ren

      Pages 163-181

5. Emails from Peer to Peer

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 183-183

      PDF

   2. Openings and Closings in Intercultural Email Communication: A Case Study of Taiwanese, Japanese, and Italian Students

      • Hsin-chou Huang

      Pages 185-204

   3. Apologies in Emails: Interactions Between Chinese EFL Learners and Their Foreign Peers

      • Jianda Liu, Wei Ren

      Pages 205-228

6. Emails in the Workplace

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 229-229

      PDF

   2. Status-Congruence in Request E-Mail Discourse of Professional Secretaries in a University of Taiwan

      • Pi-Hsia Lü

      Pages 231-261

   3. A Study on Symbolic Competence and Face in ELF Email Communication

      • Hsuan-Yu Tai

      Pages 263-283

   4. Top Secret: Hacking and Fraud Detection in Business Emails of a Taiwanese Company

      • Tzu-Wei Hsiang

      Pages 285-296

This edited volume makes a valuable contribution to the burgeoning research field of English as a lingua franca. In a pioneering step, the collection is exclusively devoted to the English email discourse of Chinese speakers. The studies address innovative topics related to various contexts and relationships, using several different approaches and theories, which taken together shed light on how English serves as a lingua franca in multiple types of global written communication. The research topics presented are organized into four thematic sections, including emails from students to professors, emails from students to the international academic community, emails from peer to peer, and emails at the workplace. 


This collection of empirical research invites readers to consider the special features of apologies, requests, terms of address, politeness, and discourse organization, and how cultural differences may affect the use or interpretation of each. Throughout the book, readers will also discover how Chinese speakers use special features and strategies to construct their identity, establish relationships, and achieve successful communication in English. This highly informative, thought-provoking book also provides insights on methods for teaching email discourse using English as a lingua franca and suggests directions for future research. 

• Email Discourse
• Emailing Requests
• Terms of Address
• Discourse Organization
• Computer-mediated Communication
• Cross-cultural Communication
• English as a lingua franca
• Symbolic Competence
• literary diction

“The ample range of reflective and empirical chapters in this collection makes this book a well-grounded and enlightening guide for the study of English as lingua franca (ELF) across cultures. … this book is to be recommended as a handbook on ELF for students, teachers, and researchers in sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and applied linguistics, and will serve as a valuable guide and stimulus for empirical replication studies.” (Yansheng Mao, System, 2016)

• Department of Applied English, National Chin-yi University of Tech, Taichung, Taiwan

  Yuan-shan Chen

• Institute of Linguistics, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan

  Der-Hwa Victoria Rau

• Chiayi, Taiwan

  Gerald Rau

Yuan-shan Chen has been involved in language teaching for many years. Her research interests primarily lie in the areas of interlanguage pragmatics and L2 writing research. She teaches as an associate professor at the Department of Applied English, National Chin-Yi University of Technology in Taiwan. Her recent publications include articles in Journal of Pragmatics, Language Teaching Research, System, and Language and Linguistics. Email: yuanshan@ncut.edu.tw


Der-Hwa Victoria Rau is professor of linguistics at National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan. Her research interests include sociolinguistics, applied linguistics and Austronesian linguistics. In addition to her major works on Yami (Austronesian language) grammar, dictionary and textbooks, she has also produced a textbook on Research methodology in teaching Chinese as a second language. Email: lngrau@ccu.edu.tw


Gerald Rau teaches English Scientific and Engineering Writing at National Chung Cheng University Qing Jiang Learning Center in Taiwan. A semi-retired science teacher, he
has taught ESL students for many years, has edited numerous papers in the natural sciences, medicine, applied mathematics, engineering, and linguistics and is the author of Mapping the Origins Debate. Email: gerryrau@hotmail.com

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