Abstract
In the last chapter we noted that competence in communication is an important component of intercultural competence. In this chapter we explore this aspect in greater depth, focusing on the impact of culture on the process of achieving understanding, and the competencies that are needed for handling this. We concentrate on the ‘content’ aspect of understanding; in other words, on the construction of ‘message’ meaning. The next chapter, Chapter 5, explores another important aspect of communication — ‘relational’ meaning — how people’s use of language may lead to judgements such as polite, offensive, encouraging, annoying and so on, and thus how interpersonal rapport can be managed in intercultural interaction.
People do not always or even usually say what they mean.
Thomas 1995: 1
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Suggestions for further reading
Thomas, J. (1995) Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics. London: Longman. This book provides an excellent introduction to meaning, and the ways in which both speaker and hearer construct it in interaction. It is extremely readable, and has a large number of authentic examples which bring the theory to life.
Spencer-Oatey, H. (ed.) (2008) Culturally Speaking: Culture, Communication and Politeness Theory, 2nd edn. London: Continuum. The chapters in Part 1 of this book provide a clear explanation of the factors that affect the communication process, and discuss the interrelationship between culture and communication. The chapters in Part 2 report empirical studies of cross-national differences in language use.
House, J., Kasper, G. and Ross, S. (eds) (2003) Misunderstanding in Social Life: Discourse Approaches to Problematic Talk. London: Longman. The chapters in this edited volume each deal with misunderstanding. They cover a number of different sectors (e. g., the legal system and education) and of activity types (e. g., employment interviews, political interviews and oral proficiency interviews), and include discussion of misunderstanding as a phenomenon. Although intercultural issues are not the primary focus of the book, many of the studies entail intercultural interaction.
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© 2009 Helen Spencer-Oatey and Peter Franklin
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Spencer-Oatey, H., Franklin, P. (2009). Achieving Understanding in Intercultural Interaction. In: Intercultural Interaction. Research and Practice in Applied Linguistics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230244511_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230244511_4
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-4039-8631-3
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